Al-Ahrar Organization
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Al-Ahrar Organization تنظيم الاحرار | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Abduh Bishr |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Split from | General People's Congress |
| Ideology | Social democracy Anti-austerity Anti-authoritarianism Anti-Americanism |
| Political position | Center-left |
| Colours | Red |
| House of Representatives | 12 / 301 (2011) |
The Al-Ahrar Organization (Arabic: تنظيم الاحرار, Tanẓīm al-Aḥrār), literally meaning Organization of the Free, is a center-left political party in Yemen. It was founded as a parliamentary block in early 2011 in reaction to the repression and deadly violence against the protesters of the Yemeni Revolution by the government. Initially, it consisted of 12 parliamentarians under the leadership of the politician Abduh Bishr, who had decided to leave the governing General People's Congress in protest.[1] Its Facebook page was set up on 1 May 2011.[2] In 2015, the party denounced the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen, calling it an act of aggression.[3] During some time between 2015 and 2019, party leader Bishr was member of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee and Minister of Industry and Trade of the Houthi government[4]
In an interview in December 2012, party leader Bishr stated that he believes that the real revolution is yet to come and that he will be the first to join it in the streets. In the same interview, he also criticized what he called an "American occupation" of the country, as well as the inaction from the parliament in the political crisis. Furthermore, he criticized corruption in the government and the refusal of the government to pay compensations to the ones killed or wounded during the revolution.[5] In August 2018, the party called for peaceful demonstrations against the continuation of the unjust war and the deterioration of living conditions, evident in phenomenons like rising prices for food and fuel or the failure to pay salaries.[6]
