30,000 Yemenis Protest US Strikes against Afghanistan INVINCIBLE PUBLIC ANGER [Archives:2001/43/Front Page]
October 22 2001
Led by prominent religious and tribal figures, the peaceful protest called for opening the way for Islamic jihad against “Crusade Forces” and chanted slogans such as:
– Death to America and Israel
– Open the way for jihad
– America, the sponsor of terrorism
– Plus other slogans that expressed the greatest of anger and outrage towards the attacks against Afghanistan. The protesters were particularly angered by of the increasing casualties in Afghanistan and by the USA’s double standard in dealing with the Middle East crisis.
The protesters started to arrive at the Amran governorate’s building after 9:00 am, where a number of political figures gave strong speeches condemning the US-led attacks against the Taliban and called for a strong and united stand against them. They also stressed that the Palestinian sufferings and Israeli atrocities against Palestinians are due to the double standard strategy adopted by the USA. The first to give a speech in this respect was Member of Parliament, Sheikh Hussein Abdullah Al-Ahmar, followed by Sheikh and Religious Scholar Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Wazir, who is also a prominent religious leader known for his opposition to the USA.
The number of protesters continued to grow until the afternoon. Despite the fact that many of these protesters carried weapons, no violence was reported. Security measures were taken and armed forces were present to make sure no violence erupted.
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