Opposition leader calls for refining Yemeni revolution from ‘terrorist Taliban culture’

Opposition leader calls for refining Yemeni revolution from ‘terrorist Taliban culture’

By Nasser Arrabyee/23/04/2011

A Yemeni opposition leader called Saturday for refining the peaceful revolution from the ‘terrorist culture of Taliban’.

Dr. Mohammed Abdul Malik Al Mutawakil, former chairman of the Islamist-led opposition coalition asked the opposition leaders especially the Islamists to stop beating up women who march with men.

He also asked them to apologize for the women who were beaten up by extremists for just marching with men last week.

Al Mutawakil said he would boycott all meetings of the opposition until the leaders publicly apologize for the liberal women, and stop such a barbaric behavior.

A total of 18 women and men (11 women and 7 men) were beaten up and arrested for hours by extremist Islamists for marching together in an anti-Saleh protest on April 16th,2011.

“This reckless and repeated behavior has become dominant culture, and would affect on our future, and would realize the local and international fears of Taliban’s rule ,” said Al Mutawakil in an official letter addressed to the leaders of the Islamist-led opposition coalition which includes Islamists, Socialists, and Nasserites (Arab pan nationalists).

“The President Saleh orally criticized men and women for marching together, but the colleagues of the revolution of change and freedom beat them up with the shoes and ends of the guns and threw them down,” said Al Mutawakil, who is the secretary general of the opposition party, Federation of Popular forces, a small Islamic (Zaidi-Shiite) party in the opposition coalition.

“I would not attend your meetings unless you take a serious and decisive step, otherwise we’ll all lose credibility of the freedom, democracy, and respect of human rights that we want to achieve, then we’ll lose respect of ourselves,” said Al Mutawakil who described himself in the letter as: Vice Chairman of the Yemeni Organization for Human Rights, Chairman of the Al Jazeerah Centre for Studies of Human Rights, and Professor of Liberties and Human Rights at Sana’a University.

The 18 women and men who include famous female activists like Arwa Othman, Huda Al Attas, Jamila Ali Raja, Elham Al Kebsi, and Sara Jamal, published a joint statement to media and general prosecutor demanding prosecution of the perpetrators.

The liberal men and women vowed to sue the perpetrators and to continue marching and protesting the way they like until the revolution of freedom , democracy, and human rights is successful.