Houthis Suppress Artists, Maintain Hate Culture

Arab World

February 13th, 7:49am

Aden - Mohammed Nasser

Houthi militants ride on the back of a patrol truck as they secure the site of a pro-Houthi tribal gathering in a rural area near Sanaa, Yemen July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Houthis do not allow any concerts, theater, and television series to be aired in areas under their control. Instead, they use billions of Yemeni riyals to recruit children and pay monthly salaries to the poor if they agree to join the battlefronts, a Yemeni actor said. The actor, who preferred not to be named because he still resides in Sanaa, said that artists, whether actors or performers are living under restrictions. The group demands a guarantee from production companies that they will not sell their series to any channel that opposes Houthis. Also, stations that broadcast from abroad are the only ones that buy locally produced series, while the Houthis produce their sectarian programs. Yemeni theater and artistic troupes have thrived since the mid-seventies. Yemeni actors and actresses became known among drama productions over the past few years. However, Houthi militias dealt a significant blow to the art performance, according to Amin, one of the few remaining producers. Amin confirmed that producing a 'Tarab' session with artists in militia-controlled areas could lead to punishment and imprisonment, as happened recently with the artist Youssef al-Badji. Badji was producing music sessions, but the Houthi militia raided his house and arrested him on charges of working with an opposing TV channel. About a week before this incident, Houthi militia raided a wedding hall in the Shamlan area, west of Sanaa, arrested the young artist, Aseel Ali, and imprisoned him for singing after ten o'clock at night. Famous artists Fouad al-Kibsi and Abdullah al-Saadi were arrested and banned from entering Hodeidah. The militias resorted to another form of repression. They started collecting signatures from residents in Hodeidah, Amran, Hajjah, and al-Mahwit, calling for a ban on singing at weddings. Similarly, public parties and graduation ceremonies in universities were banned in all Houthi areas. The militias' suppression of arts culminated in a circular issued by the Sanaa governor to the directors-general of the directorates and heads of local councils, ordering them to limit artists' performances at events and weddings and instead encourage Quranic awareness in the community. Similar notices were issued in Amran, Hodeidah, Hajjah, and al-Mahwit. The circular thus calls for preventing the public from bringing artists and performers to their private occasions. The militia increased its sectarian activities in schools, mosques, and the countryside to mobilize more fighters, especially teenagers. They also took advantage of poverty in the countryside in particular and offered families a monthly income and food basket for sending one of their sons to fight. Officials in the Yemeni Ministry of Culture said that many artists were forced to leave the militia-controlled areas and settle in some Arab capitals, where they perform at Yemeni weddings or participate in art festivals. The militias forced the so-called "Zawamil" sectarian war songs that glorify and call for fighting, and local radio stations and schools were obliged to broadcast them every day to help mobilize more fighters.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3472306/houthis-suppress-artists-maintain-hate-culture