January 25 marked a global day of action where over 300 organisations from 28 countries signed the call to action against the war on Yemen, which according to the organisers made this the biggest international anti-war co-ordination since the campaign against the Iraq war [1].

Even though, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the planned physical protests were postponed, many were able to go ahead across the US and other countries, and this global movement was not to be silenced [2]. One of the main highlights of the day was The World Says No to War on Yemen Global Online Rally, hosted by Stop the War UK, which was attended online by many thousands of people across the world, on many social media platforms and broadcast on one TV station across the Middle East to over a million viewers. The rally brought together a group of prominent voices from across the world to speak out against this utterly brutal war and call for its immediate end.

Demonstration in London in July 2020 against the war on Yemen

The Rally was chaired by Aisha Jumaan and Chris Nineham, and addressed by Ahmed Al-Babati (British-Yemeni Soldier), Dr Shireen Aladeimi, Apsana Begum MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, John Finucane MP (Sinn Féin), Lindsey German (Stop the War Coalition), Jehan Hakim (Yemeni Alliance Committee), Kate Hudson (CND), Rep Ro Khanna, Esa Mighty, Daniele Obono (French National Assembly Member), Yanis Varoufakis (MeRA25 Secretary-General), Dr Cornel West (Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and holding the title of Professor Emeritus at Princeton University).[3]

The shockingly under-reported war in Yemen has led to the death of 230,000 people and created the worst humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world according to the UN. They estimate that more than 24 million people in the country, which was already one of the poorest on the planet prior to the war, will need humanitarian assistance in 2021.

January 25, World Says No to War on Yemen The war is led by Saudi Arabia, with the involvement of the UAE, but it is backed by some key Western powers - the US, Britain, France, Spain, Italy and Canada. In particular, the US and Britain have maintained unquestioning support for Saudi Arabia since the war began and are both participants in the war.

This protest was timed to take place just days after the inauguration of Joe Biden, who has promised to end US backing for the war. The rally called on President Biden to make good on his promises to immediately overturn Trump's designation of who it sees is a terrorist organisation, to hold him to his word and force fellow governments to follow suit. Jeremy Corbyn MP, now an Independent, also spoke about the letter to the Prime Minister of Apsana Begum MP and the Early Motion he had lodged [4] signed by 10 MPs in Parliament on the day of action which "calls upon the Government to end all support for the war and suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia immediately".

The day of action has highlighted the condemnation of Britain for its continued intervention and its role in the Coalition which continues to create such death and devastation in Yemen. It is recognised as one of the worst humanitarian crises anywhere in the world, in which Britain has had a major role in creating. The day of action opposed Britain's continuing to supply weapons and hands-on military advisors to Saudi Arabia, weapons then used for the bombing of Yemen. It demonstrated once again that Britain urgently needs an anti-war government.

Notes
1. Joint Statement: World Says No to War on Yemen
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1-ez6c7NtVQLmsL1FeiDQ03zYf15u823FvPTL6Xh4MMxGeg/viewform?gxids=7628
2. The World Says No to War on Yemen Protests
https://www.stopwar.org.uk/world-says-no-to-war-on-yemen-protests/
3. A a video of the speakers and actions being called for can be accessed here:
https://www.stopwar.org.uk/world-says-no-to-war-on-yemen-25-jan-2021/
4. Yemeni human rights and Saudi arms sales
https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/58001

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