... Saudische Lobbyarbeit in den USA – Die Saudis werden beschuldigt, um von Versäumnissen der USA abzulenken – Kanadische Waffenverkäufe an die Saudis – Die Cholera kommt zurück – Saudischer Luftangriff auf Markt tötet 21 – und mehr
October 25, 2018: Mark Lowcock on famine in Yemen – 10 Priorities: Statement by 26 NGOs – Ali AlAhmed on Saudis, Yemen – Southern separatists and peace in Yemen – Saudi lobbying in the US – Blaming Saudis to deflect from US faults – Canadian arms sales to Saudi Arabia – Cholera in coming back – Saudi air raid at market kills 21 – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle
cp1c Saudischer Luftangriff auf Markt in Provinz Hodeidah, 21 Tote / Saudi air raid at market in Hodeidah province, 21 killed
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
cp7b Khashoggi und Jemen / Khashoggi and Yemen
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner
cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13d Wirtschaft / Economy
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
Einführende Artikel u. Überblicke für alle, die mit den Ereignissen im Jemen noch nicht vertraut sind, hier:
Yemen War: Introductory articles, overviews, for those who are still unfamiliar with the Yemen war here:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-einfuehrende-artikel-u-ueberblicke
Neue Artikel / New articles
(* B H)
Famine in Yemen: A primer
Warnings of famine in Yemen are coming hard and fast these days, with UN Relief Chief Mark Lowcock telling the Security Council on Tuesday that “there is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing” the country.
The truth is that Yemen has been teetering on the edge of famine for much of its more than three and a half years of war, and while food prices have recently shot up thanks to a collapsing currency, this is not the first time humanitarians have rung the alarm bells.
Back in November 2017, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels and their allies temporarily closed Yemen’s air, land, and sea borders in response to a rocket sent by the Houthis towards Riyadh. Eighteen NGOs issued a statement then expressing concern that “the humanitarian situation is extremely fragile and any disruption in the pipeline of critical supplies such as food, fuel, and medicines has the potential to bring millions of people closer to starvation and death”.
The blockade was later eased and some aid was allowed in, but as we pointed out at the time, when it comes to averting famine, commercial imports are more important than relief supplies.
In most of Yemen, shops and markets still sell food. But many people simply don’t have the money to buy it. Yemen’s currency has been in freefall since September, causing a spike in food and fuel prices and even further impacting the average Yemeni’s ability to purchase what they need to survive.
Millions of hungry people live in Yemen. The UN now estimates that 14 million Yemenis, half the country, could soon be in what it calls “pre-famine” conditions; that means they will rely on aid to survive. That number may rise even more if Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah is closed by fighting; the coalition is currently intensifying an offensive on Houthis in the city.
But declaring a famine is a technically complicated process
We don’t yet know if and when famine will be declared. Analysts are reviewing market, health, and nutrition surveys from across Yemen to determine if the situation crosses the technical threshold of “famine”. In order to avoid false alarms and crying wolf, strict requirements must be met before a situation can be designated a famine. And even that declaration can still be held up or delayed by political concerns – governments and warring parties typically don’t want to admit to a famine on their watch.
For now, just when an official declaration of famine will come, if it comes at all, is still unclear. What we know for sure: malnutrition can be deadly, and right now it’s making some Yemenis more susceptible to diseases like cholera and diphtheria.
http://www.irinnews.org/news/2018/10/24/famine-yemen-primer
(* B H K)
How the Saudis Turned the Yemen War Into a Humanitarian Crisis
In Yemen, a three-year conflict has produced what United Nations officials call “the worst man-made humanitarian crisis of our time.” Markets, hospitals and other civilian sites have been repeatedly attacked. Disease and hunger rival bombs and gunfire as the biggest dangers to ordinary people. Yemen was already the poorest country in the Middle East; the war has it headed toward famine. A UN-mandated investigation concluded that all the major parties to the conflict, especially a Saudi Arabian-led coalition and the Yemeni government it backs, have shown a disregard for civilian life possibly amounting to war crimes. [and 10 FAQs]
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
Medienschau Nr. 5 zum Mord an Jamal Khashoggi / Media review nr. 5 for Jamal Khashoggi murder:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/saudi-dissident-khashoggi-medienschau-5a
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/saudi-dissident-khashoggi-medienschau-5b
Nr. 6 folgt / nr. 6 to follow
(** B H P)
UN-Appell für den Jemen: 14 Millionen Menschen von Hunger bedroht
Von der Hungersnot im Jemen könnt nach UN-Angaben bald die Hälfte der Bevölkerung betroffen sein. Der UN-Nothilfekoordinator rief zu einer Waffenpause und mehr Geld für Hilfslieferungen auf.
Die Vereinten Nationen haben vor einer Verschärfung der Hungersnot im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen gewarnt. Schon bald könnte die Hälfte der Bevölkerung betroffen sein - und damit rund 14 Millionen Menschen.
UN-Nothilfekoordinator Mark Lowcock sagte im UN-Sicherheitsrat, die Lage sei "schockierend". Die unmittelbar bevorstehende Hungersnot könne "größer sein als alles, was die Experten auf diesem Gebiet in ihrem Arbeitsleben bislang erlebt haben".
Lowcock zufolge koordinieren die Vereinten Nationen derzeit Hilfe für acht Millionen Menschen. Es müsse dringend zu einer humanitären Feuerpause kommen (mit Audio)
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/jemen-hungersnot-111.html
und auch https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2018-10/jemen-hungersnot-buergerkrieg-vereinte-nationen mit Film
(** B H P)
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Mark Lowcock, Remarks to the Security Council on the Humanitarian Situation in Yemen
So, just to be clear, my assessment – my advice to you – is that there is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen: much bigger than anything any professional in this field has seen during their working lives.
Some people – including some of you – will be thinking: “Hang on a minute. They’ve told us this before, and it didn’t happen”.
That is correct. We warned of famine in Yemen at the beginning of last year, as part of the Secretary-General’s call to action which also flagged the risk in Somalia, South Sudan, and north east Nigeria. The response – a dramatic scaling up of the UN coordinated relief effort - helped mitigate the worst impact of the crisis.
I issued a similar warning when I briefed you on 8 November last year on the likely effect of the economic blockade that had just been imposed by the Coalition following missile attacks on Riyadh from inside Yemen. The blockade was removed, and supervised imports of food, fuel and medicines resumed through the Red Sea ports.
What I am telling you today is that the situation is now much graver than on either of those two occasions.
Why is that?
Firstly, because of the sheer number of people at risk. In my update for you last month, I said that an additional 3.5 million people are likely to become severely food insecure in the months ahead, added to the 8 million we are already reaching each month through the UN coordinated response effort. A total of 11 million.
That’s what I said on 21 September. We now think, Mr. President, that estimate was wrong. Our revised assessment, the results of new survey work and analysis, is that the total number of people facing pre-famine conditions, meaning they are entirely reliant on external aid for survival, could soon reach not 11 million but 14 million. That is half the total population of the country.
And secondly, beyond the sheer numbers, while millions of people have been surviving on emergency food assistance for years, the help they get is enough merely to survive. Not to thrive. The toll is unbearably high. The immune systems of millions of people on survival support for years on end are now are literally collapsing, making them – especially children and the elderly – more likely to succumb to malnutrition, cholera and other diseases.
Last month, I explained the two recent developments which have deepened the crisis: first the intensification of fighting around Hudaydah, choking the lifeline which the aid operation and commercial imports rely on; and second the recent further collapse of the economy.
What has since happened on those two issues?
Fierce clashes continue in Hudaydah, including intense fighting, shelling and air strikes in Hudaydah City over the last several days. More than 570,000 people have been forced from their homes across Hudaydah Governorate since fighting escalated in mid-June. Due to ongoing clashes, the eastern road from Hudaydah City to Sana’a remains blocked, which impacts trade and convoys from the key ports that serve all the population centres of northern Yemen. Clashes have also continued to block access to a milling facility that contains enough aid-financed grain to feed 3.7 million people for a month, and several humanitarian warehouses have been occupied for over two months.
The parties to the conflict continue to violate international humanitarian law. Since late May, more than 5,000 separate violations have been recorded, including mass civilian casualties and destruction or damage to critical civilian infrastructure including hospitals, electricity and water systems, markets, roads and bridges.
Delays in issuing visas, restrictions on importation of equipment and cargo, retraction of permits, interference in humanitarian assessment exercises, interference in monitoring and other obstructions all limit the ability of humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving assistance to innocent civilians.
In the absence of a cessation of hostilities, especially around Hudaydah, where fighting for more than four months now has damaged the key facilities and infrastructure on which the aid operation relies, the relief effort will ultimately be simply overwhelmed. The time, surely, has come for all the parties to heed these warnings.
On the economy, the central problem, as I explained last month, is that Yemen is almost entirely reliant on imports for food, fuel and medicines. And the available foreign exchange – from what little remains of oil exports, from money sent home by Yemenis out of the country, and from international assistance – has been simply inadequate to finance adequate levels of imports to support the population.
Since 2015, gross domestic product, the national income of Yemen, has shrunk by 50 per cent. More than 600,000 jobs have been lost. Hundreds of thousands of civil servants and pensioners have not received regular payments since late 2016. More than 1.5 million families are no longer receiving support through public safety-nets. More than 80 per cent of Yemenis now live below the poverty line.
The collapse in the domestic economy has been partially – but only partially - mitigated by aid efforts, including generous funding this year from the Gulf, the United States, European countries and other donors, and that has allowed the UN and its partners to dramatically scale-up relief efforts.
Aid agencies are implementing the world’s largest humanitarian operation in Yemen.
The Government of Yemen appears to be planning further restrictions on traders importing essential commodities.
Traders trying to import six key commodities - wheat, rice, sugar, milk, cooking oil and fuel oil derivatives - are now being told, as a result of new Government regulations, that they must secure lines of credit from the Central Bank. But only a handful of lines of credit have been issued since June, mostly in just the last few days.
Enforcement of these regulations is already having alarming effect. Two vessels carrying more than 29,000 metric tons of fuel have at the Government’s request been refused entry into Yemen in recent days. I described the impact of desperate fuel shortages last month: if current trends continue, water services and sanitation facilities will inevitably be either curtailed or cut altogether.
The Government has announced that it intends to extend enforcement of the new regulations to food imports starting 9 November. Unless steps are taken to expedite the process or waive the new requirements, imports of key food commodities and fuel could, we assess, fall by half.
That would, for reasons I have explained, be the death knell for countless innocent civilians, most of them women and children.
and a shorter survey, by UN https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/10/1023962
and statement in film: http://webtv.un.org/watch/mark-lowcock-ocha-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-yemen-security-council-8379st-meeting/5852511806001/
and BBC report, with film: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45964795
(** B K P)
Saudi Arabia's murderous rampage: Dissident Ali al-Ahmed on killings of journalists & Yemenis (E27)
Moderate Rebels episode 27: Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton are joined by Saudi journalist and analyst Ali al-Ahmed to discuss Saudi Arabia's assassination of dissidents. Ali addresses the suspected killing of Jamal Khashoggi, and explains the power struggles inside the royal family.
We also talk about the Western corporate media's systematic whitewashing of autocratic Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), and the Saudi monarchy's execution and oppression of Shia activists. We conclude on the war in Yemen, where Riyadh — with crucial support from the US and UK — has unleashed the largest humanitarian catastrophe on Earth.
(** A B H K P)
10 Priorities for Peace, Human Rights and Justice in Yemen: An Important Joint Statement From Country’s Civil Society
On Wednesday, 26 civil society groups released one of the most important NGO statements of the past four years of the war and humanitarian disaster in Yemen. The statement, drafted by Yemeni experts from across the country, and supported by national, regional, and international organizations, sets out 10 priorities for governments, armed groups, and the United Nations to advance peace, human rights, and justice.
