10 Killed in Yemen Protests Over Fuel Price Hikes
On Tuesday, the government raised the prices of oil derivatives by up to 260 percent as part of a restructuring program agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1995.
The Cabinet decided to raise the price of petrol by 90 percent to 1,300 rials ($6.75) per gallon and diesel by 260 percent to 900 rials ($4.68) a gallon. Kerosene prices shot up by 250 percent to 900 rials per gallon and cooking gas by 100 percent to 400 rials ($2) per cylinder. The price hikes came into effect at midnight Tuesday.
Government officials said Tuesdayâs subsidy cut has been delayed from 2002. âWhat kind of reforms are these that make us more poor?â asked one protester in the Attahrir Square in downtown Sanaa.
âIs this how they reward us for giving them our votes in the elections?â he asked.
A fair question… similar questions being asked in many developing countries as demand continues to grow, keeping prices high.