Protests Spread to Yemen as Thousands Take to the Streets
- Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:04am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Tens of thousands of people are calling for the Yemeni president’s ouster in protests across the capital inspired by the popular revolt in Tunisia.
The demonstrations led by opposition members and youth activists are a significant expansion of the unrest sparked by the Tunisian uprising, which also inspired Egypt’s largest protests in a generation. They pose a new threat to the stability of the Arab world’s most impoverished nation, which has become the focus of increased Western concern about a resurgent al-Qaida branch, a northern rebellion and a secessionist movement in the south.
Crowds in four parts of Sanaa have shut down streets and are chanting calls for an end to the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for nearly 32 years.
“We will not accept anything less than the president leaving,” said independent parliamentarian Ahmed Hashid.
Opposition leaders called for more demonstrations on Friday.
“We‘ll only be happy when we hear the words ’I understand you’ from the president,” Hashid said, invoking a statement issued by Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali before he fled the country.
Saleh has tried to defuse simmering tensions by raising salaries for the army and by denying opponents’ claims he plans to install his son as his successor.
After the Tunisian turmoil, he ordered income taxes slashed in half and instructed his government to control prices. He deployed anti-riot police and soldiers to several key areas in the capital, Sanaa, and its surroundings to prevent riots.
That hasn’t stopped critics of his rule from taking to the streets in days of protests calling for him to step down, a red line that few dissenters had previously dared to cross.
Nearly half of Yemen’s population lives below the poverty line of $2 a day and doesn’t have access to proper sanitation. Less than a tenth of the roads are paved. Tens of thousands have been displaced from their homes by conflict, flooding the cities.
The government is riddled with corruption, has little control outside the capital, and its main source of income – oil – could run dry in a decade.
Saleh’s current term in office expires in 2013 but proposed amendments to the constitution could let him remain in power for two additional terms of ten years.
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Comments (59)
lauzon
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 11:59amSome of the comments lead me to believe Yemen could be looking toward being “The Mouse that Roared”! The whole of the middle east is so very volatile, vacuums are to be quickly and easily filled by the bad guys if we don’t fill them, vis. Iraq, Afghanistan. Lebanon is also n crisis at present now that the Hizbollah has “officially” taken over everything. What to do? Perhaps nothing — let them stew in their own juice for a while and perhaps they will find themselves really tired of the bad guys. I hate it for all the truly wonderful people that will be involved in the shuffle and scuffle. However . . . .
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 11:29amThese are signs and we are getting used to seeing them and therefore do not see them as such until something real huge gets our attention. The totality of events is what you should look at because it is across the spectrum of human existence. From governments, to the human heart, we see Wars, rumors of Wars, unprecedented upheavels in our weather and our planet in general. The threat of a Solar maxim is pending and expected. The world has never been connected in the way it is right now where a thought can go around the world in a twinkling of an eye. The very real threat of a One World Government is in the offing. Can anyone really say these things do not line up with what the creator of this world told us through his prophets? Get in your Bibles and discover for yourself and know God is real and waiting for you to come to him humbley and with a contrite heart. He will deliver!
Report Post »joeliberty
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 3:27pmYou are right on brother……could not have said it better!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 11:06amWe should hope that these uprisings are the result of Muslim people wanting the kind of democracy
Report Post »the Bush doctrine provided in Iraq. All of these uprisings could go the other way (ousting of the Sha of Iran). Too early to tell.
sjohn70037
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 11:04amRiots in the street of Yemen to demand the removal of their president: “We will not accept anything less than the president leaving,”
Can we do this too?
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:51amIt’s a developing disaster for the entire world!
Report Post »santramir
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:50amreally scary riots are the invisile and quiet legisative riots
Report Post »joeliberty
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:47amPeople, you forget what our Founding Fathers fought against and you put it lightly when your chains are being forged. I do not care if my language is offensive to someone that lived under a complete totalitarian system. These same people would look at our system and warn us. I think what offends them even more is to have freedom and then squander it in exchange for false security! This is where America is headed right now. I am trying to warn people here. We are being watched, recorded, and monitored and yes, legal protests are being broken up and not because they are violent! What about all those camera’s being placed in cities and against the will of the people? Oh, I forgot that is for our own good! What about YAL and their legal protest being broken up at the capital. These kids were singing patriotic songs and were no threat! Look, you can defend the status quo all you want, but in the end your vote does not count if you get the same thing over and over again! My prayer is that the American people will wake up before it is too late, if we are not past that point already!