The statement calls on the international community to intensify their efforts to relaunch peace negotiations, welcomes the work of the UN Group of Eminent Experts, calls on states to cease arms transfers to all local and regional parties active in Yemen’s wars, and calls on the UN envoy to prioritize human rights. It demands that all ports to Yemen be opened, and calls for action to address the economic collapse. It calls on the Houthis to stop landmine use and to submit landmine maps to the UN envoy.
Joint civil society work in Yemen has been rare. Restrictions on movement, targeting of civil society by all sides, and the extreme levels of violence have made it exceedingly difficult for Yemeni civil society to organize together, and to speak out on the war. Limits on humanitarian access and visa restrictions have also made it difficult for Yemeni and regional and international organizations to collaborate.
The civil society statement notes that the “war has made life a more difficult choice than death.” Thousands of Yemenis have been killed or injured by all sides of the war in Yemen; forced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and torture are common; and journalists and activists have faced attacks and threats for their work. Millions of Yemenis experience food insecurity and the risk of famine. Impunity for abuse is the norm.
As international pressure mounts following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, there is rightfully renewed scrutiny of the United States and European countries’ support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, and in particular, the continued sale of arms despite evidence of grave violations. These arms transfers should come to a halt. What’s more, Yemeni civil society knows all too well how blockades, severe restrictions on access, and targeting of journalists by all sides have prevented the realities and views of Yemenis on the ground from reaching the world. The opening of all land, sea and air crossings and the end to the siege of cities are urgently needed to ensure the free flow of information, and people’s access to food, education, family, and medical care.
The 10 priorities set out in the new NGO joint statement reflect the concerns of millions of Yemeni civilians and the experience and expertise of Yemeni researchers and humanitarian and human rights advocates working across the country – by Farea Al-Muslim and Sarah Knuckey
The statement follows in full:
The undersigned local, regional, and international organizations follow with great concern the military operations across Yemen and the collapsed September 2018 Geneva peace talks. The Yemen war has led to an economic and social collapse, including a currency crisis which puts millions of Yemenis on the verge of famine.
Recalling the August 2018 report of the UN Group of Eminent Experts, which found that all parties to the conflict have committed grave human rights violations, including some that may amount to war crimes, the undersigned organizations:
Call on the UN envoy, the United Nations and the international community – particularly the UN Security Council members – to intensify their efforts to re-launch negotiations between the conflicting parties. The organisations also call on local and regional parties to cooperate fully, immediately, and unconditionally with the efforts of the UN envoy.
Welcome the renewal of the Group of Eminent Experts as an important step towards putting an end to impunity for violations against civilians in Yemen. The organizations also call on all parties to cooperate with the Group and facilitate its work. They call on the Group to expand its framework and scope of work to all across Yemen, in cooperation with Yemeni civil society.
The organizations call on all governments to immediately cease arms sales or transfers or military support / aid to any regional or local actor participating in Yemen war, and work effectively toward holding accountable those accused of grave violations of Human Rights in Yemen.
Call on the UN envoy to prioritize human rights at the heart of the next political process and integrate human rights within his de-escalation plan and measures.
Call on the Government of Yemen and the Saudi-led coalition to shoulder their legal, functional and historical responsibility in relation to stopping the economic collapse in the country. The undersigned organizations call on the Houthi armed group to submit state revenues to the necessary financial institutions, and call on the Yemeni government to pay public salaries throughout the country, and address the administrative failures and corruption allegations.
Call on the Saudi-led coalition to immediately open all sea, land, and air ports, and call on the coalition, the Yemeni government, the Houthi armed group, and forces aligned to these actors, to stop the siege of cities (e.g., Taiz and other provinces) and obstruction of the movement of people, trade, and humanitarian aid within and to Yemen.
Call on the Houthi armed group, the Yemeni government, and the Saudi-led coalition to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law and to stop targeting civilians and civilian objects.
Call on the parties to the conflict to release all detainees, abducted, and disappeared persons, including journalists, religious minorities, and politicians, and to lift the restrictions on local and international organizations.
Call on the Houthi armed group to halt the use of landmines, and to present a map to the UN envoy of all the mines that they have planted, in preparation for their removal.
Call upon all parties to the conflict to stop the recruitment of children, and to demobilize those recruited.
Call on international humanitarian and relief organizations to coordinate their money transfers to the country with the Central Bank of Yemen, and use their financial assets abroad to facilitate the purchase of basic commodities, medicine, and fuel imports.
Yemenis have paid a heavy price for this war. The war has made life a more difficult choice than death. It is time for international and regional actors to join together for peace instead of war.
The undersigned organizations reiterate that the only solution in Yemen is a political solution. Therefore, we repeat our call on the UN Security Council to adopt a Resolution committed to a timeline for a new, more comprehensive peace process to work towards an inclusive political solution in Yemen. We call on the international community to use its leverage to punish and deter anyone who obstructs peace efforts or violates human rights in Yemen.
http://sanaacenter.org/publications/news/6578
(** B P)
Why the south of Yemen is key to its stalled peace talks
The collapse of the latest round of U.N.-sponsored peace talks on Yemen, which the Houthi movement, in control of much of the country’s north, failed to attend, comes at a time of escalating political instability and hardship. While most international attention is focused on the Saudi-led coalition’s siege of the critical Yemeni port of Hodeida, important developments in the south demand more attention.
The Southern Transitional Council (STC), the south’s de facto government, this month called for an uprisingagainst the UAE- and Saudi-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, blaming his cabinet for the faminethroughout the country.
How does this political turbulence matter for Yemen’s war and humanitarian catastrophe? Should the south secede, the Saudi-UAE coalition would face a major political crisis, which could strengthen the Houthis’ hand and undermine governance in the areas under their control. And it could exacerbate the already pressing humanitarian crisis and spread problems into areas that have thus far escaped the worst.
Why is southern Yemen protesting?
A wave of demonstrations in the south started in early September after the Yemeni riyal suddenly plummeted, exacerbating already difficult economic conditions. Angry demonstrators accused the now former prime minister’s “corrupt government” of pushing people to starvation.
Southern independence movement rising
The STC, the rival authority in the south, was formed in and has blamed the government for the collapse of the Yemeni economy.
This month, the STC managed to form a joint southern alliance backing the move to rebel against Hadi’s rule, with a call to remove the government’s “corrupt officials” and put locally trusted people in place.
With the announcement of the prime minister’s dismissal, the STC leadership backed away from its demand to cleanse the administration of Hadi’s representatives. That followed an appeal by the United Arab Emirates not to take radical moves against the internationally recognized regime. The STC competes with al-Hirak for southerners’ support, with al-Hirak being skeptical about the STC’s close relationship with the UAE.
The current protests are a continuation of developments from January, when fighting broke out between the army under the prime minister’s command and troops loyal to the STC
When can we expect peace in Yemen?
The call to resist corruption in the country’s leadership is widely supported in Yemen. But what we see in the south is actual state-building in the shadow of the war. Making an administration capable of serving the needs of vulnerable people is reconstruction at its best.
The international community feels estranged from the STC and its call for fair rule. What if the southern uprising is made to benefit the entire war-torn country? Such an approach would appeal to the Houthi movement, among others, and allow it to seek international recognition instead of reliance on Iran, should it seek to rule without outright violence. The key to progress in the stalled U.N. peace talks might lie in a direction where the international community is failing to look – by Susanne Dahlgren
Comment: A well reasoned argument - that shows that it is Hadi who is the main block to including the STC in Yemen peace talks and one of the main reasons for Saudi entering the Yemen war was to secure a pipeline to the Indian Ocean across Yemen, and achieving that may give Saudi the initiative to end its offensive.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10157095375498641
(** B P)
Saudi foreign agents’ political donations top $1.6 million in 2018 elections
Political donations made by foreign agents hired to act on behalf of Saudi Arabian interests have exceeded $1.6 million in the 2018 election cycle, according to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Of the money flowing into U.S. elections from lobbyists, political operatives, firms and other foreign agents who have disclosed contracts to represent the political interests of Saudi Arabia in the United States, political donations from operatives working for Saudi interests exceed half a million in 2018 elections while PACs affiliated with lobbying and public relations firms account for an additional $1.1 million this election cycle.
The total amount of political donations made by Saudi foreign agents is a conservative estimate by CRP based on reported political contributions by individuals and firms registered as foreign agents of Saudi Arabia, excluding individual lobbyist or operative contributions to their firm’s affiliated PAC to ensure no funds are double-counted — meaning the total flow of money to politicians from lobbyists, firms and political operatives representing Saudi interests is likely much larger.
Saudi interests have spent more than $24 million to influence U.S. policy and public opinion during the 2018 election cycle, according to disclosures to the Department of Justice made in compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and made available through CRP’s Foreign Lobby Watch tool. Around $18 million of that was paid to foreign agents acting on behalf of Saudi interests in 2017 and another $6 million in spending has already been reported this year, making Saudi Arabia one of the top 10 countries spending on influence and lobbying in the United States.
Out with the old, in with the new
Although some firms have sought to cut ties with Saudi interests, Saudi Arabia’s lobbying and influence juggernaut is hardly on life support.
Dozens of other firms remain on the payroll of the Saudi Arabian government, lobbying to influence U.S. policy and working to shape Saudi Arabia’s image in the United States.
Even as other firms were distancing themselves from the Saudi interests they were hired to represent, Saudi Arabia was still building up its vast lobbying and influence network in the United States, with a new firm signing on to represent Saudi interests within days of the Turkish government’s announcement that it would investigate Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance earlier in October.
Southfive Strategies, the latest lobbying and public relations firm to ink a contract with Saudi interests, is now a registered foreign agent of the Muslim World League as a subcontractor for the Saudi-American Public Relations Affairs Committee (SAPRAC). The Muslim World League has “condemned the allegations against Saudi Arabia,” following the backlash after new revelations around Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Saudi Arabia has a long history of lobbying and influence in the United States, and the country’s robust spending is hardly a new phenomenon – by Anna Massoglia
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/10/saudi-foreign-agents-donations-top-1point6-mill/
Remark: More on this topic in the two articles below and in cp9.
(** B P)
How Saudi Money Keeps Washington at War in Yemen
It was May 2017. The Saudis were growing increasingly nervous. For more than two years they had been relying heavily on U.S. military support and bombs to defeat Houthi rebels in Yemen. Now, the Senate was considering a bipartisan resolution to cut off military aid and halt a big sale of American-made bombs to Saudi Arabia. Fortunately for them, despite mounting evidence that the U.S.-backed, supplied, and fueled air campaign in Yemen was targeting civilians, the Saudi government turned out to have just the weapon needed to keep those bombs and other kinds of aid coming their way: an army of lobbyists.
That year, their forces in Washington included members of more than two dozen lobbying and public relations firms. Key among them was Marc Lampkin, managing partner of the Washington office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (BHFS), a company that would be paid nearly half a million dollars by the Saudi government in 2017. Records from the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) show that Lampkin contacted Senate offices more than 20 times about that resolution, speaking, for instance, with the legislative director for Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) on May 16, 2017. Perhaps coincidentally, Lampkin reported making a $2,000 contribution to the senator’s political action committee that very day. On June 13th, along with a majority of his fellow senators, Scott voted to allow the Saudis to get their bombs. A year later, the type of bomb authorized in that sale has reportedlybeen used in air strikes that have killed civilians in Yemen.
Little wonder that, for this and his other lobbying work, Lampkin earned a spot on the “Top Lobbyists 2017: Hired Guns” list compiled by the Washington publication the Hill.
Lampkin’s story was anything but exceptional when it comes to lobbyists working on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was, in fact, very much the norm. The Saudi government has hired lobbyists in profusion and they, in turn, have effectively helped convince members of Congress and the president to ignore blatant human rights violations and civilian casualties in Yemen. According to a forthcoming report by the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative program, which I direct, at the Center for International Policy, registered foreign agents working on behalf of interests in Saudi Arabia contacted Congressional representatives, the White House, the media, and figures at influential think tanks more than 2,500 times in 2017 alone. In the process, they also managed to contribute nearly $400,000 to the political coffers of senators and House members as they urged them to support the Saudis. Some of those contributions, like Lampkin’s, were given on the same day the requests were made to support those arms sales.
