Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 15 /Trend, A.Taghiyeva/
Despite that after numerous demonstrations in the country, the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh decided to conduct reforms, the Jordanian analyst Saleh Zaytun believes that the situation in Yemenwill even be worse and lead to the split in country.
"The government of Yemen will not be able to stop the demonstrations, it is not excluded to overthrow the government and split the country," Zaytun told Trend by telephone from Amman.
Nearly 3,000 people gathered Tuesday on the streets of Yemen's capital Sana'a, demanding political reforms and the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Anti-governmental demonstrations were also held in Sana'a formerly, which were attended by students. Several demonstrators were injured, 23 were detained.
The events in Egypt pushed the youths of Yemen.
To prevent a repetition of the Egyptian scenario in Yemen, Saleh, who has been in power for more than 30 years, stated 10 days ago that he will not run for presidential elections in 2013. The president also promised that his son, who was previously regarded as a successor, will also not run for elections.
According to Zaytun, the main problem of Yemen is the threat of separation as the country is under the influence of the Shiite community of Al-Houthi, which has close ties with Iran in the north and Sunnis in the south.
"There is not unity of people in Yemeni demonstrations, since the people have divided in the opinion about the government," he said. According to the Zaytoun, the interference from Iran and Saudi Arabia could further exacerbate the situation in the country.
"It is expected that Iran and Saudi Arabia will actively intervene in the events in Yemen, because these countries have very great influence in the region," he said.
Already in the beginning of clashes in Yemen with the Shiite rebels, President Ali Saleh made a speech on the Al-Jazeera television channel with a statement that the authorities in Sana'a are aware of the fact that Iranian officials support and sponsor the Al-Houthi Shiite community, which opposes against the power of the president.
Shiite rebels in Yemen invaded on Nov. 3, 2009 in the Jabal al-Dukhan region, located on the border with Saudi Arabia.
In response, the Saudi Air Forces bombed the territory of Yemen, in addition, troops were brought to the southern border. In mid-November, the Saudi Arabia armed forces managed to regain control over the mountainous territory along the border with Yemen, breaking out the rebels.
Zaytun believes that Saudi Arabia would support the President of Yemen, Ali Saleh, who represents the interests of this country and maintains stability, while Iran will encourage the people to overthrow Saleh's government, which may lead to the fact that the power in Yemen, will shift to Shiite Islamists.
He also does not exclude the interference from the U.S. who keeps its fleet in the Arabian Sea, and any radical change in the internal politics of Yemen may also adversely affect the interests of the U.S. in this country.