Yemen marks the 2nd anniversary of what's known as, Massacre of the Cabinet, today. On May 11, 2011 - anti-government peaceful protesters rallied in Sana'a towards Yemen's cabinet and were attacked by security forces who used live ammunition, killing at least 12 people and wounding 200. In Taiz, on the same day, there was another rally towards polices offices and that ended up by the security forces' crackdown, killing 3 people and wounding dozens. One protester was killed in Hodeidah city as well.
The following two clips are dated from that day, in Sana'a:
This one shows the moment one young man was shot, in Taiz:
Yemen has marked several anniversaries of different massacres throughout the past two years, of the atrocities committed by the security forces during the uprising in 2011. Till today, there has been no trail or lawful case against officials believed to be responsible of those atrocities. Justice has never been served for those peaceful victims killed during the protesters.
Yemen's general attorney has attempted several times to file cases on that matter but obstacles always lay ahead. Human Rights Watch has raised this issue many times and their latest news say, "Yemen's court orders to investigate former president Ali Abduallah Saleh and 11 aides in connection with a March 2011 massacre."
Anniversaries are a great opportunity to remember events and reflect on them - and raise questions. "For Yemen, the value of those anniversaries are to reflect on if our demands have been achieved or not. Those demands that young peaceful protesters sacrificed their bodies and souls for," tells me Hafez Albukari, president of Yemen Polling Center in Sana'a. "Having said that, it's frustrating to realize that those demands have not been achieved yet. In fact, they were achieved only for the interest of certain groups in Yemen, not for the whole nation's interest. Overall, anniversaries are important to remind ourselves and ask about the unserved justice!"