The role of Marc Lampkin is just a tiny sub-plot in the expansive and ongoing story of Saudi money in Washington. Think of it as a striking tale of pay-to-play politics that will undoubtedly be revving up again in the coming weeks as the Saudi lobby works to block new Congressional efforts to end U.S. involvement in the disastrous war in Yemen.
A Lobby to Contend With
The roots of that lobby’s rise to prominence in Washington lie in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Once Donald Trump won the presidency, however, the Saudis saw an unparalleled opportunity and launched the equivalent of a full-court press, an aggressive campaign to woo the newly elected president and the Republican-led Congress, which, of course, cost real money.
As a result, the growth of Saudi lobbying operations would prove extraordinary.
This meteoric rise in spending allowed the Saudis to dramatically increase the number of lobbyists representing their interests on both sides of the aisle.
And keep in mind that all this new firepower was added to an already formidable arsenal of lobbying outfits and influential power brokers
Following the Money from Saudi Arabia to Campaign Coffers
Just as there’s a clear pattern when it comes to contacting congressional representatives who might help their Saudi clients, so there’s a clear pattern to the lobbying money flowing to those same members of Congress.
The FARA documents that record all foreign-agent political activity also list campaign contributions reported by those agents. Just as we did for political activities, the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative program conducted an analysis of all campaign contributions reported in those 2017 filings by firms that represented Saudi interests. And here’s what we found: more than a third of the members of Congress contacted by such a firm also received a campaign contribution from a foreign agent at that firm. In total, according to their 2017 FARA filings, foreign agents at firms representing Saudi clients made $390,496 in campaign contributions to congressional figures they, or another agent at their firm, contacted on behalf of their Saudi clients.
While some might argue that contributions like these look a lot like bribery, they turn out to be perfectly legal. No law bars such an action.
As Jimmy Williams, a former lobbyist, wrote: “Today, most lobbyists are engaged in a system of bribery, but it’s the legal kind.”
The Saudi Lobby Today
Fast forward to late 2018 and that very same lobby is now fighting vigorously to defeat a House measure that would end U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen. They’re flooding congressional offices with their requests
In the end, even if the facts aren’t on their side, the dollars are. Since September 2001, that reality has proven remarkably convincing in Washington, as copious dollars flowed from Saudi Arabia to U.S. military contractors (who are making billions selling weapons to that country), to lobbying firms, and via those firms directly into Congressional coffers.
Is this really how U.S. foreign policy should be determined? – by Jeremy Salt
https://medium.com/@JeremySalt/how-saudi-money-keeps-washington-at-war-in-yemen-5a25ff6271
(*** B P)
Blaming Saudis for Corrupting Otherwise Human Rights–Loving US
As FAIR has noted for years, one of the primary ideological functions of US corporate media is to maintain the mythology that the US is a noble protector of democracy and arbiter of human rights. When material facts—like wars of aggression, massive spying regimes, the funding and arming right-wing militias and the propping up of dictators—get in the way of this mythology the response by most pundits is to wave away these inconsistencies (FAIR.org, 2/1/09), ignore them altogether (FAIR.org, 8/31/18) or spin them as Things That Are Actually Good (FAIR.org, 5/31/18).
There is, however, another underappreciated trope used to prop up this mythology: that the US political class does bad things, not because bad things serve US imperial interests, but because they’re corrupted by sinister foreign actors.
As more information about Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s brazen murder at the hands of the Saudi government comes to light, some in the US press are positioning Saudi Arabia as having “corrupted” Washington—as Khashoggi’s own editor lamented on Twitter last week. It’s a reassuring narrative, and one that will likely grow increasingly popular in the coming weeks: The Saudis have “corrupted,” “played” or “captured” an otherwise benevolent, values-based US government.
While it’s refreshing that some are starting to challenge the United States’ grotesque alliance with the Saudi theocratic monarchy, it’s important to note that it’s not a product of a foreign boogeyman, but core to the US imperial project. Historically, the US hasn’t embraced despotic regimes despite their oppressive nature, but precisely because of it.
In a report on why Khashoggi’s killing was unlikely to fundamentally alter the US/Saudi relationship, NBC News (10/17/18) casually threw out this highly contestable claim:
Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher with Human Rights Watch, said the longstanding economic and security ties with Saudi Arabia have forced the US to tolerate a lot of questionable Saudi behavior.
It’s difficult to tell if the words spoken are those of Coogle or NBC reporters Rachel Elbaum, Yuliya Talmazan and Dan De Luce, but the reader is left with the same net effect: Due to “economic and security ties” somehow outside of its control, the most powerful country in the history of the world is “forced” to “tolerate” what’s called “questionable” behavior—a phrase that sweeps together the wholesale destruction of Yemen, the beheading of dissidents, the disappearing of women drivers and the brutal murder of Khashoggi. (In the case of Yemen, to “tolerate” means, among many other forms of active support, providing targeting instructions for a vicious airstrike campaign.)
Can one imagine NBC News or a Human Rights Watch researcher ever saying, “The longstanding economic and security ties Russia has with Syria have forced Putin to tolerate a lot of questionable behavior from Assad”? It’s an agency-free, blameless construction, reserved only for the United States. Similar to how the US never chooses to go to war, but is constantly “stumbling” into it (FAIR.org, 6/22/17), Washington always means well, but can’t help engaging in large-scale, highly sophisticated mechanized violence.
Vox’s Matt Yglesias (10/19/18) joined the revisionism, writing, “The realities of Cold War politics got us involved in deep, long-term cooperation with a Saudi state that is not otherwise a natural partner for the United States.” Never mind that the US/Saudi partnership predates the Cold War by about 15 years, the idea that dictators or sectarian regimes in the Middle East aren’t “natural partners of the United States”—especially during the Cold War—is a total fiction.
The trope of foreign corruption of the innocent empire, of course, predates Khashoggi’s death. Vox’s Max Fisher (3/21/16) insisted in March 2016 that Saudi Arabia has “captured” Washington, and this was the reason “we” had strayed from “our values.”
The article treated the US/Saudi alliance as some kind of mystery, rather than the logical outgrowth of a cynical empire that is not motivated by human rights but uses them for branding. “America’s foreign policy establishment has aligned itself with an ultra-conservative dictatorship that often acts counter to US values,” Fisher insisted. What “values” are those? He never really explained – by Adam Johnson
https://fair.org/home/blaming-saudis-for-corrupting-otherwise-human-rights-loving-us/ = https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-mainstream-medias-disgraceful-saudi-revisionism/
My comment: Whow. This hits the spot.
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Revealed: Canadian companies arming Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen
Since 2015, Canadian companies have provided $2.4 billion in combat vehicles, weapons, surveillance technology, pilot training relied on by the oil-rich Saudis
With little scrutiny, several Canadian companies have provided combat vehicles, weapons, surveillance technology, pilot training, and aircraft servicing relied on by the Saudis for their war against the Houthi movement that came to power in Yemen in 2014, after an Arab Spring uprising toppled its Saudi-backed dictator.
“Media coverage has left people in Canada and the United States to think this is just a civil war and that we should figure it out for ourselves, ignoring the crucial military backing their governments are providing Saudi Arabia,” says Al-Adeimi, a professor at Michigan State University who grew up in Canada.
This summer, Canada was showered with global praise when its Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted that she was “gravely concerned” about Saudi Arabia’s arrest of human rights activists and was met with a diplomatic backlash by the Saudi dictatorship.
Canada’s concern, however, hasn’t seemed to extend to Saudi abuses they are enabling: with the Trudeau government’s approval, $2.4 billion in military goods have been shipped to Saudi Arabia since the war on Yemen started in 2015, according to the Guardian’s calculations based on government statistics and an export database.
The boom in business has led Canadian companies to open or expand several centres through the Middle East to promote sales and to maintain, repair or update vehicles, aircraft and war-components sold to the Saudis and its allies like the United Arab Emirates.
But yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shifted tack, saying he is prepared to suspend a major arms deal with Saudi Arabia if he concludes the weapons are being misused, something evidence has long pointed to.
It is the first such sign from Trudeau, after repeated pledges not to cancel a historic $15 billion deal that has General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) producing hundreds of light-armoured vehicles (LAVs) for Saudi Arabia, first signed in 2014 under a previous Conservative government but continued by the Liberals.
“It’s rare that a week has gone by without a Canadian-made combat vehicle or weapon showing up in Yemen – the evidence of their wide-spread use is overwhelming and incriminating,” Fenton says. “Yet the silence among politicians and the media about Canada’s profitable complicity in the Yemen war has been striking.”
A analysis by Fenton found that of several hundreds of media articles published about the diplomatic spate between Saudi Arabia and Canada in the summer, only a handful mentioned any Canadian connection to the war on Yemen.
Combat vehicles are not the only Canadian contribution the Saudi war effort has benefited from.
Canadian company CAE is training US pilots who refuel Saudi fighter-jets in mid-air during their bombing raids, which have destroyed hundreds of hospitals, schools, markets and mosques.
“The Saudis are using the armoured vehicles to solidify their border and push into Yemen a bit,” says Dave Des Roches, who previously oversaw Saudi policy at the Pentagon and is now an associate professor at the National Defence University.
This article has been removed from the Guardian site (why????), but is still available in Archive:
http://archive.is/xKalN#selection-1609.130-1621.252
and a small snipet:
and
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Canadian PM says it would be hard to scrap big Saudi arms deal
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, under pressure to punish Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said on Tuesday it would be very hard to scrap an arms deal with Riyadh worth up to $13 billion as critics have demanded.
Trudeau said the 2014 agreement for light armored vehicles, signed by Canada’s previous Conservative government and a Canadian unit of U.S. weapons maker General Dynamics Corp, had been written in such a way that taxpayers would have to pay a large amount of money to end it.
Trudeau said that “I do not want to leave Canadians holding a billion-dollar bill because we’re trying to move forward on doing the right thing.” Trudeau added that he found it “incredibly frustrating” that the terms of the contract with the Saudis meant he could not discuss it in more detail.
My comment: Better to have blood on my hands than low tide in my purse.
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
(** B H)
Cholera returns to Yemen, with powerful allies
Last year, with Yemen’s health system decimated by war, a disease that should be easy to treat spread quickly, and by May 2017 it was taking one life an hour. The disease killed 2,510 people and infected a suspected 1.2 million others since late April 2017, when official records start. It faded early this year.
But cholera is now making a comeback, and something about this spike is different, says Elham Twaiti, a nurse who is busy admitting a line of new patients.
There are systemic problems that help cholera thrive: poor sanitation and hygiene, shortages of clean water – all aggravated by the war. “But this is not new in Hodeidah,” she says.
Yemen’s currency is now in freefall, making food unaffordable for many. “The new development here is that the economic crisis has left many people in hunger, and cholera hits malnourished children easily,” she says, adding that pregnant women are also vulnerable to the disease.
For months, aid organisations have been warning that cholera was poised to return. Some 1.1 million Yemenis, including 660,000 children under the age of one, have received oral cholera vaccinations since the last surge, but UNICEF, the UN’s agency for children, says that’s out of 9.7 million who need the vaccination to prevent further outbreaks.
It hasn’t been enough to prevent the latest wave. More than 15,000 suspected caseswere recorded across Yemen in the last week for which statistics are available, and Hodeidah province, where a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE are fighting an offensive against Houthi rebels, is reporting some of the highest levels in the country
Displacement and economic collapse
Ridha Mohammed, a doctor who is trying to insert an IV line into the arm of a thin child, says population displacement was the first reason he and other staffers at al-Salakhanah began to worry that cholera was on its way again.
Starting around June, patients - who arrived seeking treatments for various ailments - said they were coming from makeshift camps, with improvised sanitation facilities and limited access to clean water, he noted. More than 425,000 people have fled their homes in Hodeidah province since the offensive began in June. Bismarck Swangin, spokesman for UNICEF in Yemen, confirms that the “displaced population are at a higher risk of many diseases including diarrhoeal diseases,” like cholera.
