NYN | News
Against the backdrop of a historic occasion commemorated annually, Ansar Allah leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi delivered sharp positions and direct messages, turning the anniversary of Evacuation Day into a platform for dissecting the colonial past and linking its events to the ongoing, shape-shifting regional conflict.
In his address, al-Houthi extended congratulations to the Yemeni people on this anniversary marking the departure of the last British soldier from Aden after an occupation that lasted nearly 128 years. He described that period as one of “the harshest phases in human history,” citing widespread crimes, killings, famine, and the spread of diseases committed by Britain in Yemen and across many parts of the Islamic world.
He noted that the length of that era was not due solely to the power of the occupier, but also because “traitors from within the country,” as he put it, facilitated Britain’s control and provided services that enabled the recruitment of thousands and allowed it to impose its influence at minimal cost.
Looking beyond the end of British colonial rule, al-Houthi argued that the Western system engineered the post-occupation phase through local regimes and sectarian and cultural forces, with the aim of keeping the region under control, preventing any Islamic renaissance or unity, and ultimately controlling education and media to keep societies “tamed and subdued,” in his words.
He drew a connection between the old colonial project and what he described as “empowering Zionism to occupy Palestine as the first step toward Greater Israel,” affirming that the West worked to make the Israeli enemy its agent in the region and that the United States inherited the British role in sponsoring this direction.
Al-Houthi said the current aggression against Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen is a direct extension of that policy, highlighting what he called the exposure of the “Western-Zionist system” through crimes committed over the past two years against Palestinians and its actions in Lebanon and Syria.
He stated that the Israeli enemy, with American and British support, seeks to expel Palestinians from Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, and to seize large parts of Lebanon and Syria up to the outskirts of Damascus—saying this is part of a broader plan known as “reshaping the Middle East.”
Regarding Yemen’s position, al-Houthi stressed that the Yemeni people have taken a leading role on the global stage through their steadfastness and resistance to American, British, and Israeli aggression. He affirmed the continuation of military preparations, security achievements, and public mobilizations that reflect, in his view, a state of “alertness and readiness.”
He called on the Yemeni people to participate in a massive, two-million-strong rally in Al-Sabeen Square on Sunday afternoon, asserting that such a turnout would send a clear message to the world about Yemen’s unwavering stance, its ongoing support for the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, and its confidence in “God’s promise of the disappearance of the temporary Zionist entity.”
