Wounded Yemeni president to make media appearance, power transfer ruled out

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, recovering from wounds he sustained in attack on his compound in early June, will make media appearance within the new few days, his presidency office said on Sunday, as his deputy information minister ruled out any transfer of power.

Many observers took the announcement with more than a pinch of skepticism. They noted that similar statements have been made before about Mr. Saleh’s imminent media appearance, only to have the president not do anything.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s deputy information minister on Sunday ruled out any transfer of power in Yemen so long President Saleh remains hospitalized in Saudi Arabia.

“Our moral values do not allow us to discuss a transfer of power as the president lies on his sick bed” in Riyadh, where he was flown on June 4 for treatment after an explosion at his palace compound in Sanaa, Abdo al-Janadi told AFP.

Speculation about President Saleh’s health and the likelihood of his return to Yemen have been rife since he was injured when a bomb went off on June 3 in a mosque in his presidential palace. He flew to Saudi Arabia for treatment, leaving behind a country on the verge of civil war.

The president has not been seen in public since the explosion, which killed several people and wounded the prime minister, two deputy prime ministers and the speakers of both parliamentary chambers. It is not clear what role if any Mr. Saleh, under pressure to step down, sees for himself in ruling Yemen.

“He will appear within the next 48 hours despite our fear that the burns on his features and on different parts of his body will be an obstacle given that his appearance will not be as the media expects it,” said Ahmed al-Sufi, the President’s media secretary.

Mr. Sufi said President Saleh was in good health and continued to direct Yemeni affairs from abroad. President Saleh’s deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has been at the helm while the president recovers.

A source close to the president also said Mr. Saleh was planning to address Yemenis soon, adding President Saleh’s condition was good enough to allow him to travel to Yemen soon.

“The bomb in the mosque was in close proximity to the president when it went off. He was really lucky to get out,” the source, who was with Mr. Saleh during the attack, told Reuters.

President Saleh, 69, who has faced nearly six months of protests against his 33-year-long autocratic rule, has not appeared in public since the attack that killed 11 people and wounded 124 others, among them senior officials.

(Mustapha Ajbaili, a senior editor at Al Arabiya English