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October 11, 2011 Special Dispatch No. 4198

Yemeni Nobel Prize Laureate Tawakkol Karman: Ali Abdallah Saleh Should Turn Himself in at the Nearest Police Station

October 11, 2011
Yemen | Special Dispatch No. 4198

Following are excerpts from statements by Yemeni Nobel Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman, which aired on various Arab channels on October 8, 2011:




Al-Arabiya TV

Tawakkol Karman: "This prize is the first step towards bringing Ali Abdallah Saleh and his gang to justice. This is a real triumph for the Yemeni revolution. I am certain that the international community will make a clear stand against the impudence of the deposed Ali Abdallah Saleh, and his regime. Now we will see his bank accounts revealed. We will see the international community pursue him so he is brought before the ICC. This is the fate of tyrants. Nothing speaks louder than the voice of truth, the voice of peace. Ali Abdallah Saleh was the number one terrorist, and he should be put in prison, along with his entire gang." [...]

Al-Arabiya TV

"We expect to remain in the city squares for as long as we can, not only in order to topple the regime. We expect the regime to fall very soon. But we will remain in the city squares until we guarantee the establishment of the modern, democratic civil state we dream of. We will not leave the city squares as soon as the regime falls. We will remain here until we guarantee the constitutional changes that will ensure the democratic civil state we dream of. [...]

"For 33 years, this ruler has been sustaining his survival on the throne with conflicts, wars, blood, strife, corruption, and so on. [...]

"We are striving to establish an interim presidential council, which will accept the rule from this deposed ruler and his regime. In addition, we are striving to establish an interim national council, which will oversee the dialogue between all the political powers, all the regional forces, and all the forces in society, in order to resolve the country's various problems, and in order to achieve a clear national agenda, which will realize our higher goal of establishing a modern civil state. Dialogue is the only solution. [...]

"There is a legitimate concern, which exists in any revolution. In any revolution in the world, people ask: What's next? But the Tunisian revolution solved this: Don't think about what's next. If we had thought what's next, we wouldn't have waged this revolution. If the people of Tunisia had thought what's next, they would not have waged their revolution, and the same goes for the people of Egypt, Libya, and even Yemen. What's next? We know that our future will be better without this regime." [...]

Al-Jazeera Network

"The only thing I am willing to accept from the deposed president, Ali Abdallah Saleh, is for him to turn himself in at the nearest police station. He must turn himself in, and apologize for the blood he has shed, and for the money he has plundered. He must apologize before the Yemeni people, and restore all the money he has plundered over the past 33 years. This is the only thing acceptable from Ali Abdallah Saleh and his family, before the masses march – peacefully – in order to arrest him. Anything else is unacceptable." [...]

The Internet

"With regard to religious minorities, we would like to emphasize the necessity for Yemen's Jewish citizens to enjoy the same full political rights as others, including the right to run for parliament, municipal councils, and the presidency. [...]

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