“When we noticed many displaced people don’t have clean water and their baths are outdoors, that’s when we felt cholera was going to come back,” Mohammed said. The hospital began to see an uptick of cases in September, and now several rooms are dedicated to treating the disease.
Yemen’s economy has been collapsing over more than three and a half years of war, and since September the currency has been in a nose dive, leading to rising prices of just about everything, including food and fuel.
This makes seeking treatment even harder for families like Um Saeed’s.
People who can’t afford food are less able to fight off diseases like cholera, and with Yemen constantly teetering on the edge of famine, that means a lot of people are at risk, Twaiti explains.
Long time in the making
None of this is a surprise. Humanitarians have been warning that cholera was likely to make a comeback for months, given that in places like Hodeidah, water and sanitation systems were in bad shape before the war and have further deteriorated.
“Continued fighting is not only damaging the [water, sanitation, and hygiene] system but also causing hurdles in accessing health services by communities in conflict areas,” says UNICEF’s Swangin.
https://www.irinnews.org/news-feature/2018/10/23/cholera-returns-yemen-powerful-allies
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle
Look at cp1c, cp13c
(* A K pH)
the Saudi coalition committed its horrific crime with two air raids against a family of three people, a father, a mother and their child who were traveling in their car as they were passing by the general road in the July 7 area of Al- At noon, the two neighbors turned their car into wreckage.
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/photos/a.1434086430220680/1919428075019844 = http://www.lcrdye.org/2018/10/24/بيان-إدانة-جريمة-قصف-مركز-تسويق-وغسيل/
and
(* A K pH)
Photos: #Saudi led coalition airstrikes killed 3 people & wounded 6 today by a #US MK82 guided bomb in 7 July Street #Hodeidah, #Yemen.
https://twitter.com/A_mtrz/status/1055193681274331136
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/1055179417889226752
(* A K)
#Hodeidah: battles are raging and expanding amid reports pro-government and coalition forces are pushing towards city centre and seaport. More reinforcements from all parties to the conflict were deployed to the city in western Yemen this past week.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1055284805057818624
(A K pS)
Houthi militias on Tuesday indiscriminately bombed houses of civilians in the town of Hais in the governorate of Hodeida.
The sources told Alsahwa Net that the militias used mortars, tanks and other heavy weapons against civilians.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24773
and
(A K pS)
Dozens of houses were damaged in Houthi militia shelling in Tehtya city, in south #Hodeidah governorate (photo)
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1054850222197739521
(A K)
Yemen officials: Coalition set for fresh assault on key port
Yemeni officials say the Saudi-led coalition has sent reinforcements to Yemen's west coast ahead of a fresh assault on the rebel-held port city of Hodeida.
(* B H K)
Film: The situation in #Yemen's vital port of #Hodeidah after the escalation of #Saudi led coalition.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1054772861204865026
(A K pS)
Saudi airstrike hit Hodeidah airport
The US-backed-Saudi aggression coalition warplane launched four air raids on Hodeidah province, a security official told Saba on Tuesday.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news512093.htm
cp1c Saudischer Luftangriff auf Markt in Provinz Hodeidah, 21 Tote / Saudi air raid at market in Hodeidah province, 21 killed
(** A K pH)
19 Tote bei Luftangriffen auf Bazar im Jemen
Luftangriffe der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Kriegskoalition auf die jemenitische Provinz al-Hudaida am Mittwochabend haben 19 Tote und zehn Verletzte hinterlassen.
Al-Alam zufolge hatten Kampfflugzeuge des unter saudischer Führung stehenden Kriegsbündnisses einen Markt in der Stadt Bait al-Faqih südöstlich der Hafenstadt al-Hudaida angegriffen.
Einige der Verletzten befinden sich Krankenhauskreisen zufolge in einem kritischen Zustand, womit ein Anstieg der Opferzahlen zu befürchten ist.
Bei einem weiteren Luftangriff der saudischen Kriegskoalition, der am Mittwochnachmittag auf die Hafenstadt al-Hudaida erfolgte, kamen drei Menschen, darunter ein Kind ums Leben, sechs weitere Personen wurden verletzt.
http://parstoday.com/de/news/world-i44207-19_tote_bei_luftangriffen_auf_bazar_im_jemen
Bemerkung: Die Zahl hat sich auf 21 erhöht.
(** A K)
Saudi Coalition Massacre Kills 21 at a Market in Yemen
The Saudi coalition bombed a vegetable market near Hodeidah earlier today and killed at least 21 people
Attacks on food markets like this one are part of the coalition’s systematic campaign to target and destroy Yemen’s food production and distribution. The coalition has made a regular practice of targeting farms, fishing boats, and marketplaces as part of an effort to deprive an already malnourished population of food. There is no possible justification for targeting civilians as they were trying to obtain food from a local market. The slaughter of almost two dozen people is a reminder that Saudi coalition forces continue to hit civilian targets with great frequency, and civilians in and around Hodeidah are at great risk of being killed and wounded while the coalition’s attack on the port and its surroundings continues.
This latest massacre of civilians by coalition forces has been followed by news that the Hodeidah offensive is soon going to escalat
photos: https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1055178354075361280
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1055322233604923398
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1878761072242681&set=pcb.1878763692242419&type=3
https://twitter.com/abo_raghad20112/status/1055217171540992001
https://www.facebook.com/Modhsh2018/photos/pcb.421511131713654/421510495047051/?type=3&theater
films: https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1055320760464666625 = https://twitter.com/A_mtrz/status/1055208641299693568
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox03_xGZqs0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5rQs0qh-0M
(* A K)
Death toll rises to 21 people and 10 others wounded in a masscare committed today by Saudi airstrikes on a local market in al-Masoudi area of Bait al-Faqieh district in #Hodeidah. #Yemen I know this place well & I didn't expect that Saudi jets will hit that area
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1055224737977253889
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Legal Center for Rights and Development
Statement of condemnation The crime of bombing the marketing and washing of vegetables in the Lawi district Al Masoudi district Directorate of the house of the jurist province of Hodeidah on 24 October 2018
As a continuation of the war crimes and genocide committed by the Saudi coalition against the workers and farmers in Yemen, its warplane attacked at this sunset on Wednesday 24/10/2018 with a lethal bomb on a gathering of dozens of workers who were working at a marketing and washing center for vegetables at Al - Al-Faqih, Al-Hudaydah province, has left a massacre of 19 workers dead and about 10 other workers injured as a preliminary result. The legal center documented 5 dead children and 2 children who went to help their poor families to provide a living through what they would have received. The crime comes at a time when it was only a few hours before the Saudi coalition committed its horrific crime with two air raids against a family of three people, a father, a mother and their child who were traveling in their car as they were passing by the general road in the July 7 area of Al- At noon, the two neighbors turned their car into wreckage.
(** A K)
Airstrike kills at least 19 civilians at vegetable market in Yemen's Hodeidah, official says
At least 19 civilians were killed and 10 others injured on Wednesday in an airstrike at a vegetable market in Yemen, a local health minister told NBC News.
The airstrike hit a market in the city of Yemen's Hodeidah province, Sana'a-based heath minister Taha Mutawakil said. Eight of the injured were in critical condition and at a local hospital, he said.
The minister added that the bodies were so badly damaged that it was not yet possible if those killed were men, women or children.
(** A K)
Air strikes kill at least 16 civilians in Yemen’s Hodeidah: medics, residents
At least 16 people were killed on Wednesday in an air strike that hit a factory for vegetable packaging in Yemen’s Hodeidah province, medical workers and residents said.
Medics and residents in Bayt al-Faqih, a town 70 km (40 miles) south of Hodeidah city, said twelve people were also wounded.
They said bombs fell on a vegetable packaging factory in aal-Masoudi neighborhood and the victims were workers there.
Houthi media said 19 were killed and 10 were wounded in the same area.
Residents said violent clashes erupted in the southern outskirts of Hodeidah, a port city that pro-government forces have been trying to capture from the Houthis since the renewal of an offensive in September.
Remark: According to the Legal Center Statement, the target was a market with an adjacent facility where vegetables had been washed to be prepared for sale. Aljazeera also gets it wrong, making two air raids out of one: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/deadly-air-strike-hits-vegetable-market-hodeidah-181024181609517.html
Made clear here:
Pics of casualties after #Saudi #UAE strikes on Okra Okro farm belong to Abdullah Qurashi in Bait Al-Fagih area central East #Hodeidah #Hodeida west #Yemen The strikes targeted the area where workers wash the vegetables before selling it
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/1055175150080065536
cp2 Allgemein / General
(* A K P)
Interactive Map of Yemen War
(* B K P)
Die vergessenen Opfer des Kronprinzen
Der saudische Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman ist für die katastrophale humanitäre Situation in Jemen verantwortlich, die Zehntausende das Leben kostet. Vor allem deshalb, nicht nur wegen des Mordes an einem Journalisten, sollte der Westen Druck machen.
Erstaunlich aber ist es, wie wenig Beachtung anderes findet, das nicht dunklen Phantasien und geraunten Andeutungen türkischer Ermittler entspringt, sondern seit Langem bekannt ist. Gerade erst wieder hat der Nothilfekoordinator der Vereinten Nationen gewarnt, dass der Hälfte der Menschen in Jemen eine beispiellose Hungersnot droht. Wenn der Krieg in Jemen weitergeht, werden 14 Millionen Menschen bald nicht mehr wissen, wo sie ihre nächste Mahlzeit herbekommen.
Wenn nur ein Glied in der Versorgungskette wegbricht, etwa weil der wichtigste Hafen des Landes in Hodeidah bei Kämpfen beschädigt wird, kippt das Land.
Die Verantwortung für die katastrophale humanitäre Situation trägt maßgeblich derselbe Mann, der im Verdacht steht, den Mord an Khashoggi in Auftrag gegeben zu haben: Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman.
So dringend und wichtig es ist, den Mord an Khashoggi aufzuklären und die Verantwortlichen zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen, so nötig wäre es, den Krieg in Jemen zu beenden – von Paul-Anton Krüger
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/jemen-saudi-arabien-khashoggi-1.4183154
und Kommentare: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/jemen-hungersnot-leserdiskussion-1.4183340
und weitgehend identisch: https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/ausland/naher-osten-und-afrika/die-unsichtbaren-opfer/story/14191441 = https://bazonline.ch/ausland/naher-osten-und-afrika/die-unsichtbaren-opfer/story/14191441
von Maximilian13: Wieso "vergessene" Opfer? Die zivilen Opfer des saudischen Krieges gegen die Bevölkerung im Jemen, auch die "wunderbaren Babies", die Donald Trump im Fall Syrien so publikumswirksam beweint hat, wurden doch nicht vergessen. Politik und Medien, auch die sogenannten Qualitätszeitungen, haben einfach die Augen zugemacht, und schon waren die zivilen Opfer im Jemen nicht mehr da. Und was gar nicht existiert, kann man auch nicht vergessen, nicht wahr? (Daher kommen ja auch die ignoranten Kommentare auf dieser Seite.)
Mein Kommentar: Wer hat denn bitte den Krieg im Jemen „vergessen“ GEMACHT? Das war die unterbelichtete bis fehlende Berichterstattung der Mainstreammedien selbst, die SZ eingeschlossen. Dort fasse man sich mal an die eigene Nase.
(B P)
Fuad Rajeh: Puppet president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi is the biggest problem in #Yemen. But Houthi militants are to blame for what has happened, too! It is very complicated. White House and Downing Street know how to end the crisis! Saudi Arabia and UAE are just proxies.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1055258164751450112
(* B H K P)
The Foreseeable Disaster in Yemen
Michael Hanna and Thanassis Cambanis call for ending U.S. complicity in the war on Yemen.
The Saudi coalition supposedly sought to combat the minimal Iranian influence in Yemen that existed in 2015, but Iranian influence has grown as a direct result of their intervention. This was predictable, and anyone paying close attention could see that this is what was going to happen.
