GENEVA: Yemeni demonstrators were gathered outside the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva on Saturday to highlight the torture and killings of civilians, which they say have been carried out by the Houthi militia.
The protestors say there has also been a large number of people injured due to the indiscriminate use of weapons, while people’s houses, historic sites and educational institutions have been destroyed, and many families have been displaced.
They also say members of the press and have been oppressed, preventing them from enjoying a freedom of expression.
The protest by members of the International Yemeni Diaspora Federation and allied human rights organizations marked the anniversary of the Houthis’ coup.
On this day Houthi militia protested against the government’s decision to lift subsidies on oil derivatives.
The situation later escalated and erupted into clashes between the Houthis and the forces of Ali Abdullah Saleh, as well as the militias of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform and Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar.
More than 250 Yemenis, Arabs, Europeans, human rights activists and journalists demanded the condemnation of the crimes committed by the Houthis and the silence of the UN, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council.
The protesters also condemned the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths for his silence and for resorting to pampering as a means to deal with the Houthis who continue to kill, destroy and intimidate benefiting from the UN’s soft positions.
They also denounced the complacency of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Lisa Grande and her constant defense of the Houthis, calling on the International Community to help save Yemen from the militias.
Protesters handed out leaflets and called for the classification of the Houthi militia as a terrorist group as their ideology is similar to that of Daesh, Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah.
The Federation’s President, Dr. Hayaf Khalid Rabih demanded the issue be dealt with as a humanitarian one and not political.
He also asked the international community to act and exert pressure on the Houthis to hand over their weapons, disband the group of eminent experts and challenge the validity of their report.
Yemenis delivered speeches in Arabic, French and English expressing their frustration due to indifference and silence of the international community in the face of their people’s suffering.
They called on the Security Council and the Human Rights Council to adopt decisions condemning and criminalizing the Houthis and asked for all “peace-loving nations and people to stand up to the Iran-Backed militia.”