Report Post »independentvoteril
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:28amSeems to me WE have to always be on the look out.. and more so with this administration than with the Bush one..and that one has bad enough.. I NEVER considered that our government would protect us.. even in WAR our GUYS and GALS are the ones who protect us NOT the government..Government has BUNKERS to go to until things go over.. (with any luck those that built the bunkers know where the ventilation system is and turns it off).. As with most of you on this board we are more concerned with those coming in from MEXICO but big sis is as usual just ignoring them.. making excuses for everything we see like we are a bunch of uneducated idiots.. hopefully if the bad guys are coming over the south border they go straight to D.C.. Let those in other countries straighten out their own.. we have to do something about ours..
Report Post »BQI
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:26amFolks, this is not good. You have Muslims uprising in three countries now AND it will grow. So who takes over? It won’t be a friend to the US. Add this upheaval to Ireland, England, Greece, Belgium etc. and you have an unstable world waiting for some strong figures to settle matters. If this is not alarming then what will be. I hope all will visit BQI’s site to see articles on the impending Revolution including the BQI Special Edition under BQI Opedia, for what you see in Europe and Asia is headed to America.
http://www.blackquillandink.com
Report Post »joeliberty
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:22amAuthoritarian and Dictatorship are one and the same! How can these two types be separated? They are both tyrannical! I was in the military and often heard the term, we will dictate policy and therefore you will follow the policies set forth. Therefore, dictatorship does not always mean an assumption of powers into one person. There are levels of dictatorship in an authoritarian state. The people at the top dictate to people at the bottom through each succession of an organized authoritarian system until we are all reduced to serfdom. In our case, we are being dictated to by our government, who in turn are dictated and ruled by a cabal of bankers and corporations. We seen this in 2008 when Hank Paulson threatened Martial Law before the Congress. He was an unelected official. He was an appointed banker by politicians. We are dictated to every day by county, city, and local governments. Pay or face this fine, go to jail, or we take your home! This is not freedom!
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:34am“We are dictated to every day by county, city, and local governments.”
Yes, and every so often you get to vote your representatives in county, city and local (and federal) governments out of office.
In most of the Middle East, you don’t get to do that; that’s what these protests are about.
Obama will leave office when he’s voted out in 2012, or at the latest after a second term.
Mubarak and Saleh will leave office when they’re good and ready–or when they’re forced out.
Report Post »volk13
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 9:53amThe riots are spreading like wild fire – this is definitely not a coincidence – I believe there is something underneath steering this all up besides the usual discontent with the government. Question is why he is in all happening now?
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:15am@Volk13:
I can suggest a few reasons:
Worldwide recession forcing governments to cut back on subsidized food, fuel, etc., which was a big factor in Tunisia and Egypt.
Rising prices of basic commodities including food and fuel, as the developed world begins to recover.
More young people with university educations and little prospect of employment (think Weimar Germany).
Twitter and Facebook and other new ways of organizing protest, undercutting statist attempts at control of information.
The example set by the spread of democracy in Europe, Latin America and even parts of Africa over the last 20 years.
Islamist ideology, which if nothing else sternly denounces the corruption so deeply entrenched in most regimes in the Middle East.
What else would you suggest?
Report Post »lauzon
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 11:59amToo right!!!
Report Post »joeliberty
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 9:48am@tompaineknowsthescore:
Here is your proof! TSA thugs and violations of the 4th Amendment…..illegal searches and seizures! Free speech arrests of peaceful protestor’s and street preachers in violation of the first amendment. The Patriot Act, TARP, DHS, Bailouts, the list could go on to infinity……all against the will of the people! Now, tell me this is not dictatorship! Are you asleep???
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 9:54amIt’s not the acts that determine a dictatorship, rather, the methods used to implement those acts. You can get all of the things you mention in a democracy (hence, why the Founders disdained democracies).
A dictatorship is one guy, sitting at the top, making it all happen. Dictating.
What you list can and usually are examples of authoritarianism and/or totalitarianism. But not necessarily dictatorship.
Report Post »tompaineknowsthescore
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:33amThats not a dictatorship, what the egyptians and the Yemenis have to suffer is dictatorship. Secret police watching your everymove, No free press, police seizing people without trial or explanation. Protests being put down violently.