Iran’s influence has grown in Yemen, but it still remains quite limited. It would have been even more limited if the Saudis and Emiratis had not been wrecking and starving the country for three and a half years. The war has failed to achieve any of its stated objectives (restoring Hadi, expelling the Houthis from the capital), and it has devastated an entire country for absolutely nothing. Wars fought to “prevent” future threats tend to create the dangers that they were supposedly going to eliminate.
The U.S. should never have been involved in this war, and it is imperative that the U.S. end that involvement and pressure the Saudi coalition to accept a ceasefire and lift the blockade on the country. If the war isn’t brought to an end very soon, there will be even more horrific consequences for the people of Yemen. The truly shameful thing is that the disaster engulfing Yemen right is now is a foreseeable and preventable disaster that our government and the Saudi coalition are allowing to unfold.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-foreseeable-disaster-in-yemen/
(* A K)
Map: MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON OCTOBER 23, 2018 (MAP UPDATE)
The Saudi-UAE-led coalition slowed down its operations against the Houthis (also known as the Ansar Allah movement) in Yemen. Despite this, the situation in the country remains tense. Both sides carry out operations each against other and the Saudi-led coalition cocntinues its air campaign destroying the infrastructure in the areas controlled by the Houthis.
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-october-23-2018-map-update/
( B P)
Film (Arabic): Torture in Yemen .. Cellars and one multilateral responsibility
Why are the various parties to the conflict in Yemen competing for violations of Yemeni human rights in this way?
How long will the unprecedented waste of the right to physical integrity and liberty remain?
Are torture crimes in detention centers systematically systematic?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKHz6O9QjM8
(* B K)
'The greatest data project you’ve never heard of': inside the Yemen Data Project
The open-source initiative gathers unofficial data on air strikes, pushing for transparency on the Yemen conflict
Stories on the conflict in Yemen rarely make it to the mainstream media. Unlike the wars in Syria and Iraq, none of the parties fighting in Yemen release official information on bombings, which makes it difficult for journalists to source facts.
The little coverage there is can be often plagued by misinformation, but the independent initiative Yemen Data Project aims to tackle that, by collecting and disseminating data on Saudi coalition airstrikes, helping news outlets widen their reporting.
"It's the greatest data project you’ve never heard of,” said Iona Craig, freelance journalist and adviser at the Yemen Data Project, at the CIJ Logan Symposium last week (20 October).
“We don’t do advocacy – it’s about transparency and the fact that data can be used to hold the parties of the conflict accountable, because there is no independent monitoring or data collection going on.”
In the absence of official data, the Yemen Data Project is entirely based on open-source information, including that from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project – a data and analysis source on political violence and protest in the developing world.
The Yemenis working on the project use information from local news outlets, as well as social media and instant messaging apps.
To counter any bias, they then cross-reference information with media outlets that are more closely aligned with the other side of the conflict, as well as with human rights organisations and NGOs on the ground.
Craig explained the data collectors risk their lives to create a public record that otherwise would simply not exist, and their identities must remain secret.
(? B K P)
Film by Press TV Iran: This edition of #PressTVDebate discusses Saudi war on Yemen and its human cost
https://www.facebook.com/PRESSTV/videos/155581938730402
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B H)
AP PHOTOS: Fishermen risk death in Yemen's violent waters
So an estimated 300,000 fishermen still ply the waters of Yemen's Red Sea coast, where heavy fighting has been underway for months as the coalition tries to pry the port city of Hodeida - a crucial lifeline for aid - from the Iran-aligned rebels.
The fishermen try to avoid the coalition warships, which are on the lookout for weapons smugglers and rebels armed with rockets and explosives. The Houthis have carried out several attacks on ships off Yemen's coast.
The fishermen share advice on Facebook, warning each other to avoid international waters, to stay 5 kilometers (3 miles) from any ships, and to wave white flags or fish in the air if one approaches them.
It doesn't always work.
Just days before Ahmed's encounter with the Apache, a frigate opened fire on a fishing boat, killing 18 fishermen from a small village near the port of Khokha and leaving just one survivor. In October 2015, coalition ships and Apaches killed 48 fishermen who were heading to an island some 30 miles (48 kilometers) offshore to rest.
The governing body in charge of Red Sea fishing in Yemen, which is currently controlled by the Houthis, says more than 220 fishermen have been killed in more than 70 attacks since the fighting broke out in March 2015.
The fishermen used to stay out at sea for 15 days at a time, but now the trips are much shorter, and the catches smaller. The price of fish has gone up as a result, making it too expensive for many Yemenis and further squeezing the fishermen.
"Hunger is harder than fear," Ahmed said. "It's scary for me to go out because I don't know if I will return or not, but how do I live seeing my family not able to feed itself?" (photos)
https://apimagesblog.com/blog/2018/10/25/fishermen-risk-death-in-yemens-violent-waters = https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-6314873/AP-PHOTOS-Fishermen-risk-death-Yemens-violent-waters.html
(* B H)
A Young Woman In Yemen On What's Happening & Why You Should Care
Sukaina Sharafuddin, 29, who works for Save the Children in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, told Refinery29 it was "extremely difficult and painful" living in Yemen right now. "Seeing your country and your people dying in their thousands from preventable diseases and hunger, while still having to worry about airstrikes and war, is just unbearable and mentally exhausting," she explained.
"Simple tasks and errands are becoming a challenge, and people are fed up and exhausted. I'm lucky to be one of the few people in Yemen who still receives an income and has a job. If I didn’t, I can’t imagine how I would survive with my big family, educate my young child or even just survive. Food prices are very high, and most families in Sana’a have other displaced family members who fled conflict zones and came to live with them since the beginning of the crisis. They are all struggling to have a decent meal."
Before the war, all of Sharafuddin's family were employed and had fixed incomes. Now, only she and two other members have jobs.
Diseases that people have stopped hearing about around the world, like measles, cholera and diphtheria, are spreading at the same time as the health system is collapsing. Many basic medicines are also unavailable because of import restrictions, which have led to dramatic price rises, Sharafuddin said. "Yesterday I went to the pharmacy to buy eye drops and was shocked when they came to 5600YR (£6).
"It's as if we were in a time machine and had gone back 100 years. Now we worry about basic survival needs like clean water, electricity, food, healthcare and quality education for our children."
"Women are are shouldering the heaviest burden," explains Sharafuddin. "They carry the worry and fear of a whole nation and are usually the ones who go out looking for food to feed their children." They're also the ones left cooking and carrying water from faraway places to their homes for their families, she adds. "I know a mother who had to sell her house to make money to feed her five children – she had to make an impossible choice: homeless or hungry. They are now living in a small tent on the streets."
https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2018/10/214309/yemen-famine
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Film von UNICEF: Hunger bedroht Kinderleben im Jemen
1,8 Millionen Kinder im Jemen sind unterernährt. Der Zustand von 400.000 Kinder unter fünf Jahren ist gar lebensbedrohlich. Die UN warnen vor einer drohenden Hungersnot. UNICEF hilft vor Ort mit Spezialnahrung und Medikamenten - helfen auch Sie!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibe0mRuLO_8
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Save the Children: Jemen: Steigende Nahrungsmittelkosten gefährden Kinderleben
Die strauchelnde Wirtschaft und der anhaltende Währungsverfall im Jemen sind für Kinder dort inzwischen ebenso lebensbedrohlich wie die anhaltenden Bombardierungen, warnt die Kinderrechtsorganisation Save the Children.
Die Kosten für Grundnahrungsmittel wie Mehl, Reis, Salz, Zucker und Speiseöl haben sich seit der Eskalation der bewaffneten Kämpfe im Jemen im Jahr 2015 fast verdoppelt. Viele Familien haben große Mühe, ihre tägliche Nahrungsmittelversorgung sicherzustellen, Eltern wissen oft nicht, woher die nächste Mahlzeit für ihre Kinder kommen soll.
"Der wirtschaftliche Zusammenbruch im Jemen ist ein lautloser Killer. Viele Jemeniten kämpfen ums nackte Überleben. Eltern berichten unseren Mitarbeitern, wie sie Mahlzeiten auslassen oder bis zu zwei Tage lang selbst nichts essen, um die wenige verfügbare Nahrung an ihre Kinder zu geben. Die wirtschaftliche Lage verschlechtert sich, das Geld ist immer weniger wert und die Menschen werden für ihre Arbeit nicht mehr bezahlt", sagt Tamer Kirolos, Länderdirektor für den Jemen bei Save the Children.
In den vergangenen drei Jahren ist der Wert der lokalen Währung Rial eingebrochen und inzwischen auf einem historischen Tiefstand angelangt. Dadurch sind Güter der täglichen Grundversorgung, wie Nahrung, Wasser, Elektrizität, Treibstoff und Medizin eklatant teurer geworden. Gleichzeitig erhalten Angestellte des öffentlichen Sektors, die ein Drittel der erwerbstätigen Bevölkerung stellen, schon seit Monaten keinen Lohn mehr. Viele Eltern können daher ihre Familien nicht mehr ernähren.
https://www.presseportal.de/pm/106106/4097274
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MSF: Is Yemen on the brink of famine?
MSF operations desk manager Caroline Seguin discusses the recent warnings of famine in Yemen—a country that has been at war for almost four years.
A month ago, Save the Children issued a press release alerting that 5.2 million children were at risk of famine in Yemen. Soon after the United Nations warned that it could be "the worst famine in 100 years”. Is Yemen on the brink of famine?
The definition of famine is that large swathes of a population, adults as much as children, are affected, with people dying from a combination of a lack of food and diseases brought on by this deficiency. Very high rates of severe acute malnutrition are accompanied by extreme mortality, as was the case, for example, in Ethiopia in 1984, in South Sudan in 1998, in Angola in 2002 and, more recently, in remote areas of northern Nigeria in 2016.
We have not seen this in the MSF projects where we treat malnourished children in the Hajjah, Ibb, Taiz, Amran and Sa’ada governorates of Yemen. Furthermore, data gathered in the health centres we support in these areas does not indicate pockets of famine or an impending famine.
What are these warnings of famine based on?
It is impossible for humanitarian organisations working in Yemen to have an overall view of malnutrition across the country. UN agencies and NGOs are unable to implement the large-scale nutrition surveys that would provide the necessary information because many areas of the country are inaccessible to them. This is due to security issues, such as airstrikes and fighting, but also for administrative and political reasons, as access to these regions depends on the goodwill of local authorities.
So there is no quality data available to declare that a famine is imminent—just as we also have no idea of the death toll, which since August 2016 has remained unchanged at 10,000, an endlessly repeated number. Reality is totally distorted in Yemen, partly because journalists’ access to the country is tightly controlled by the authorities and therefore very limited. The media simply echo hard-to-verify facts and figures.
What are our teams in the field seeing?
Concerning malnutrition, we mostly see young children with severe acute malnutrition, often because they’ve been weaned from the breast too quickly or due to pre-existing conditions that cause malnutrition. We treat these children with highly nutritious therapeutic foods and use drugs to treat the pre-existing illnesses responsible for the malnutrition.
But, there are places where rates of severe acute malnutrition are increasing. According to data collected in our hospital in Khamer, for example, this is the case in Amran governorate. Twice as many children suffering with malnutrition were admitted in September 2018 compared to the same month last year. But the situation differs across the country.
What we are seeing is a general deterioration in people’s living conditions. The population has very limited access to health centres, because they’ve either been destroyed in the fighting or deserted by their medical staff who’ve received no wages since August 2016.
https://www.msf.org/yemen-there-no-quality-data-available-declare-famine-imminent
My comment: No figures available: This is due to the war and access restraints, all warring parties are to blame.
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World Bank: Delivering Social Protection in the Midst of Conflict and Crisis: The Case of Yemen
Executive Summary
During times of conflict, meeting humanitarian needs is crucial for saving lives; but the development community is increasingly realizing that protecting human and social capital is just as important, and is vital for post-conflict reconstruction and sustained recovery.
