Peace nears in Yemen and Libya

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 11/04/2011

Reporter: Ben Knight

Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh says he is ready for a peaceful transition of power.

Transcript

ALI MOORE, PRESENTER: After months of protests and violent crackdowns, Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh says he is ready for a peaceful transfer of power.

President Saleh was responding to a direct proposal by the Gulf Co-operation Council that called on him to step down.

There are also peace talks taking place in Libya, with an African Union delegation trying to convince the rebels to accept a cease-fire deal.

Middle East correspondent Ben Knight reports.

BEN KNIGHT, REPORTER: Moamar Gaddafi likes to call himself the King of Africa. But these African leaders came to his tent in Tripoli not to pay their respects, but to try to convince the man who promised to fight to the end to accept a cease-fire with the rebels.

RAMTANE LAMAMRA, AFRICAN UNION COMMISSIONER FOR PEACE: His acceptance of the African Union road map, which revolves around the following elements: first, the immediate cessation of all hostilities. Second, the co-operation of the concerned Libyan authorities to facilitate the diligent delivery of humanitarian assistance to the needy populations.

BEN KNIGHT: The African Union delegation has now headed to the eastern city of Benghazi to put the same proposal to the opposition.

But there's no guarantee the opposition will accept the deal. They've already said they won't accept anything less than the removal of the regime, and Colonel Gaddafi has himself promised cease-fires in the past before breaking them straightaway.

ANTI-GADDAFI PROTESTOR: He must leave. He must go away. He must leave. This is the message we like to send it to the world. So please, we don't need any negotiation with them. Gaddafi and his family, they must leave away.

BEN KNIGHT: The rebels are still holding out against the Libyan Army, which is loyal to Colonel Gaddafi, but only just.

On a rare positive day on the battlefield yesterday, the opposition recaptured the city of Ajdabiya with the help of NATO air strikes. It's clear they couldn't have done it without the help from above. The aircraft hit six vehicles carrying Libyan Government soldiers. NATO also claimed it destroyed 25 tanks, 11 near Ajdabiya and 14 on the other side of the country on the outskirts of Misrata.

But those aircraft have also been hitting the rebels, as the Libyan Army changes tactics and makes it harder to work out who's who on the battlefield. The Libyan Army is consistently more organised, more strategic and more powerful than the opposition forces. The rebels' options may simply be running out.

Time has apparently run out already for Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who's reportedly now agreed to hand over power to his vice president, after weeks of violent protests in Yemen against his 32-year-long rule.

A delegation from neighbouring Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, has been in Yemen pushing for a deal, which would see president Saleh step aside in return for a guarantee that he and his family will be immune from prosecution.

As they met, protestors were keeping up the pressure in the Yemeni capital. And any transition of power in Yemen will have to be carefully managed to try to avoid chaos. Yemen's neighbours in the Gulf and its allies in the West are deeply concerned that instability in this country will allow Al Qaeda to strengthen its presence. It's exactly what president Saleh himself has been saying would happen if he was pushed from office.

Ben Knight, Lateline.