Hani Mohammed / AP Photo
You don't stay president for 33 years without having a few tricks up your sleeve. Despite saying he planned to sign an internationally negotiated deal with his opposition, Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh now dismisses the agreement as a “mere coup operation” and says he will only sign it in a public event. Saleh has twice dodged the plan, which was mediated by the Gulf Co-operation Council and supported by the United States. It requires him to hand over power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Elections would be held three months later. Saleh's opposition signed the deal Saturday, and Saleh was scheduled to sign the deal Sunday, but hours before the signing he balked, saying he would not sign it “behind closed doors." Some protesters remain skeptical that Saleh would step down even if he eventually did sign the agreement. "I don't believe [Saleh] will sign tomorrow,” said a protest coordinator. “but if he does it will be fake, something to allow more maneuvering.”