Yemen, a Tribute to the Demise of
Global Governing Bodies, International Law and
Universal Rights & Public Policy
Public lecture RL Vol XII No 335 MMXVIII
Costantinos
Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD
President,
Lem Ethiopia: Environment Development Society
Abstract
Yemen was for centuries the
centre of civilisation and wealth on the Arabian Peninsula. The Romans referred
to the area as Arabia Felix, or Happy Arabia. Its once fertile plains were
irrigated with the aid of the great Ma'rib Dam built around 700 B.C. by the
biblical Sheba and chronicles speak of the land as Frankincense country, whose
cities brimmed with all sorts of goods and provided the major link between the
Mediterranean world and the fabled Indian ports. Nevertheless, there are views
that some inaccurately speculate that the conflict in Yemen is mostly the
result of a proxy geopolitical war between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the broader
Middle East. However, Iran’s role and influence in the conflict have been
greatly exaggerated. The Houthis have been around for some time, and to their
credit, they tried a number of non-violent approaches to former governments for
years, in an attempt to end discrimination against their community. Eventually
they were compelled to resort to violence where the Yemeni government, already
under al Qaeda siege, was an easy target”. A military intervention was launched
by Saudi Arabia in 2015, leading a coalition of nine African and Middle East
countries, to influence the outcome of the Yemeni Civil War in favour of the
government of President Hadi. Today, a military
alliance battling Houthi rebels negotiated secret deals and recruited al-Qaeda
fighters. There is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and
great big famine and cholera engulfing the country.
Jamal Khashoggi’s murder could
have major repercussions for Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, MbS and for the
entire kingdom (Wright, 2018).
A
solution in Yemen’s two and-a-half year-old civil war will likely come through
military rather than political means, the country’s Saudi-backed president
said, blaming the Iran-backed Al Houthis of obstructing chances of peace, but
Egypt was humiliated and bankrupted in the sixties in its Yemen intervention. Hence,
others say it is necessary to initiate an immediate ceasefire with the help of
the international community, and start the peace negotiations in a multilateral
context in order to establish an inclusive government in the war-torn country. On
the other side, the Houthis argue that a negotiated settlement should begin
with the formation of a national reconciliation government that includes the
Houthis and those aligned with Hadi that would oversee military disengagement
and the rebuilding of a single national military under its command. Peace would
begin with a political settlement and then proceed to military
disengagement. After the Saudi-led
coalition declared the entire Saada Governorate a military target, the UN and Human
Rights Watch said that air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition on Saada city in
Yemen were in breach of international law. On 1 July 2015 UN declared a level-three emergency – the highest UN
emergency level – for a period of six months. Yemen is now a tribute to a 21st
century catastrophe of international law, public policy and global governance
institutions. To reduce this action to some sadistic aim is too simplistic;
there is a sense of frustration in the Gulf and the West seems to be tending to its vexation with oxygen
that is fuelling the inferno. It is morally wrong, but morality is an alien
concept in Arab polity and indeed, in any of the systems that claim the moral
high ground to change it.
Key words: Yemen, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Houthis, Hadi, Saleh, famine,
cholera, international law,
See lecture
here or https://www.academia.edu/37687180/Yemen_a_Tribute_to_the_Demise_of_Global_Governing_Bodies_International_Law_and_Universal_Rights_and_Public_Policy
Cartoon credit - 'Weighed in the balance' Cartoon by Ella Baron
No comments:
Post a Comment