In Yemen, the ongoing conflict and political instability has made it nearly impossible for the World Bank to operate. And yet it is clear that despite the high risks associated with taking action, inaction—or a much-delayed response—by the World Bank would be far costlier from the strategic, institutional, and development points of view. After developing an exceptional approach to reengagement in Yemen while the country is still in conflict, the Emergency Crisis Response Project (ECRP) was the first project to test the approach before developing a full emergency response package1 . ECRP was approved by the World Bank Board in July 2016.
To date the ECRP, working successfully with multiple partners, including UN agencies, public service delivery institutions, local communities, and the private sector, has disbursed a total of US$436 million (87 percent of the total project funds). The project demonstrated rapid results and nationwide coverage within the first year of implementation and is providing a model of how to deliver services and operate effectively at the nexus of humanitarian aid and development.
This paper aims to capture the experiences and the emerging lessons learned from the ECRP to better understand the complexities of operating in such a context. These are some of the key lessons learned:
- Inclusive community-based approaches can support social cohesion even in settings of conflict.
- Building and investing in national systems and institutions during peace enables rapid and scalable crisis response during conflict.
- The political neutrality of implementing agencies is of crucial importance, and development partners must ensure that it is not compromised in conflict situations.
- Institutional autonomy of public implementing agencies allows for the greater flexibility that is critical for delivering services during conflict.
[…]
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/delivering-social-protection-midst-conflict-and-crisis-case-yemen and full document: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/130400-WP-PUBLIC-REVISED-P159053-SPJDiscussionPaperOctDeliveringSocialProtectionintheMidstofConflictandCrisisTheCaseofYemen.pdf
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National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response: Cash for work contributes to improved access to humanitarian services
Roads are the lifeline of any society; they facilitate movement for people and contribute to improving people’s lives and livelihoods especially when it comes to reaching education and healthcare.
In the rugged mountainous terrain, as certain areas in Al- Mahwit Governorate, people are in need of a good road. But in the midst of conflict and crisis, it is difficult for Yemen’s concerned authorities to cut, pave or asphalt a road, despite its small size.
For example, the sub-districts of Ghalibi Wa Rabi'ee and Al-Thari, which are located on the mountain slopes, are hard to reach. To travel back and forth from these areas, it can cost a lot of money, yet locals still have to find ways to access Ar-Rujum city for their shopping or health treatment. And recently, costs amounts have doubled with the inflation in gas prices and spare parts for cars.
Only four-wheel-drive SUVs have access to these areas, and they need constant maintenance, as their tires are frequently damaged due to the roughness of the road, the high altitude and abundance of rocks.
For this reason, the National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response (NFDHR) thought it necessary to find a way for locals to make money. As such, during the implementation of the Emergency Integrated Food, WASH and Health Interventions for the Affected Communities in Ar-Rujum District of Al Mahwit Governorate, NFDHR targeted 730 households through cash-for-work activities. This was done thanks to funding from the Yemen Humanitarian Fund.
The cash-for-work activities aimed to rehabilitate agricultural terraces, rainwater harvesting tanks and irrigation canals. However, NFDHR’s teams were keen on reviving the spirit of social solidarity, as well as encouraging and motivating community members to reform the roads after the completion of the daily cash-for-work program.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/cash-work-contributes-improved-access-humanitarian-services
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She wrestled death in front of her parents. The death of a child because of hunger in Al-Dale’a
A child died in the village of Halhal in the Azareq district in the southern province of Dale’a, following the famine that kills the local population, and outbreaks of malnutrition among children for weeks, without government or relief intervention from organizations to the moment.
The child's father, Ghadeer, in a video broadcast by activists on the social media sites, said he could not help his child from his remote village to the city of al- Dale’a because of the poverty he is living with the villagers.
"My baby started to have symptoms of malnutrition and I wanted to aid her, but I didn't have the money, and after trying to get it, Ghadeer was dead," explained the father of the girl who suffers from liver disease.
He noted that the field teams of international and local organizations had not reached the region, except once a team of a local organization had arrived, and only a few portions of wheat had been distributed to the poor.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159987
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UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Yemen: Protection Cluster Update (October 2018)
SITUATION OVERVIEW
Despite the escalation of conflict in alHudaydah not yet engulfing the city, recent months in Yemen have nevertheless exacted a brutal toll on civilians, who continue to be threatened by indiscriminate attacks, whether near conflict frontlines or in their homes, at markets or while fleeing to places of safety. Ongoing conflict, cholera, risk of famine and the depreciating currency have increased the protection needs of an already vulnerable population. In this context, ensuring protection of civilians remains paramount, as does addressing the growing protection needs for the conflict-affected and displaced population of Yemen.
Protection of Civilians
Conflict in Yemen reached a peak in August 2018, with the highest number of civilian casualties reported in any month of the year.
Women and children were estimated to comprise one-third of the civilian casualties monitored in August and September. While most incidents struck civilian homes and farms, 6% of incidents struck health, education, water, food and other protected sites, while more than 7% struck civilians while in their vehicles.
Internal Displacement
Conflict on the western coast continues to be the main driver of new internal displacement in Yemen.
According to the latest report of the Task Force on Population Movement, as of June 2018 there were 2.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Yemen, along with some 1 million IDP returnees
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-protection-cluster-update-october-2018
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To all our donors here is where your donations were spent. Pictures taken in Bani Quis area where @monarelief's team delivered urgent food aid baskets to most vulnerable families there. Please donate & help us help more families in #Yemen cc @monareliefye https://www.gofundme.com/colourofwar (photos)
https://twitter.com/monarelief/status/1054851328181198849
More pictures taken during @monarelief's team food aid distribution in Hajjeh. Please donate here to help us help more families in #Yemen Cc @monareliefye Remember every penny counts
During my mission to Hajjeh where we distributed 550 food aid baskets n Aslam & Bani Quis areas I paid a visit to Ashia's family offering you guys condolences for her death.We are at @monarelief tried to save Asha's life from hunger but unfortunately Ashia died by cholera. #Yemen
https://twitter.com/monarelief/status/1054853464604446723
https://twitter.com/monarelief/status/1054852727833088000
https://twitter.com/monarelief/status/1054851677692575744
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1054864381408931840
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"We just want peace": an aid worker's hopes and fears for Yemen's future
Sarah Abdulhakim Shamsan, IRC nutritional manager for clinics in Sana’a and Hodeidah, daily faces the grim realities of the widespread malnutrition, near-nonexistent health care, and overall desperation in Yemen. She oversees the screening of children under 5 years old for acute or moderate malnutrition. She also consults with pregnant and nursing mothers about the importance of breast-feeding and when to introduce other foods to help meet their babies’ nutritional needs.
Sarah’s anxieties reflect the dire situation in Yemen.
“I got married during the war,” says Sarah. “Why? Because it seems like it’s not going to end—I cannot stop my life and wait for this war to end. Now I am wondering, OK, if I am having a baby, how is his life going to be? His health, his education, everything.”
Prices have jumped as much as 40 percent in Sana’a in the past three months. Everything Sarah buys, cooks and eats is precious—potentially lifesaving. Most meals consist of eggs or beans.
But food, money and health care are hardly Sarah’s only concerns. Safety is paramount. Air strikes are a constant threat. And women are not safe outside after dark.
Sarah tries to lead a normal life. “I do normal things—social media, talk to my friends on the phone, watch TV, clean my house, prepare food.” Yet every day brings new challenges.
“We don’t want to hear bombing or shooting—we just want peace,” says Sarah.
The IRC is continuing relief efforts in Yemen, providing health, nutrition, and water and sanitation services to 250,000 people, delivering drugs and medical supplies to hospitals, and training health staff on cholera treatment. We are also calling on the international community to help achieve a lasting peace. (with photos)
https://www.rescue.org/article/we-just-want-peace-aid-workers-hopes-and-fears-yemens-future
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
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Djibouti declares Yemeni refugees allowed to enter the country
The Djiboutian government announced on Monday that it would allow Yemeni refugees to open small businesses without any permit.
Djiboutian Interior Minister Hassan Mohamed said that President Ismail Omar Gellah has issued strict directives that the Yemeni should treat the same treatment as Djiboutian citizens and obtain equal access to employment opportunities such as Djibouti, which does not apply to any other citizenship in Djibouti.
This came during a meeting with Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani, Djiboutian interior Minister Hassan Mohamed, according to Saba.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160001
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UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Yemen: CCCM Factsheet – September 2018
Cluster Coordination Team (NCCT) conducted outreach missions to Aden, Hajjah and Ibb governorates from August to October 2018. The exercise aimed at providing technical support to Sub National Cluster teams, assess living conditions of IDPs hosted in different types of temporary sites and to directly engage with them, consult with humanitarian community on their experiences, and to chart a way forward on effective and accountable service delivery; and to dialogue with both the national/local authority and host community.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cccm-factsheet-september-2018
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
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Hundreds of women protested against repressive al Houthipolicies in Sana’a city on October 23. The al Houthi movement deployed forces, including al Houthi female fighters, to suppress protests, according to anti-al Houthi news sources. Hundreds of students from Sana’a University demonstrated over the ongoing economic crisis and deteriorating living standards in Sana’a city last week.[3]
referring to
and to a Saudi news site:
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Sanaa boils .. resignations .. Protests .. And the anger of my people
https://www.okaz.com.sa/article/1680710 and by Google translator https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=de&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ar&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://www.okaz.com.sa/article/1680710&xid=17259,15700021,15700124,15700149,15700186,15700191,15700201,15700214,15700227,15700230&usg=ALkJrhgZt6WeF5_pnJ5JewP337N5uuMYuw
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Houthis kill citizen at checkpoint in Ibb province
According to the sources, the militia detained " Sufiyani ", from the villagers of "Dhofar ", for two hours, before one of the militants opened fire on him, which led to his death immediately.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160047
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A new fatwa. Houthis forbids marriage to legitimate government loyalists
The al-Houthi armed group came out with a new fatwa forbidding the marriage of girls in their areas of control to those in the areas of legitimacy.
The so-called "mufti of the Houthi militia ", Shamesddine Ben Sharafuddin, on Monday issued a fatwa forbidding marriage to further discuss capacities the legitimate government.
Shamseddine said on his Twitter page, "The Marriage of a girl from a mercenary" betrayal "calls for punishing those who commit it."
The Houthis attacked a wedding procession of two girls who were on their way to Marib governorate for their wedding by two youths fleeing the Houthi control areas, and the convoy was denied access and was detained in the central Yemeni province of al-Baydha, a week ago.
The sources said that the militia had detained the girls and shaved their heads, forcing the girls to return to their hometown.
"No one should marry his daughter or sister who is in the areas of Legitimacy control, and this is treason, and those who do it must be disciplined," al-Houthi mufti added.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159978
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Houthis kidnap two activists in Hajjah
Houthi militias on Monday abducted two activists working in humanitarian work in Aslam district of Hajjah while they were distributing assistances to poor people.
Local sources told Alsahwa Net that the two activists Adnan al-Ghailii and Mahfouz al-Ashwal were abducted and taken into an unknown destination.
Houthi militias looted last Sunday humanitarian assistances provided to people of Aslah district, Hajjah governorate.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24754
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Yemen's rebel-run court sentences man to death for spying for Saudi Arabia
A court controlled by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday sentenced a man to death for allegedly spying for Saudi Arabia, rebel-controlled Saba news agency reported.
The defendant, a Yemeni Sunni Muslim who is a member of the opposition Islah party (Yemen's local branch of Muslim Brotherhood), was detained in 2015 on charges of "espionage for Saudi Arabia," a Houthi official who attended the closed-door trial told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The agency did not identify the defendant, and the Houthi official also refused to give the name of the accused for fears of reprisals.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-10/24/c_137553204.htm
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Arab Coalition Offers ‘Safe Exit’ for Coup Deserters in Yemen
Arab Coalition Spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki told a presser on Monday that the coalition is prepared to provide a “safe exit” for General People's Congress (GPC) leaders who wish to part away from the alliance with coupist Houthi militias.
