SANA'A: In the early hours of the morning, protesters were already gathering in “Change Square,” Sana'a's main rallying point for the Youth Revolutionary Movement. Erupted in February on the model posed by Tahrir in Egypt, Yemenis have built themselves an entire city within the city. With its own hospital, legal counsel house, restaurants, schools and a qat market, “Change Square” is very much self-sufficient, further proof that protesters are not daunted by the idea of waiting it out. Unlike any other movement, Yemen's revolutionaries have successfully managed so far to remain peaceful, proving the international community that a nation which owns a ratio of three weapons per inhabitant knows how to exert restraint in difficult times. What many viewed only a year ago as the most belligerent nation of the Arabian Peninsula and maybe the most disorderly has proven to be a model for peaceful revolutions. As further demonstrations are ongoing nationwide, protesters are expectantly waiting for some news of the Opposition as rumors are spreading that the JMP envoy has delayed its trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Tuesday as new developments are unfolding. And since the government announced today that a deal could be signed within days, some are already translating the reports as an imminent signature. However since such news led to nothing but disappointment in the past, Yemenis are simply holding their breath waiting to see if the country will be able to eventually venture onto the road of recovery and national reconciliation. Amid this new hope, news in Taiz remained bleak as reports of yet another night of shelling came through. Residents in Yemen's second largest city reported that al-Islah headquarter was under heavy attack from the government forces for most of the night with sporadic gun fighting. Gruesome videos made their way onto the Internet, showing the burned bodies of several men, victims of the government's shelling campaign. BM
