Houthis reject Yemen president proposals to quell protests

A senior Houthi leader in Yemen has strongly dismissed a series of proposals put forward by embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, a spokesman for Houthi leader Sheikh Sayyid Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, rejected the government move on Tuesday.

“We affirm that what was issued by the (government) committee is a position that represents it and we do not agree to it. Our position is still that we (stand) by the Yemeni people who have gone out in a blessed popular revolution to demand their legitimate and just rights,” Abdulsalam said in a statement on his Facebook page.
This comes hours after President Hadi dismissed Prime Minister Mohammed Salim Basindawa and his ministers in a bid to end an ongoing standoff with the Shia Houthi protesters. Hadi has also partially reversed an earlier decision to lift fuel subsidies.

Al-Houthi has recently called for civil disobedience and expansion of protest rallies against the government.

Houthis have been holding demonstrations since August 20 when they strengthened their positions in the Yemeni capital in an effort to press the government to quit.

They accuse the government of corruption and marginalizing the Shia community.

The Houthi movement played a key role in the popular revolution that forced former dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to step down in February 2012.