Posted by: John Phoenix
Members of the Yemeni Liberation Movement rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial calling for an end to the blockade of Yemen, which has caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, on April 3, 2021. (STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI)
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, June/July 2021, p. 61
Waging Peace
Calling on President Joe Biden to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led blockade on Yemen, members of the Yemeni Liberation Movement held a rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial on April 3, as tourists descended on the National Mall to view the iconic cherry blossoms.
Members of the group traveled from their base in Detroit to stage a hunger strike in front of Washington, DC’s Ellipse between March 29 and April 5.
The blockade of Yemen began in 2015 with the positioning of warships at the north Yemeni port of Hodeidah, creating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The blockade has led to widespread starvation in the country of 29 million. Today, nearly six million Yemenis face life-threatening food insecurity and deadly malnutrition.
According to UNICEF, 400,000 Yemeni children could die of starvation this year if critical aid does not enter the country. Thirty percent of children under the age of five are suffering from severe malnutrition.
The Biden administration, while declaring its intentions to increase diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, has not yet achieved that important goal. In February, the president said he would end “all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales,” but critics note he has yet to take concrete action.
—Elaine Pasquini
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