Last time i checked tea partiers wernt being arrested without trial (although suspected islamic terroists are) or being shot at whilst protesting. The press in the US is free FOX and the blaze for example
by all means complain about policies you disagree with and campaign for the changes you want but calling obama a dictator is offensive to all who have had to endure dictatorship
Report Post »spreadcommonsensenot pc
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 9:40amIt was PC that let the donkeys out of the barn
Report Post »Eblaze44
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:54pmI think it was a “monkey out of the cage” that got the college student sent home.
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 9:08amHere how you start cutting the debt stay the he77 out of these countries let them handle their own business. Not our problem if charities want to send supplies and medicine they can do so but IT’S NOT THE U.S. TAX PAYERS RESPONSIBILTY TO STABLIZE THESE COUNTRY. MORE OVER IF SPREADING DEMOCRACY IS U.S. GOAL WELL LET THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT,AND YEMEN WIN THEIR OWN FREEDOM AND GOVERN THEMSELVES LIKE WE DID.
NO MORE WORLD POLICING WE’RE BROKE
Report Post »dizzyinthedark
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 9:59amAgree, besides, these people are muslims who believe we are the great satan and they continually show contempt for us, they were dancing in the streets on 9/11. They do not respect us, they bomb Christian churches. They do not want to live peacefully with us, but I’ll bet you they want us to help them in the near future!
Report Post »katzenbacker73
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 8:44amSomething extraordinary is going on around the world. It is not all coincidence. Time to be alert ladies and gentlemen!
Report Post »STUBBYK
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:23pmAgreed. They are choking off all the access routes for the transportation of oil to the west. If Saudi Arabia were to fall to these people we will be at their mercy. Even our South American neighbors are using oil to stick it to us. Brazil, with the help of G. Soros will soon follow suit. With the moritorium on drilling and oil production imposed on us by the present administration of our government, we could not avoid a total collapse of our economy if the tap was shut off. It would take years to become self sufficient if the moritorium was lifted. Here‘s hoping I’m wrong.
Report Post »awall1231
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 8:25amthe Devils army is gaining strength.
Report Post »tompaineknowsthescore
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 9:07ammay i be rash to presume by ‘devils army’ you mean these people are islamic militants this couldnt be further from the case their mostly oppressed middle and lower class people protesting high unemployment and a corrupt tyrannical regime. Yes Al-Qaeda is present in Yemen but in mostly remote areas. They’re there because of a lack on authority they do not have the support of the maj. of yemenis
Report Post »Hefsmaster
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 8:22amIt’s still safe here so long as you stay away from the airport and I-hop.
Report Post »chuck_wagon
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 9:32amOr Wendy’s.
Report Post »joeliberty
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 8:02amThis scares the U.S., not because of Al Queida but because it is a freedom movement beginning to spread around the globe. The last thing they want is for citizens of any nation to be empowered against government tyranny! Face it folks, we are living under a defacto dictatorship!
Report Post »tompaineknowsthescore
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 8:17amHow is that then? a defacto dictatorship? any proof?
Report Post »GeauxAlready
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:55amWhen they are all out in the street whooping and hollering, would that be the perfect time for a B-52 bombing run or what. I’m just saying…………….
Report Post »Galt wanna be
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:41amStep aside and let them inplode. We have enough problems of our own.
Report Post »1911a1
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:48amAmen !
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 9:23amTotally agree Galt.
Report Post »GEETAR
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 6:43pmi wonder if michelle obooty seen that fat kid in that picture. She could run yemen
Report Post »V-Forge
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:28amlet them learn what it really means to be oppressed. They toss out one dictator and install an entire system of dictators who want to use them as bombs. yep. they will be much happier.
Report Post »tweigel
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:26amThe new Afghanistan is ready to emerge. Already the country abounds with terrorist camps and it looks like the radicals will be taking over. Part of the problem is that the whole Islamic world is run by tyrants and the US ends up allying with them to combat terror. I would hope this would end up with some sort of democracy vs being run my militants.
Report Post »captaindana
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:20amit’s getting close
Report Post »1911a1
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:17amWhy should i care about Yemen? Mexico is a lot closer to me and far more dangerous , and our elected officials here to care enough to close the border . so long as it is just a peasants whom are directly effected , far as i am concerned Yemen can wallow with the PIGS ! ( excuse my non PC, but Frankly my dear , i dont give a damn)
Report Post »1911a1
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:19amexcuse the typos , batteris on the wirless K/b getting low .
Report Post »BeckIsNuts
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:25amWell. Glenn tells us that the world is spiraling out of control, so this must more proof then, right? Yellowstone is about to blow and some former Jewish guy who is a pal of Glenn’s says we are in the end times. Lots of dark clouds on the horizon. Where’s Joseph Smith and his golden plates when you need him?
