Houthis Honor Coup Anniversary, Overlook National ‘September 26 Revolution’

Houthis
Houthis
TT

Houthis Honor Coup Anniversary, Overlook National ‘September 26 Revolution’

Houthis
Houthis

Insurgency militias in Yemen overlooked celebrations commemorating the 55th anniversary of the ‘September 26 Revolution,’ which laid the foundations to the unified Yemen.

Celebrated first in 1962, Yemenis have over the decades dedicated a great deal of festivity and adoration for the day which resonates with their national identity. Iran-aligned Houthi militias scrapped away at the occasion, choosing that Yemenis living under their control would celebrate the ‘September 21 Revolution,’ the day marking militias storming in and taking over the capital Sana’a in 2014.

Yemenis celebrated "September 26 Revolution" amid tight restrictions imposed by coup militias, who have abolished all support to the republic system and turned it into a Tehran-inspired regime, the main supporter of the Houthi insurgents.

Yemeni Culture Minister Marwan Damaj says that post-coup events add up to “an extension to the counterrevolution going against the Republic and the (September 26 Revolution).”

“The Yemeni revolution has been subjected to multiple rising conspiracies since the sixties until this very moment, and the 2014 coup is only an expanded and clear model of this counter-revolution aimed at making the Yemenis’ struggles for decades to establish the state of law and order futile,” Damaj told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Yemenis will not give up their republic, which is a peaceful and tolerating regime, despite the different tools and method of governance available in the region-- it is the most appropriate for Yemen and the most suitable for its neighbors and poses no danger of any kind, contrary to what the coupists are eyeing,” said Damaj.

“Houthis are dangerous to Yemen and the region because they are supported by dangerous regional forces going against social peace in the region and the world,” explained Dammaj.

“The “26 September Revolution” in 1962 was targeted by wars, plots and inner treachery from day one— but the revolution did not stop at attempts to blur, distort and falsify its spirit,” he added.



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
TT

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.