The speech of Amman Center for Human Rights Studies In the Opening Ceremony of the National Conference “The Yemen We Want”

Beirut-Lebanon, 18-19 Jan.2012

Your Excellency Mr. Saleem Al-Huss, The Conference Sponsorer.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Please allow me to thank the organizers of the conference, the Organization of Change for the defense of Rights and Liberties, for inviting us, The Amman Centre for Human Rights Studies to participate in the conference of this struggling elite of activists (130 participants), young men and women jurists, media people, politicians, academics, from different Yemen provinces, in this important national conference that will discuss the matter of the important question  “The Yemen we want ”.

It’s a great honor to me personally, and to all of us at Amman Center for Human Rights Studies to be the only human rights organization In the Arab world, invited to participate in your solidarity now, as we have been with you since the first day, when the young people of Yemen hurled down to the squares of revolution, change and reform in Sanaa, Taaz,Aden, Hudeidah, Saada and other towns and cities in Yemen. Here, I feel its my duty to praise the martyrs of the revolution, wishing the wounded a quick and full recovery.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As you already know, the Arab peoples have since a year and a half, started plotting a new road map for its present and future, after breaking the fear barrier, in hearts and minds, and in peaceful expression of its rights in freedom, dignity and getting rid of the slavery of the authoritarian and corrupt regimes. The people’s unrest started in Tunisia, when a Tunisian citizen, Albou-Azizi, sacrificed himself for the end of an era of tyranny and injustice and the start of an era of dignity, justice, equality and participation in the leadership of the country and the respect for human rights.

Tunisia was the first chapter in the making of the modern history of the Arab World, upon which the majority of the Arab countries started their quest for freedom, democracy,  and dignity. The ousted Arab rulers, attached to their thrones, were betting on poverty, marginalization and fear ,rooted in the Arab mind and his formation, have shown the Arab peoples as if they are not willing to change, running breathlessly behind the piece of bread. Those regimes have done their best to raise the young people in the Arab World to accept submission, false satisfaction and silence, except in that area allowed by the tyrant ruler, which is a very narrow area, all until the Tunisian people succeeded to oust the first Arab ruler from his chair, and the snow ball started rolling.

It started in Tunisia, and moved to Egypt, then to Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, and Syria, and then we witnessed the people’s movements in Jordan, Algiers, Palestine and Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Mauritania. The snow ball is getting bigger and bigger, opening the doors of hope to the Arab peoples, a hope for change that came in the right time. No one could predict the date for the explosion of the Arab revolutions, where the demands and the cheers are equal in the different Arab countries. The demands started with fighting poverty and unemployment, and the improvement of living standard. Then the ceiling was raised up to fighting corruption and the realization of social justice. At this point, the regimes and their security and intelligence agencies, together with their bullies and cronies, started suppressing the demonstrators by force, with many victims losing their lives. This lead to the wider demand of regime fall! The pollen of the Arab spring spread over to all uprising Arab countries, till the regime fall became the ultimate demand, and grabbing freedom and dignity, for peoples who decided to make its liberty by the peaceful people’s struggle.

Ladies and Gentlemen Revolutionaries

Yemen was from the first Arab countries who rebelled against the president, asking him to step down, and demanding to close the chapter of dictatorship and totalitarian regime, to close the inheritance chapter. A new era of democracy and people’s authority has started. The Yemeni people have sacrificed hundreds of martyrs from his youth on the altar of freedom and democracy. I find it difficult to express in words the greatness of the Yemeni people’s steadfastness.

The Yemeni people has surprised the whole world with his ability to withstand and hold to his legal national demands. During eleven months, the Yemeni people has generously given his country in blood and capital, and the sons of Yemen, women and men, have paid high prices. It is possible that the world media was not fair towards the Yemeni revolution like the other revolutions in the Arab world. The Yemeni revolution and its details were ignored for some time, as was the same with the revolution in Bahrain. The Yemeni revolution was the most important, and deserves all respect and esteem from us, especially when we know that there are arms in every home in Yemen. The Yemeni people never felt tired or thought to pull out of the streets, or give up his fair and just demands, and introduced an excellent and bright example of the peaceful demonstrations, in millions. A people  who decided to fight his corrupt authoritarian regime in astonishing peaceful challenge.

Some countries of the world, and some media centers, as well as some Arab regimes have made a conspiracy against the Yemeni people. They haven’t given him the right care and never listened to his demands. What we have noticed over the last eleven months by some Arab and Gulf regimes, is nothing but a trickery and turning around the demands of the Yemeni people. But this  great people has decided to shape his destiny, and draw the picture of the new, civil and democratic Yemen, the Yemen of freedom, justice and equality.

Ladies and Gentlemen

The Yemeni revolution has started on Feb. 11; 2011.It was the same day of the fall of the head of the regime in Egypt. The Yemeni youth was the leader of his revolution, as was the case in the Arab revolutions before and after him. The revolution started with the demands for reform and fighting corruption, then it was developed to the demand for the fall of the regime. The youth groups have given themselves the name “The youth revolution for the fall of the regime”. The protests in Yemen started with the demand for political and constitutional reform, the realization of democracy and the fall of the head of the regime, specially upon the indications that the son will inherit his father at the head of the state. This was accompanied by the bad economical and social situation, as well as the spreading of corruption, unemployment and poverty, and the trials to suppress the people’s protests in the south. All this added to the flame of the revolution.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As you all know, the civil and democratic state in Yemen could be attained through the foundation of the state of modern institutions, the creation of social justice and good governance, with equal citizenship and true sharing of authority and fortune, the respect of human rights and the rights of the women and her protection.

Finally……..

The greatest challenge that should be faced in the coming days, aside from the returns of the recent protests, lays in how to bring Yemen away from anarchy, violence and civil war. The Yemeni revolution will go through history, with its peaceful  approach, as the cleanest and purest revolution, made by a conscious people, very well aware of the values of freedom, dignity, justice, equality, good governance and sustainable development.

I hope that your important conference will successfully end up with a total national vision, with clear limits for a modern Yemen, the Yemen you want to see, with the unity of the efforts of all Yemenites, for the protection of the great revolution, and be able to find a mechanism for coexistence between all the parts of the political spectrum, specially within the youth of your hopeful Yemen.

I am certain of your ability in the democratic dialog, and your wisdom in agreeability on a common vision that shapes the civil and democratic Yemeni state. The  state that guarantees better life and promising future for the young people, men and women.

Once more I would like to thank you for inviting us to participate in your conference, hoping full success to your conference in the service of your great revolution and the building of a new Yemen.

God’s Mercy for the martyrs, and good recovery for the wounded and glory for the people of Yemen, the maker of the revolution.

Dr. Nizam Assaf

Directo of the Center

Beirut, 18/01/2012