It certainly looks like an "Arab Spring" was a bad idea for Yemen.
Yemen’s crisis reflects arc of Arab Spring revolts
SANAA: Yemen’s 2011 Arab Spring revolt began with a nucleus of young men and women, a mix of socialists, secularists and moderate Islamists. In the capital’s “Change Square,” they launched their sit-in protest, a dreamy and romantic movement seeking to end autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule and transform the poorest Arab nation into a democratic, modern society.
Nearly four years later, Yemen is in chaos. Shiite rebels have overrun the capital. Saleh is out of power, but remains powerful, with his loyalists infusing the political scene and the military. Al-Qaeda’s branch in the country is carrying out deadly attacks in Sanaa. Attempts at real reform are in disarray.
The activists behind the initial uprising look back at what went wrong, and many of them point to a series of errors – starting when the Muslim Brotherhood’s branch in the country, the Islah party, moved in and dominated the protest movement. That turned the revolt into a power struggle between Saleh and the powerful, conservative Islamists. Now the Shiite Houthi rebels who swept into Sanaa last month say they did so to break Islah’s hold.
Continue reading at:
Yemen s crisis reflects arc of Arab Spring revolts - Kuwait Times Kuwait Times?
Yemen’s crisis reflects arc of Arab Spring revolts
SANAA: Yemen’s 2011 Arab Spring revolt began with a nucleus of young men and women, a mix of socialists, secularists and moderate Islamists. In the capital’s “Change Square,” they launched their sit-in protest, a dreamy and romantic movement seeking to end autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule and transform the poorest Arab nation into a democratic, modern society.Nearly four years later, Yemen is in chaos. Shiite rebels have overrun the capital. Saleh is out of power, but remains powerful, with his loyalists infusing the political scene and the military. Al-Qaeda’s branch in the country is carrying out deadly attacks in Sanaa. Attempts at real reform are in disarray.
The activists behind the initial uprising look back at what went wrong, and many of them point to a series of errors – starting when the Muslim Brotherhood’s branch in the country, the Islah party, moved in and dominated the protest movement. That turned the revolt into a power struggle between Saleh and the powerful, conservative Islamists. Now the Shiite Houthi rebels who swept into Sanaa last month say they did so to break Islah’s hold.
Continue reading at:
Yemen s crisis reflects arc of Arab Spring revolts - Kuwait Times Kuwait Times?
