The
last thing Saudi Arabia and its Western allies want is a
self-sustaining, economically viable, militarily strong, and
anti-imperialist Yemen at the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula,
controlling the Red Sea and its strategic waterways. Yemen’s
geographic placement in regards to the flow of world capital cannot
be stressed enough.
by
Randi Nord
Part
2 - Who and what stand in the way of peace
So, why
can’t Yemen achieve peace?
Western
media would have you believe that the grassroots resistance movement
of Ansarullah is causing the turmoil, blaming the very victims of war
to justify American support for what could arguably be described as a
Saudi-led genocide against Yemen. This tactic is very useful for
discrediting Ansarullah’s genuine grievances, pinning the blame for
failed peace talks, and distracting the public from Western-backed
Saudi and Emirati war crimes.
It
should come as no surprise that the same media remained silent when
the president of Ansarullah’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee,
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, submitted a six-point reconciliation plan to
the United Nations. Beyond that, more silence when the movement sent
a delegation to various European and Arab countries to bolster
diplomatic ties and spearhead a possible peace process.
To break
the media blackout and provide balanced coverage, MintPress News
spoke to Mohammed Ali al-Houthi about his movement’s experience
with previous peace talks, the recent reconciliation plan, how the
media portrays Ansarullah, and the international community’s
responsibility in creating this humanitarian catastrophe.
On the
initial aggression, al-Houthi had this to say: “The attack and
the aggression on Yemen was not born of the moment but was prepared
by previous plans. This was revealed by the former UN envoy, Jamal
Benomar, when he delivered a message to the leader of the revolution,
Mr. Abdulmalik Badruddin al-Houthi, which said that America and ten
other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative are ready
for armed intervention to confront us militarily if we did not stop
the revolution against the corrupt government.”
The Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative in 2011 set the stage for the
war that continues to this day. After intense protests and months of
back-and-forth negotiations, the late President Saleh finally agreed
to step down. Saleh met with members of the GCC and eventually signed
a transitional agreement after a series of backroom deals in Riyadh.
The agreement left Saleh conceding power to Hadi, who was vice
president at the time. Thirty days later, Hadi held a snap election
specially designed by Saudi Arabia to ensure his victory. Both
Ansarullah and Yemen’s Southern Movement called for election
boycotts.
Protests
and clashes continued in various parts of the country citing
corruption and high fuel prices. In September of 2014, this reached a
climax when members of the Ansarullah movement — along with
supporters of Saleh’s party, the General People’s Congress (GPC)
— gradually took control of the capital city. Hadi resigned in 2015
after Ansarullah and GPC supporters seized the presidential palace
and key government buildings.
After
attempting to set up an improvised capital in Aden, Hadi fled for
Riyadh where he currently resides. The coalition still names Hadi as
the “internationally recognized president” and has not stopped
attempting to force his governance — on paper, this is the war’s
entire purpose.
Shortly
after, Saudi Arabia launched its military coalition to reinstate
Hadi.
Three
years later and the war shows no sign of slowing down.
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