Following are excerpts from an interview with Yemeni tribal chieftain Sadeq bin Abdallah Al-Ahmar, leader of the Yemeni opposition. The interview aired on Al-Jazeera Network on June 17, 2011:
Interviewer: "You declared that you would join and defend this revolution, in order to [reform] the country…"
Sadeq bin Abdallah Al-Ahmar: "Yes, it was out of conviction."
Interviewer: "We are talking about a full-fledged civil state?"
Sadeq bin Abdhallah Al-Ahmar: "Yes, and the law will apply to all."
Interviewer: "Including yourself?"
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Sadeq bin Abdallah Al-Ahmar: "Including myself and people more important than me. Is [the regime] ready for that?"
Interviewer: "And all the Yemeni tribes will abide by this?"
Sadeq bin Abdallah Al-Ahmar: "Allah willing. The people want to live, to taste freedom and culture, and to have a pleasant life."
[…]
"I call upon all the tribes of Yemen and all the Yemeni people to join the revolution – the revolution of the youth, the revolution of change. We have had enough of the military [rule]. We want to live as equal citizens, and to be equal in the eyes of the law."
[…]
Interviewer: "What will happen if Ali Abdallah Saleh returns?"
Sadeq bin Abdallah Al-Ahmar: "What could possibly happen?! You saw what happened on Wednesday, when they falsely claimed that he was healthy and was coming back. They set Sanaa and the other cities of Yemen ablaze, firing millions of bullets into the air to raise their morale, and claiming that the president was fine. I wish Ali Abdallah Saleh all the best, but all his lies and propaganda are not necessary. When the sun rises, it never goes back. The sun has risen."
Interviewer: "Do you believe that the sun of the revolution has risen?"
Sadeq bin Abdallah Al-Ahmar: "Yes, this is Allah's doing."
Interviewer: "And there is no way back?"
Sadeq bin Abdallah Al-Ahmar: "This is Allah's doing, I'm telling you. How is it that despite all the protection Ali Abdallah Saleh and his children had, the [missiles] reached him at the mosque? The sun was made to rise by Allah, not by any human."
[…]
"Ali Abdallah Saleh is a second Satan. He managed to con America with tales of terrorism. He managed to con Saudi Arabia in a similar way. He used the bogeyman of terrorism against the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, and with Saudi Arabia, he used an additional bogeyman – that of the Houthis. That's how he managed to fool them both." […]
