Yemen's democracy activists lose out

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced his resignation on Wednesday, but the demonstrations in the country continue. They are directed against the deal that guarantees immunity from criminal prosecution for Saleh and clears the way for Saleh's vice president Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi in the 90 days before elections take place. The liberal-conservative Neue Zürcher Zeitung sides with the demonstrators. "The big losers of the deal signed in Saudi Arabia on the transfer of power are the activists, mostly young men, who have persisted with their demands for reforms in Sanaa since February and upheld the flag of the Arab Spring despite Saleh's snipers and torturers. The Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakel Karman is one of them. The agreement doesn't foresee the political and social revolution demanded by the activists. Instead a division of power based on the existing tribal structures was once again negotiated. This method of resolving conflict may have a long tradition but it won't bring Yemen forward."

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