Saleh should now resign
Shrapnel has made the ultimate difference. With President Ali Abdullah Al Saleh safe and recovering in Saudi Arabia, Yemen political equation has taken a new turn. The spate of ambush attacks that left Saleh badly injured has proved to be the turning point forcing the embattled president to abandon Sanaa at this critical hour of real-politick.
But there is a deafening silence as far as any firm word on the governance structure and apparatus is concerned in Yemen, and has left political pundits groping in the dark. The very fact that Saleh agreed to fly to Riyadh for medical treatment without any fuss, as he had been hoodwinking efforts to sign on the power transfer agreement brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council, is indicative of the water that has flown down the bridge, and hints at the possibility of bidding adieu to his three decades rule.
The constitution, which entrusts the vice-president to take over the reigns of power in such a situation, is in need of being exercised in letter and spirit. Whatever may be Saleh’s stand, as he hasn’t publicly declared to step down, it is incumbent upon Vice-President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to make use of this pause to restore the writ of the government and workout a new power equilibrium with the opposition forces. It’s high time the months old civil war and politics of factionalisation should come to an end, and the country revert back to reconstruction and reconciliation. Saleh’s defiance has only compounded the situation on ground, as he hardly had any regard for regional congeniality and peace prospects at home.
The next few days and weeks will be important for Yemen, especially from the point of view of Saleh’s future This is the time for the GCC to get pro-active and compel the ailing president to sign on the dotted line. Riyadh’s influence, as it hosts the dictator, will be decisive in nature. He needs to be reminded and subsequently persuaded that he is in a much-weakened position, and had left the country deeply shattered in a state of turmoil. Moreover, with almost all of his neighbours quite eager to seek his exit from power decorum, and the international community nursing ill will against his prolonged rule, it’s time to call it a day. Saleh’s reason to go for medical treatment was logical. He should now also see a rationale in standing down.
Soccer’s new era
The arrival of Diego Maradona on the Gulf soccer scene could herald even more top-level coaches to move towards what is swiftly becoming a mature soccer-playing region. Just as cricket teams have broken the barriers and brought in high level teaching talent from abroad (most of the sub-continental teams have successfully experimented with foreign coaches) the same could well become a norm in football, especially where competition is keen and fans love the game like they do in the Gulf and the Middle East.
While it does break down geographical barriers, the presence of coaches from different cultures also brings a new dimension and new concepts to the coaching system and technology itself gets a boost.
Suddenly club level soccer has attained seriousness, as compared to it being once a second-tier as opposed to national team prestige. Pretty much like the Premier League in England and the Bundesliga or the South American club games, the arrival of the heavyweights on the training and technique circuits heralds a similar passion for being star attractions and major draws when the top clubs play each other.
One would like to see even more exchange and awareness in the large expat populations living in the region who have not yet espoused the national sport at the club level in large numbers. If the arrival of people like Maradona can entice them to click the turnstile and the media, especially TV and radio can contribute to establishing a rapport with the expat soccer lover and the local clubs then soccer will receive a tremendous boost.
To our mind if Man United can have fans in different parts of the world, there is no reason why people who live in this part of the Middle East cannot display an equal passion. It is all a question of packaging and marketing and making it accessible to those who feel they do not fit in. If the players are made more familiar, if there is the necessary hype and corporates begin to associate themselves as sponsors and advertisers, this could well be the era of big time club soccer and we will all be the happier for it.
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