The Nobel Prize-winning human rights activist has participated in the Q BERLIN conference held in the International Congress Center (ICC) Berlin on September 15 and 16, 2022, at the invitation of Governing Mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey.

During the opening session of the Berlin International Conference, Tawakkol Karman delivered a speech in which she stressed that the European dilemma arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine is an opportune moment to work together towards transformations and structural changes that help to unite the world in the face of new fascisms and widespread wars and their resulting series of crises.

She pointed out that insisting on demonizing the Arab Spring is actually support for fascist Putinism and its oppressive battles of invasion in Ukraine, which thus prolongs the suffering of Europe.

Any global trend to restore respect for democracy, freedom and human rights will first have to give its word towards this part of the world, which is exposed to collective punishment and revenge wars because of its peaceful popular revolutions in 2011, she added.

In the context, she noted that Saudi Arabia and Iran's ambitions to share influence on the ruins of Yemeni cities are a fundamental reason for the continuation of the war in Yemen and the world’s largest human tragedy.  

“The truth is Saudi Arabia and the UAE have hijacked the title of Yemeni legitimacy from the very beginning and misused it to achieve their own goals of occupying the islands, taking control over resources, dividing it and imposing influence on its vital parts."

Karman continued to say that Yemen will not witness stability without the return of the Yemeni state, with full sovereignty over its land, a state with the ability to impose its authority and put an end to all forms of militias and to external parties greedy to share influence in Yemen.

“Yemen's unity, security and stability is the only guarantee for the stability of Yemen and its Gulf neighborhood. Any regional deals based on the sharing of influence and interests between external parties and their affiliated militias, namely Saudi Arabia and Iran in particular, do not concern us and will not succeed,” she said.

She stressed that the war will be brought to end with the return of Yemen, not with its dismemberment, and that the war will end with the return of the Republic of Yemen, which has full and comprehensive authority over all of the Yemeni territory, and not with the legalization of militias and the division of Yemen.

 “Yemen is not an emergency statelet, and will never succumb to external wars of fragmentation and starvation nor to internal militia driven by foreign agendas. There is no way to change the facts of history, and we will restore our country by virtue of our will, adherence to our just cause, our belonging to Yemen and our sacrifices.”

 Yemenis have no choice but to uphold the right to restore the Yemeni state in accordance with the three references, and to defeat sectarian and divisive projects, she emphasized, noting that the people in Yemen will not accept such a farce aimed at tearing Yemen apart between sectarian and separatist militias and their external backers, namely Saudi Arabia and Iran.

To listen and watch the speech, click here