YEMEN: Thousands rally in capital Sanaa to mark second anniversary of revolution that led to departure of long-term President Ali Abdullah Saleh

Record ID: 213872

  • Title: YEMEN: Thousands rally in capital Sanaa to mark second anniversary of revolution that led to departure of long-term President Ali Abdullah Saleh
  • Date: 7th February 2013
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROTESTER MANAR AL-ZABIDI, SAYING: "We are here today to mark the second anniversary of the beginning of the peaceful youth revolution, and we renew the pledge to the martyrs to continue the path and move forward in what they sacrificed for, until all the goals are met."
  • Embargoed: 22nd February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Yemen
  • Country: Yemen
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEPA30B2O5BKINVGMH4XEZDRIZ
  • Story Text: Thousands of Yemeni protesters took to the streets of the capital Sanaa on Thursday (February 7) to mark the second anniversary of the Yemeni uprising that led to the departure of long-term President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
    Protesters chanted "Yes to end of corruption" and carried placards reading: "Implementing decisions secures the success of dialogue," as they marched through the capital.
    Yemen's uprising began in February 2011 and was largely inspired by the 'Arab Spring' protests that toppled the leaders of Tunisia Egypt and Libya.
    While the unrest is marked as beginning on February 7, 2011, many revolution supporters look to the date of the first big protest, on February 11, 2011.
    After a year of protests against his rule, Saleh made way for President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi under a Gulf-brokered transition plan backed by Washington and its Western allies.
    The agreement, signed in Saudi Arabia, aimed to hold Yemen together in the face of crippling economic woes, internal divisions and separatist movements, as well as the challenge from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based in Yemen.
    The youth activists who had directed a wave of demonstrations aimed at ousting Saleh subsequently rejected the transition deal, which would grant him and close aides immunity from prosecution.
    On Thursday they reiterated that they wanted them tried for killing protesters during the uprising.
    "Today we achieve victory for the blood of the martyrs and we call for the trial of the killers, today we say there will be no return to the past, the people are moving forward," said one protester, Mohamed al-Sabri.
    Hadi, elected in February 2012 for a two-year interim period with a mandate to restructure the military, has been gradually trying to loosen the Saleh family's grip on the armed forces in a country where the former president's legacy still looms large.
    "The youth of the revolution call on the Security Council to take decisive and courageous decisions against those who are obstructing the political settlement in Yemen," Said protester Mohamed al-Asal.
    "We are here today to mark the second anniversary of the beginning of the peaceful youth revolution, and we renew the pledge to the martyrs to continue the path and move forward in what they sacrificed for, until all the goals are met," said another protester Manar al-Zabidi.
    Yemen's Presidential and parliamentary elections are expected in 2014.
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