Over 100,000 opposition followers took the streets in protest against the ruling party.
Protesters freely chanted slogans against the ruling party without the fear of being attacked or the occurrence of violence.
“It is not like Egypt, we protest peacefully and security forces are wise enough to understand that we are not here to cause problems, but rather to express our concerns for the better of the country,” said Socialist member Yahya Maqdashi.
Opposition Joint Meeting Parties official Zaid Al-Shami expressed his appreciation to the government’s wise decisions in dealing with protesters in a peaceful manner. “The protests that you saw was a sign to ruling party that we are willing to take matters to the street and nonstop. The government was very wise in dealing with protesters and security forces should be thanked,” said Al-Shami, who is the head of parliament bloc for the opposition Islah party.
Ruling party’s head of the media department, Tareq Al-Shami, expressed that the goal of the government is to keep protests safe. “Even though we felt that the opposition was trying to force us to use force against them, we did not do so. The protesters are Yemeni and are part of us,” said Al-Shami.
Egypt and Tunisia witnessed violent protests which led to the death of more than a dozen from both countries and the arrest of over 1000 protesters.
Yemenis own nearly 70 million arms pieces, which mean that if violent clashes erupt, the country could face catastrophic results.