SANA’A, Jan. 16 — Many leading politicians, officials, citizens and students joined the 15th of January Movement and the Revolutionary Youth Committee at Sana’a University on Tuesday to celebrate the first protest in Yemen that marked the beginning of the 2011 revolution..  

 On this day in 2011 university students gathered to show support for the Tunisian people who had removed Tunisian President Zain Al-Abedin bin Ali from power.  This is considered  the first protest of Yemen’s version of the Arab Spring

Hisham Al-Zyadi, a member of the 15th of January Movement, said the ceremony was held to celebrate the youth’s peaceful revolution.

He added that the movement now  focuses on initiatives that warn people of the “half-hearted” policies of the National Dialogue Conference‘s (NDC) Technical Committee that he says have neglected the youth.   

He asserted the importance of ensuring the revolutionary youth are represented in the NDC. He also said that the Dialogue Committee should be transparent in all the procedures it goes through.

Fuad Al-Hudaifi, a member of the Revolutionary Youth Committee, said Jan. 15, is one the most important national occasions.

“We took part in the revolution for the sake of Yemen to realize the dreams of the youth and make those in exiles come back,” he said.  

Al-Hudaifi also took issue with the youth’s representation  in the NDC.  

Hashim Al-Abara, a revolutionary youth, said the revolution is still going on even though it broke out two years ago. He added that the youth were the driving force of the revolution nationwide and that they remain enthusiastic.

Many steps have been realized on the way to substantial political change, but there are numerous goals that the youth want to accomplish in order to pave the way for a civil state and good future governance, Al-Abara said.