Canada wants peaceful demos in Yemen

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon has called on Yemen to respond peacefully to the anti-government protests in the country, triggered by the recent Tunisian revolution.

“We urge the government to ensure full freedom of political expression for Yemenis,” Cannon said through a statement issued on Thursday.

“Canada calls for all parties to remain calm, and continue to respect freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We urge all parties to refrain from using violence and the Yemeni authorities to respond to these protests peacefully,” AFP quoted the statement as saying.

On Thursday, thousands of Yemeni protesters took to the streets of the capital city Sanaa and several other cities, calling for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978.

The protest came a day after a 28-year-old man set fire to himself in the southern city of Aden. The move triggered 4 other copycat self-immolation attempts in Yemen.

Anti-government demonstrations have been ongoing in recent days, following the revolution in Tunisia, which ended more than two decades of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s ruling, sending shockwaves across Arab and North African nations.