Tawakkol Karman - Yemen Quotes

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... we chose to march in the streets demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an end to his corrupt and failed regime and the establishment of a modern democratic state... Yemen is now facing a complete vacuum of authority; we are without a president or parliament. Mr. Saleh may be gone, but authority has not yet been transferred to a transitional presidential council endorsed by the people.

Tawakkol Karman
I came from Yemen, the country of civilization, the Yemen that was led by two women, and it was one of the greatest countries in the world. We were led by a dictatorship regime, a corrupted regime. This regime was founded in killing others... My country has a lot of poverty, from a lot of diseases, from ignorance. And these are some of the reasons that led us to lead this revolution.

Tawakkol Karman
In my capacity as a leader of the popular and youth revolution in Yemen, I reaffirm our adherence to the peaceful nature of our struggle until the end. At the same time, I ardently call upon the free people of the world to examine what is happening in my country and Syria especially, and to honour their responsibilities to confront rulers who do not hesitate to carry out the most heinous crimes against people who have the temerity to demand their natural rights to freedom and dignity.

Tawakkol Karman
In response to a question about drone strikes:
I'm sure that the new Yemen, the civilized Yemen and the democratic Yemen, it will be a Yemen without terrorism, without extremism. And we know that we're going to be the deepest path for democracy and for peace and international security.

Tawakkol Karman
If the US and Europe genuinely support the people, as they say, they must not betray our peaceful revolution. It is the expression of the democratic will of the overwhelming majority of the people of Yemen.

Tawakkol Karman
The Egyptian officers informed me that I would be denied entry, and I was soon deported back to Yemen on the same plane on which I had arrived. The authorities gave me no clear answer why: They said that I knew the reason for my deportation better than them, and that my name had been blacklisted based on the request of a security body.

Tawakkol Karman
Women should stop being or feeling that they are part of the problem and become part of the solution. We have been marginalized for a long time, and now is the time for women to stand up and become active without needing to ask for permission or acceptance. This is the only way we will give back to our society and allow for Yemen to reach the great potentials it has.

Tawakkol Karman
So what happens when the regime falls, as it must? We are in the first stage of change in our country, and the feeling among the revolutionaries is that the people of Yemen will find solutions for our problems once the regime has gone, because the regime itself is the cause of most of them. A new Yemen awaits us, with a better future for all.

Tawakkol Karman
The United States and Saudi Arabia... have instead used their influence to ensure that members of the old regime remain in power and the status quo is maintained. American counterterrorism agencies and the Saudi government have a firm grip on Yemen at the moment. It is they... that control the country.

Tawakkol Karman
We in Yemen are no less thirsty for freedom and dignity than our brothers and sisters in Tunis... It was feared that the revolution would descend into violence and distort the image of the other Arab uprisings. But the Yemeni revolution surprised everyone with its astonishingly peaceful nature... What is truly regrettable, though, is that the world has not shown the least interest in what the Saleh regime does with Yemen and its revolutionaries... We in Yemen look forward to a clear stand from the UN, world governments and civil society organisations in condemning the violence of Saleh's regime.

Tawakkol Karman
[The killing of Gaddafi] means a lot. That means dictatorships is going down and is done, and there are a lot of scenarios for the end of those dictators... In Yemen, we will have our own scenario. We will not go in the direction of violence.

Tawakkol Karman
Since the start of this revolution, we were able to get rid of a lot of the issues and the problems that this regime created.... We have the dream, and we have the ability. And we started to achieve a lot of our goals. And we will not stop here. We will build our country. And we're not only talking about Yemen here. I'm talking about every nation or every people that are looking toward freedom.

Tawakkol Karman
We also call upon our Saudi neighbors to let us pursue a democratic path.... In many cases, Yemeni tribal leaders and other prominent individuals have received far more generous aid payments from Riyadh than from the Yemeni government... Saudi interference in Yemen is also motivated by a fear that the Arab Spring... might soon reach Riyadh

Tawakkol Karman
The young people of this revolution have made their demands clear: authority must be handed over to a transitional presidential council approved by the people... Yemen's people have charted the course of revolution and we will follow this course to its end. We have left our authoritarian past behind. Now, we ask our friends in Washington and Riyadh to help us build a democratic future.

Tawakkol Karman
We were against oppression, and then we elevated our struggle to demand our rights. We will go against all the dictators, and not only Saleh in Yemen, so we can spread peace.

Tawakkol Karman
American intervention in Yemen is a product of the war on terror... Because American security was given priority over all other concerns, counterterrorism agencies paid no attention to the human rights abuses being committed by their local partners... Because America has invested so heavily in Yemen's security forces, it now seems that a transition to democracy will depend on whether Washington believes that investment will remain secure... Sadly, it seems likely that the United States will support figures from the old regime rather than allow a transitional government approved by the people to take control

Tawakkol Karman
The international community have to create pressure on Saleh. One, they have to establish an international commission so they can investigate the killing that is happening... Without that justice, and if they leave Saleh alone, there will be no security and peace, not only in Yemen and our region, but also around the world.

Tawakkol Karman
American policy makers must understand that the activists and young people who started Yemen's peaceful revolution deeply respect the United States and Western civilization... We call on American officials to engage with the leaders of Yemen's democracy movement and abandon their misplaced investment in the old regime's security apparatus

Tawakkol Karman