Col. Maliki said that upon communication, coalition forces will safely extract loyalists of the late president Ali Abdallah Saleh from the Houthi-controlled Sanaa.
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A)
A mother and her two children were killed by a shell fired by an unknown source on their house in Alduba village, in Lahj governorate
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1054850775833305088
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Tur Al-Baha authorities in Lahij: the commander of the 4th Brigade was subjected to an assassination attempt in Taiz
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160087
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Lamlas to the Consultative Meeting with Political Elites: The Council is not Seeking Power but has a National Project that Meets the Expectations of the Southern People in Partnership with All.
Ahmed Hamed Lamlas, secretary general of the southern transitional council, asserted that the council is going on its path towards communication with all southern figures and components through southern/southern dialogue.
During a consultative meeting held by the political department of the council on Monday to discuss the future of southern national dialogue project, Lamlas indicated that the council established four commissions to talk to political parties, southern figures, tribal leaders and other southern components. He said: “Dialogue is our target as it will lead us to a southern civil democratic state. we will try all means to line up the south through dialogue”.
My comment: Separatists preparing their southern state – step by step.
and they propagate they engage in social work (a filed in which the Hadi government had fully failed):
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Humanitarian Aids Commission of the Southern Transitional Council Starts its Work with Evaluating Damages and Visiting Affected Families in Al-Mehra
and articles like this one disclose the close connection of separatists to the UAE:
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With Presence of Al-Hodeida Governor, UAE Red crescent Announces New Projects in the West Coast
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Under directions of President Al-Zubaidi, Southern Transitional Council of Aden Supports a Handicapped Center in Al-Mansoura
(A P)
Al-Zubaidi: The Appointed Prime Minister is Helpless; the Legitimacy Lies Every Day and We Were About to Enforce the Statement but…
General Aidarous Kassem Al-Zubaidi, president of the southern transitional council, delivered a speech in front of the southern national assembly at Lailati Hall – Al-Mualla – Aden
Al-Zubaidi said: “The statement didn’t set a date for enforcement and we were about to enforce it but national and international changes and regional events obliged us to wait and do more work on preparing final arrangements to enforce the statement as a road map for us”.
He added: “We were ready to protect our facilities and associations from corruption and collapse as every day we witness a facility or an association collapse, especially revenue earning facilities. We will be open to the whole world and demand the world to interfere, especially in front of the humanitarian disaster that very close. Legitimacy lies every day and every day they talk about the technocratic government scenario while the prime minister is not from the south and is actually helpless”
My comment: separatists blaming the Hadi government, again and again.
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Natural gas wells in Yemen's #Marib are abandoned and requiring maintenance, reports have been saying for a couple weeks. Government and Saudi-led coalition are busy with detaining and killing people in this oil-and ga-rich province, not protecting natural resources!
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1055282270515462144
(A T)
Over 60 years of age. Gunmen assassinate a mosque Imam in Aden and flee
Unknown gunmen riding a motorcycle in front of a mosque in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, over the age of 60.
Gunmen riding a motorcycle assassinated Sheikh Hamid al-Athwari in front of the al-Taqwa mosque in Al-Nasr neighborhood in the Salulban district of Aden, a local source told al-Masdar online on Tuesday.
The gunmen escaped after the assassination on a motorcycle, the source said.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160085
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1055180743880724481 https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3412&cat_id=1
My comment: The UAEs mercenaries hit squad still at “work”??
(A P)
Soldier killed in clashes between security forces and tribal gunmen in Yafe’a in Lahj province
One soldier was killed and another wounded in clashes between the Belt security forces "non-government forces" and tribal gunmen in the district of Yafe’a, Lahj province, southern Yemen.
Local sources told al-Masdar online that Belt security forces had tried to storm one of Yafe’a villages in Lahij to arrest an accused of killing a tribal elder on Wednesday morning.
The sources said that clashes erupted after an attempt to break into the "Alredamma " tribe, killing one soldier and injuring another.
According to the sources, one of the sons of "Alredamma ", had previously killed a tribal elder, before fleeing to his tribe for shelter, while tension in the area remains, until the moment of writing. Wednesday afternoon.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160065
Remark: „Security Belt“: Emirati-backed separatist militia.
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Yemeni army says it faces severe food and supply shortages
The Yemeni army said on Tuesday that it faces severe shortages of food and supplies, as well as treatment of wounded soldiers injured in fighting against the Houthi militia in several cities.
A meeting of the Yemeni army was held in Marib city, headed by Maj. Gen. Taher al-Aqili, Chief of General Staff, in the presence of the heads of bodies and departments of the Ministry of Defense, the Chief of staff and a number of military zone commanders.
According to the army's website, the meeting discussed ways to address the acute shortage of food and supply and ways to provide alternatives immediately.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160046
(A P)
While searching for gratia payments committee. Four soldiers killed in Al-Jawf desert
Four soldiers in the government forces died and a fifth survived, in a desert in al- Jawf province in northern Yemen, while searching for a Ex gratia payments committee.
A source for the “La-Masdar online", said that five soldiers belonging to the 155 brigade, left their camp in the direction of Camp "Sabreen " in Al-Jawf, in order to reach a committee to exchange a "payment", introduced to the Army elements.
The five soldiers took a car, left the camp a week ago, lost their lives in the desert of al-Jawf Governorate, and four of them died, the source said.
He pointed out that he was a military force deployed to search for them, and found them in one area, four of whom died, while they rescued the fifth who was in the last breath.
Soldiers accuse the Ex gratia payments committees and military commanders of tampering with the payment of the soldiers ' dues, or of dispensing them away from the presence of soldiers in order to loot the dues, arguing that the soldiers were not in the same place as the Commission.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160050
(A P)
New head of government arrives skilled in his first visit to Yemen since his appointment
Yemeni Prime Minister Moein Abdel Malik arrived in the city of al-Ghaidah, a center in the eastern part of the country, from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on his first visit to Yemen since he was appointed to replace his predecessor Ahmed Ben Daghar on Monday.
According to a government source reported by the Almasdar online, a number of ministers accompany Abdul Malik
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160054
My comment: He came from Riyadh, he was installed in Riyadh, he “visits” Yemen.
(A P)
Hadi leaves Riyadh for America for treatment
President Abdurbo Mansour Hadi left his temporary residence in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday for the city of Cleveland in the United States, an official source said.
The official source in the Yemeni government told «Source Online» that Hadi left Riyadh to the United States, for treatment, where the doctors decided to return to resume the previous treatment.
He said Hadi had been treated in early September but doctors had decided to return.
https://www.almasdaronline.com/articles/159988
(A P)
A soldier dies inside the military police prison in Marib and directed to investigate his death
A soldier died in the military police prison in Marib province, east of the capital Sana'a, under mysterious circumstances, which have not yet been disclosed.
Sources told Al-Masdar online that the soldier, Dhifallah Herschel Al Mutawa, died in the military police prison in Marib, more than three months after his arrest.
Activists on social media sites reported the death of Al-Mutawa, under torture.
The soldier, Dhifallah, was arrested with other soldiers, on the background of what the military police said he had done "rebellion and gunfire", inside her camp in Marib.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159968
and separatists blame Islah Party (Muslim Brotherhood):
(A P)
One Officer Dead Under Savage Torture in Muslim Brotherhood Prison in Mareb
https://en.smanews.org/one-officer-dead-under-savage-torture-in-muslim-brotherhood-prison-in-mareb
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A H P)
UNOCHA: We welcome the announcement of $70M from KSA & UAE to pay Yemeni teachers salaries. During times of crisis it’s more important than ever that children can go to school.
https://twitter.com/UNOCHA/status/1054798079034122240
My comment: The UN praising the main perpetrators in Yemen for giving a little sum of blood money is shameful.
(* A P)
UN Security Council: International Community Must Take Action to Stop Catastrophic Famine in Yemen, Top Humanitarian Affairs Official Tells Security Council
Council members took the floor to affirm the urgency to avert famine in Yemen, with many also sounding the alarm on the other aspects of the humanitarian crisis. They also called on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law by allowing unhindered access for aid and other essential goods. While stressing that the Russian Federation will continue its unpoliticized aid to Yemen, that country’s representative also underscored that the solution lies in the political dimension.
Most speakers echoed that, asserting that only an inclusive United Nations‑led and Yemeni-owned political process can end the suffering. They called on all parties in the country to pursue that process through the United Nations Special Envoy, with Kuwait’s representative affirming the continued relevance of the Gulf Initiative in that context. Some called for greater Council pressure on the parties to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.
Yemen’s representative, emphasizing his Government’s commitment to international humanitarian and human rights law, called on the Security Council to act with strength to bring the Houthis to the negotiating table and to abide by Security Council resolutions so that his people’s suffering can end.
Describing Government strategies to decentralize humanitarian assistance so it can be distributed to those in need, he said that it has also taken measures to restore the economy through the banking system, including meeting the needs of small traders and the oil company. Actions, he added, have also been taken to neutralize the Houthi black market.
He announced that measures to control credit lines will be postponed awaiting dialogue with traders on the situation. Calling for assistance in building up foreign currency supplies, similar to what Saudi Arabia has done, he thanked that country, the United Arab Emirates and other donors, as well as the United Nations, for their assistance. He also called on all donors to meet the needs set out in the 2018 humanitarian appeal for his country.
Also speaking were representatives of the United Kingdom, China, France, Netherlands, Poland, Ethiopia, Peru, Sweden, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Cote d’Ivoire, United States and Bolivia.
My comment: The security Council meeting, at which Mark Lowcock had given his warning statement on looming famine in Yemen (look at cp1). – The security Council’s actions, and the statements of the greatest part of the member states, are a horrible sign of deadly hypocrisy. By its siding in this war, by active interference of the main member states, this war had been made possible, had been prolonged for 3 ½ years, had been severely aggravated to create the worst humanitarian crisis of our days. The statements of the US, the UK and France will stay in history as documents of a most ugly hypocrisy. Kuwait and the Hadi government are Saudi mouthpieces spreading well-known propaganda bias.
(A P)
UN Envoy to Yemen holds talks in Washington seeking to jump-start political process
Martin Griffiths met US senior officials and members of Congress in hopes to resume talks in November
In his second round of high level meetings with US officials since September, UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths is visiting Washington this week. Mr Griffiths has met with the Trump administration, Congress and financial institutions to discuss resuming political talks between Yemeni factions.
Following a trip to the Middle East, where he helped broker the release of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh's sons from Houthi captivity, Mr Griffiths arrived in Washington on Tuesday.
His schedule will include meetings with the State Department, White House, Pentagon, Congress, think tanks and World Bank.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan met Mr Griffiths on Tuesday to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the latest steps being taken "to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, as well as the urgent need for de-escalation and dialogue throughout Yemen” a statement by State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
(A P)
Iranian Foreign Ministry Senior Adviser Hossein Jaberi Ansari and Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers Mikhail Bogdanov and Sergey Vershinin met in Moscow to discuss the Syria and Yemen conflicts on October 23 and 24. Iranian and Russian officials have recently increased diplomatic engagements regarding Yemen.[2]
and
(B P)
Russia and Iran are engaging in the Yemen peace process to reduce U.S. influence in the region. Russian and Iranian *officials increased *their diplomatic *engagementsregarding Yemen in October, including separate meetings with Oman's foreign minister on October 16, and are *meeting in Moscow to discuss Yemen. The timing of their meetings in Oman and simultaneous increase in diplomatic engagements indicate that Iran and Russia are coordinating their diplomatic efforts.
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
(A P)
Saudi, Bahrain add Iran's Revolutionary Guards to terrorism lists
Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it and Bahrain had added Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and senior officers from its Quds Force to their lists of people and organizations suspected of involvement in terrorism.
Tehran quickly responded that the move was intended to “distract the world and the region from the killing of Jamal Khashoggi”.