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:45amIf a terrorist breeding country falls we should applaud. But knowing Obama we will have troops in there soon. Hope they burn the place to the ground first.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:51amThis seems the opposite of Egypt. Egypt has some serious tyranny going on, the kind you SHOULD revolt over if you have an ounce of humanity in you. Yemen seems…artificial. Few paved roads? For real? You can say that about any middle eastern country up until 20 years ago, and most of them are still pretty shoddy.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 8:10amWonder where Spooky Dude is and what he has to do with all this. Is he spreading the wealth to the protesters in Yemen?
Report Post »expatinontariocanada
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 8:11amWatch out for the vacuum to be filled by Al-Qaeda should things get worse here. Should tyrants go wherever they are, yes. But be careful for what you wish for…
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 8:59amOh, those peace loving Muslims are at it again.
I heard that one way the various groups are coordinating these protest is through Facebook and Twitter. See, all that bad Western influence?
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:27amYou should care about Yemen because it occupies a strategic position athwart the southern outlet of the Red Sea, and because it hosts a sizeable contingent of Al Qaeda.
Don’t get me wrong! You should also care about Mexico, especially if you live close to the border.
Report Post »My Sacred Honor
Posted on January 28, 2011 at 2:16amGHOST, i am surprised at your reply. You should know from reading this what their end game is. one contry falling to “protestors’ is one thing, 4 falling in two weeks and counting is another. The entire islamic world is falling to sharia law like dominos, and we here in America sit and say “ho, hum”.
Report Post »They won’t stop at Yemen or Egypt, but when the entirety of islamist nations fall, next will be europe then the United States.
Get your second amendment ready or get your blade-proof neck gear ready. This is only the start. Call me crazy now and wish for my advice later if you choose, but here we are.
BeckIsNuts
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 7:10amAnd I guess we’re supposed to think the end of the world is next?
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:36amSeems we are not the only country which is calling for term limits. 32 years as the main ruler, what could go wrong? reminds me of some of the dinosaurs we currently have in congress, after so many years they become so entrenched it’s almost impossible to get them out.
Report Post »TexasCommonSense
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:47amBeckIsNuts, draw your own conclusions. I suggest planning for the worst while hoping for the best. It’s kind of the like the Boy Scouts teaching “always be prepared”. It‘s obvious you don’t like Glenn. How do you feel about the Boy Scouts instead?
Report Post »donh2
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 6:01pmThe end of the world is very near. Time to take a can of Tuna fish out of the survival bunker and crack it open. Just taste it . Get used to the flavor .
Report Post »My Sacred Honor
Posted on January 28, 2011 at 2:09amBECKISNUTS, you are a fool, and i pray for your soul. I will repost what i posted earlier on onother thread for you.
Report Post »@NotaLemming
Thank you for posting that brutal and disgusting video of how the savages in Africa deal justice to dissentors. and to TOKI “how is this important to me”, well, buddy boy. After the quick topple of every “moderate’ islamic government falls in the next 4 months, next will come europe. Then America. And within one year, these sharia-ists will be rolling into your neighborhood and as an American and a part of your local township, you BETTER be armed as the second amendment prescribes, ready and willing to defend those you love, even if that is just yourself, against this kind of “islamic justice’. They WILL come into your home and you will be asked one question: “Do you believe in the prophet mohammed?” you say no, they will kill a member of your family. They will continue to ask until they put the blade to YOUR throat, and what will you do then?
My plan is simple. i will shoot and my family will shoot until either they are all dead or i run out of bullets. Then i will kill with my K-BAR until i am disarmed. And when they put that blade against my daughter’s neck, i will pray with her, smile in her eyes, and i will tell her “I will see you soon, lil darlin’” and i will pray with her. And i will weep. And i will look into my captor’s eyes with such hatred and promise of retrobution, and he will cut my head from my body. And i will meet mY Father and Maker, and i will be with all my family and spend eternity loving them.
THAT is my plan, from start to finish.
GONESURFING
Posted on January 28, 2011 at 4:52amThere is certainly a revolution going on in the Middle East, you could call it the Bush revolution, Sadam Hussain was the first dictator to go. This could go either way though, hope the Islamic radicals don’t fill the void, and there are more democratic governments instead. it is a powder keg and anything could happen. We live in very interesting times. The dominos are falling.
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