Yemen Protesters Reject Gulf Exit Plan

Yemen anti-regime protesters have rejected a proposal from mediating Gulf States that embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh should pass power to his deputy, a leading activist said Monday.

"We are not concerned by any solution negotiated between the regime and the opposition that does not answer our main demand: the fall of the regime and its figures," said Adel al-Rabyi, from the Youth for Change coalition of protest groups that have led demonstrations across the country since late January.

Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council urged Saleh on Sunday to step down and ensure a peaceful transition to his deputy, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.

Following a meeting in Riyadh, they also called for the formation of a national unity government led by the opposition.

"We do not accept the hijacking of our revolution," Rabyi told Agence France Presse, insisting that he spoke on behalf of all youth groups in Sanaa and other major cities hit by deadly protests.

Saleh on Friday rejected such a proposal for his exit made by Qatar's prime minister as a "blatant interference in Yemeni affairs".

His defiant statement came after Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani had said that the GCC member countries "hope to reach a deal with the Yemeni president to step down".

Yemen, an impoverished neighbour of the GCC, recalled its ambassador to Doha in protest.

The official Common Forum opposition had quickly welcomed the offer which is almost a copy of a vision it offered to Saleh last week, urging him to pass power to his vice-president, who is a member of his ruling General People's Congress party.

More than 125 people have been killed since protests began in January, inspired by successful uprisings that toppled long-time rulers in Tunisia and Egypt.