Why is the Houthi militia afraid of holding popular celebrations on the anniversary of the glorious September 26 Revolution?

Since the dawn of September 1st, the terrorist Houthi militia has been living in a state of hysterical panic and early defeat in the face of the courage of the masses who have grown up with fear, and tested the measure of their courage on the anniversary of the revolution last year, and took to the streets in the thousands, rejoicing on the day of the declaration of the birth of the republic and the decline of the Imamate and priesthood system, and they look forward to repeating the same on the 62nd anniversary of the revolution, which will fall next Thursday.

The Houthi panic over September and any connection to it was reflected on the ground in frenzied kidnapping campaigns that targeted dozens of activists, media professionals and politicians who welcomed the month with early celebrations on their social media pages, or those who expressed their intention to celebrate the great national occasion.

The Houthi militia did not stop at the kidnapping campaigns that increase in frequency as we approach the revolution day, but rather went beyond that to terrorizing dozens of activists and summoning them through security and prosecution offices, and issuing directives to schools, universities, institutes and institutions to prevent any celebratory event for the occasion. It also approved a long-term plan for its celebrations of the anniversary of the September 21 coup, extending until the 28th of the month, which was understood as an attempt to obscure the memory of the glorious September 26 revolution and criminalize those who celebrate it.

Widespread kidnappings

During the past three days, the Houthi militia launched a broad campaign targeting academics, activists, media professionals, sheikhs, and leaders of the General People's Congress Party in the capital, Sana'a (north), and Ibb (center), in an attempt to suppress and terrorize the population from making any arrangements to organize popular events on the anniversary of the revolution.

Local sources told Yemen Youth Net that the Houthi militia had kidnapped dozens of people, including party leaders and tribal dignitaries, over the past two days.

According to the sources, the militia targeted anyone who called for or expressed his joy over the glorious September 26 Revolution, which it is hostile to.

The sources indicated that other kidnapping campaigns targeted others in a number of governorates under the control of the militia, including Dhamar, Al Bayda, and areas under its control in Taiz, without the names of the victims being released to the media.

Houthi fear of Ibb

The Houthi state of fear and panic, and the accompanying suppression operations, were more evident in Ibb Governorate since the first day of this month, where the Houthi militia launched a kidnapping campaign that targeted dozens of activists and educators in the governorate center, Al-Saddah District, and other cities.

According to sources from Yemen Youth Net, the Houthi militia has kidnapped about 40 people since the beginning of the month. It has also contacted media professionals and activists, summoned others to police stations and prosecution offices, and threatened them with imprisonment if they participate in activities celebrating the revolution anniversary.

The sources added that the Houthi militia brought in special forces from Sana'a and Dhamar a few days ago and created checkpoints that appear and disappear from time to time in some streets of Ibb city, as part of its fear of any popular demonstration on the anniversary of the revolution, and to try to terrorize citizens.

The militia had opened the month of September by holding a meeting with the principals of girls’ schools in the city of Ibb, and directed them not to hold any revolutionary activities in the schools. The same directives were directed to universities, institutes and institutions.

Activist Ahmed Hazaa believes that the frenzied campaigns carried out by the militia in Ibb come within the framework of its fears of the outbreak of widespread protests in the governorate, which witnessed, on the eve of the anniversary of the revolution last year, widespread demonstrations that lasted for two days, preceded by anti-Houthi activities, the most prominent of which was the funeral of the martyr Al-Makhal.

He added in an interview with "Yemeni Youth Net", the Houthi militia fears Ibb, where a volcano of anger is hiding in the souls of the people, about to explode into a revolution that will spare no one.

He continued: The militia is targeting Ibb and its revolutionary symbolism in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flame of revolution in the souls of the people. That is why we see it today targeting the city of Al-Saddah, the birthplace of the martyr Ali Abdul-Mughni, and kidnapping dozens of the elite of society and its activists in an attempt to terrorize the people from holding the revolutionary event that they are accustomed to holding every year, or at least holding a lackluster event held under its eyes.

"Hazza" pointed out that the militia is ready to continue the state of repression to the end, urging the people of the province to be more careful and not to engage in any clashes or friction with the militia, while reserving their right to celebrate the occasion in all possible festive ways.

Why are Houthis afraid to celebrate September?

“The Houthi militia fears celebrating the anniversary of the revolution because it represents a celebration of the day that toppled the defunct priestly Imamate rule in the north of the country, and ended centuries of tyranny, priesthood, racism, backwardness, poverty, ignorance and disease, and became a symbol of freedom and social justice. Commemorating it is an affirmation of the rejection of the return to Imamate rule and a rejection of the coup of the Houthi militia, which is a political, intellectual, historical and lineage extension of the hateful Imamate,” as confirmed by the Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Eryani.

“Celebrating the September 26 anniversary symbolizes the values of the state and the republican values that conflict with the Houthi project that seeks to return the imamate and its darkness and arrogance, and impose a sectarian system based on the guardianship of the jurist and the sanctification of Iranian religious symbols. Therefore, the militia is trying to suppress these celebrations, because it sees the revolution as a threat to its project that seeks to restore the imamate style of rule with a new facade, and to avoid stirring up oppositional feelings and republican tendencies among our Yemeni people,” he added in a statement on the X platform.

Al-Eryani continued that celebrating the September 26 Revolution has political, cultural, economic and social implications, in addition to the political aspect, that are completely at odds with the Houthi militia. On the cultural level, the Houthi militia seeks to impose a cultural identity that is consistent with its ideology, including promoting loyalty to the Imamate and the Supreme Leader in Iran, while September 26 represents a symbol of the Yemeni Arab national culture and liberation from the priestly Imamate rule. The Houthi militia also seeks to change educational curricula to erase the memory of the revolution and direct new generations towards accepting its extremist ideology. Celebrating the revolution reminds people of their history and national cultural identity.

On the economic level, Minister Al-Eryani points out that celebrating the anniversary of September 26 reminds us of the right to fair distribution of resources and economic development, away from the sectarian monopoly and corruption practiced by the Houthi militia.

On the social level, September 26 symbolizes national unity and popular solidarity against injustice and tyranny, and celebrating it undermines the efforts of the Houthi militia to divide society on sectarian and religious grounds, Minister Al-Eryani confirms.

Revolution is a weapon of confrontation

Journalist and political analyst Salman Al-Maqrami believes that the Houthis fear celebrating the anniversary of the glorious September 26 Revolution because the Houthi militia is the political, economic, cultural, moral and social opposite of the revolution.

He added in an interview with "Yemeni Youth Net" that the September Revolution is the incentive for the people to confront the Houthis, as the popular confidence in the republic and Yemen is the weapon that must be brandished in the face of the Hashemite dynasty and the Imamate priestly rule, as the Yemenis did in previous centuries and decades.

Al-Maqrami stressed that the masses will overcome all the Houthi repressive measures and will celebrate their revolution as it should, because they have successful experiences in revolting against the Houthis, citing the popular demonstrations witnessed by the governorates of Ibb, Sana’a and Hodeidah on the anniversary of the revolution last year, in addition to the protest and anti-Houthi activities that emerged remarkably in the governorate of Ibb in particular, the most prominent of which was the one that took place at the funeral of the martyr Al-Makhal.

He continued: Al-Houthi will continue the repression until the end, but he will fail in confronting the masses, because he no longer has awe in the hearts of the people who have broken all barriers of fear and have become more daring to confront.