My comment: Funny; in this case, the whole Saudi state should have been labeled as “terrorist” before.
cp7b Khashoggi und Jemen / Khashoggi and Yemen
(* B K P)
Why Do Yemen’s Dead Not Merit the Attention of Jamal Khashoggi?
The apparent murder of Saudi Arabian dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi is a shocking crime that merits the international attention it has received, but nonetheless it is impossible not to wonder why the death of a single person receives vastly more coverage than ongoing Saudi atrocities in Yemen.
Is it that a dramatic story involving a single personality is easier to grasp than a war fought over complex political and ethnic issues, or does the differing levels of attention signal that Mr. Khashoggi has achieved the status of an honorary westerner while the tens of thousands dead in Yemen represent a distant “other”? Some combination of both of these are likely at work, and that he is a fellow journalist makes his fate all the more compelling for reporters and editors. Geopolitical considerations are certainly at play here, with the towering hypocrisy of the Trump administration on full display, a hypocrisy that stands out even in the dismal history of U.S. government policies toward Saudi Arabia.
The thuggish behavior of the crown prince has to be laid partially at the doorstep of the White House because President Trump has heartedly embraced him, giving the green light to Saudi Arabia’s bottomless contempt for human rights. We might even speculate that President Trump wishes he could do away with opponents as firmly as the crown prince. And never mind the atrocities the United States (along with Britain and France) facilitate in its all-out support of Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen — what is human life (especially the lives of “others”) when profits are at stake?
There is little coverage of this ongoing humanitarian disaster in the corporate media. Why are millions of lives almost an afterthought while one privileged life merits such intense attention? Again, the fate of Mr. Khashoggi and the spotlight it shines on Saudi practices merit the widespread commendation it has attracted. But why such indifference to millions of others? Where is our humanity?
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(B E P)
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea tourism project to break ground in 2019
Saudi plans to develop resorts on 50 islands off the Red Sea coast
http://gulfbusiness.com/saudi-arabias-red-sea-tourism-project-break-ground-2019/
My comment: Bikini girls in Saudi Arabia?? (Flogging as part of the entertainment program?)
(** B P)
Can Saudi Arabia survive without the House of Saud?
For many Western governments today, the thought of Arabia without Sultans is unthinkable, yet business as usual, following Khashoggi's murder, is intolerable
In 1974 the late Professor Fred Halliday published his iconic and provocative book entitledArabia without Sultans.
For many Western governments today, the thought of Arabia without sultans is unthinkable, yet business as usual, following Khashoggi's murder, is intolerable. So today can we envisage Saudi Arabia without the Al-Saud or indeed any royalty? And if we can, what would be the consequences?
On the face of it, Arabia without the Al-Saud is inconceivable. After all, the country has been defined in terms of that family since its foundation in 1933. But surely after so long it would not cease to exist as a country merely because its ruling family disappears from the political scene. In fact, it may be a renaissance that liberates its latent potential and mobilises its now educated young population that has been shackled by an absolute monarchy for 85 years.
Absolute monarchy
Let’s go beyond the ambiguous reform, attributed to the young crown prince Mohammad bin Salman since he was appointed by his father King Salman. By definition reform implies a good and solid foundation upon which to add a series of incremental measures. Evolutionary rather than revolutionary change is applauded because the world cannot afford to have a revolution in the most important oil-producing country.
But the solid foundation is now proving to be in trouble. Whether the state is rogue - or elements within it are - the absolute monarchy is no longer a force of security for the people, the region, or the international community with its governments and corporations.
If the domestic situation is bad, regionally the monarchy’s record has been abysmal
Civil war
One nightmare scenario for the West - and Saudis - is for Saudi Arabia to become a caliphate, along the lines of the Islamic State. The idea that the world’s largest oil reserves are in the hands of such a group constitutes the worst-case scenario for just about everybody.
But this alarmist vision is both flawed and ill-informed. This will be a back-to-the-future scenario. Saudi Arabia was founded as a jihadi project and the current regime embodies most of the tenets of an Islamic state. From flogging, public beheading to sectarianism, the Saudi regime has exhibited most of the characteristics of that entity, so why replace one with another.
Despite this grim picture, Saudi Arabia comprises an increasingly educated society with aspirations more akin to high growth economies and the affluent West. Yes, some Saudis are deeply religious and conservative but let’s not confuse deep faith with political fanaticism.
Another, equally troubling, scenario is for Arabia without sultans to descend into a protracted civil war - as the Al-Sauds cling to power, inside and outside forces seek to gain influence and access to the country’s vast oil resources. While Syria comes to mind, the experience of post-Saddam Iraq is also relevant. A civil war in Saudi Arabia would threaten the very notion of a centralised kingdom, with an absolute monarchy ruling over a continent with diverse regions and people.
Should a civil war erupt, it would be much worse than the Lebanese, Syrian, and Iraqi ones.
A pariah state
For these alarming scenarios to be avoided, one important step needs to be taken, which is the gradual transformation of Saudi Arabia into a democratic system with an elected parliament and government.
Arabia without sultans will have to go through the first transitional phase of allowing people the experience of participating in government and decision-making.
However, knowing how the Al-Saud are determined to cling to power, and always ready to absolve their own princes from any wrongdoing, such urgent political transformation may not be even be considered. But let’s give them the benefit of doubt.
If not, Arabia will further deteriorate into a pariah state, crippled by past and future scandals until it explodes from within. Most authoritarian regimes go through a period when internal power struggles weaken them to the extent that an Arabia without sultans become inevitable – by Madawi Al-Rasheed
https://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/can-saudi-arabia-survive-without-house-saud-507921606
(* B P)
Khashoggi death throws new light on Saudi prince’s crackdown on dissent
The jailing of Badawi, who has been honored by the U.S. State Department and has spoken at the U.N. Human Rights Council, is emblematic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s relentless crackdown on those seen as challenging his authority, according to human rights groups.
“He is trying to silence everyone,” said Assiri, who lives in self-exile in London. “There are no human rights defenders still free in Saudi Arabia. They are all behind bars.”
Saudi governments have long quashed criticism, but those efforts have intensified under Mohammed, who has consolidated vast amounts of power, especially over national security, in his hands.
Badawi, who remains in prison without charge, was one of at least eight women’s rights activists arrested earlier this year. Several of them headed a campaign that ultimately led Mohammed to give Saudi women the right to drive — a popular move that won praise from around the world.
It has never been made clear exactly what Badawi’s alleged crime was, or why the others were detained.
In an interview with Bloomberg News this month, Mohammed said those detained were not arrested for their rights activism but because they had “connections” with and were being paid by intelligence agencies from countries such as Saudi rivals Iran and Qatar.
“The evidence and the investigations proved that they did know it was intelligence work against Saudi Arabia,” he said.
(A P)
HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Yemen's New Premier
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1832694
Comment: Let's face it the new PM of one of the Yemeni governments has no,power - that is with the coalition and Yemen has no direct control over its sovereignty
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10157095317058641
(* A E P)
Saudis sacken Applaus und Milliarden-Deals ein
Inmitten der Affäre um den Tod des regierungskritischen Journalisten Jamal Khashoggi hat Saudi-Arabien Geschäfte mit Investoren in Höhe von mehr als 50 Milliarden Dollar gemacht.
Auf einer am Dienstag von zahlreichen Größen aus Politik und Wirtschaft boykottierten Konferenz in Riad wurden Verträge in den Bereichen Öl, Gas und Verkehr unter Dach und Fach gebracht, wie Regierungsvertreter mitteilten.
Ausgerechnet Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman (33) erntete Beifall von den Anwesenden, als er den Veranstaltungssaal betrat.
im TV darf sich der mutmaßliche Strippenzieher feiern lassen: Fernsehbilder des Senders Al-Ekhbariya zeigten, wie sich die Gäste am Dienstag erhoben, als der Thronfolger den Raum betrat. Und nicht nur das: Die Saudis schlossen bei einem der weltweit größten Wirtschaftstreffen gleich Milliardengeschäfte ab!
Laut dem saudischen Staatsfernsehen wurden unter anderem Deals mit Südkoreas Autobauer Hyundai, dem amerikanischen Ölfeldausrüster Schlumberger sowie dem französischen Ölkonzern Total unter Dach und Fach gebracht. Allein der saudische Energie-Riese Aramco soll 15 Abkommen im Wert von mehr als 30 Milliarden Dollar (rund 26 Milliarden Euro) abschließen.
(* A E P)
Saudi crown prince proclaims investment conference despite boycott
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince trumpeted on Tuesday a conference that has drawn investment deals worth $50 billion despite a boycott over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, declaring the event as “great - more people more money”.
The crown prince, who praised the conference in comments to reporters as he toured the venue, will participate in a panel on Wednesday.
The event is being held at the opulent Ritz-Carlton, where scores of princes, businessmen and officials were detained in a crackdown on corruption soon after last year’s conference ended, unnerving investors and raising concern about transparency.
Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who was among those detained, appeared at the forum beside MbS, who led the anti-corruption drive.
Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih assured the conference that the world’s top crude exporter was passing through a “crisis of a sort” but would power ahead with economic reforms.
Hundreds of bankers and company executives joined officials for the Future Investment Initiative. But while last year’s inaugural conference drew the global business elite, this year’s event has been marred by the withdrawal of more than two dozen high-level speakers.
and
(* A E P)
Mood is subdued at Saudi forum under shadow of Khashoggi death
This year’s conference, which opened on Tuesday, has now been overshadowed by the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which prompted a boycott by a number of Western politicians, top world bankers and company executives.
Several speakers touched on Khashoggi’s death, with the kingdom’s energy minister saying it could not be justified.
Prominent Saudi businesswoman Lubna Olayan described it as a terrible act “alien to our culture” in the opening speech before moderating a discussion among sovereign wealth fund chiefs.
Moderators were brought in at the last minute after Western media partners pulled out. The event’s website was hacked, the organizers said, and the schedule was shared only shortly before it began.
Instead of star journalists like Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo and CNN’s John Defterios who ran last year’s panels, the event resorted mostly to lesser-known figures from the region.
“It’s like just any other local Saudi conference this year,” said one Western conference participant. “The quality of the speakers has dropped from last year... The star power is gone.”
(* A E P)
Standing Ovation for Saudi Crown Prince Thrusts Conference Attendees Into Limelight
Bankers kept their name tags obscured behind ties. Many tried to keep a low profile and avoided talking to the news media. But those hoping to escape any tarnish from attending Saudi Arabia’s global investment conference in the wake of a dissident journalist’s killing were foiled when the crown prince himself, Mohammed bin Salman, appeared at the summit meeting and received a standing ovation.
The unannounced appearance of Prince Mohammed, who is suspected of playing a role in the killing of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, highlighted the risk facing American businesses that chose to attend an event aimed at bringing together prominent global executives. The crown prince is now scheduled to participate in a panel discussion on Wednesday morning about building the region into a global economic powerhouse.
Many Western executives and government officials have canceled their appearances
Some were not in the mood for conversation; others likened the decision about whether to attend to a Hobson’s choice.
“I’m not doing any media,” said Ken Moelis, the founder and chief executive of Moelis & Company, an investment bank. “It’ll have to be ‘no comment.’”
The future of the investment conference remains uncertain, and some attendees mingling on the sidelines wondered aloud whether the current crisis would blow over or result in a real reversal of Saudi Arabia’s recent progress. For Saudis who organized the conference, one question that was top of mind was whether corporate media sponsors that withdrew their support, including The New York Times Company, would return next year.
An investment adviser who specializes in business deals between the United States and Saudi Arabia suggested that big banks with brands to protect and Silicon Valley companies that promote ethical investing would be wary of embarking on new deals with Saudi Arabia until concerns about Mr. Khashoggi’s killing were resolved.
Real estate investors from the United States, however, were eagerly prowling the halls, seeking funding for projects in America and looking for opportunities to get involved in infrastructure development in the Middle East.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/business/saudi-conference-khashoggi-killing.html
and
(* A P)
Film. More than 4,500 attendees at the #FII2018 in Saudi Arabia. All companies that announced their withdrawal from the event due to #JamalKhashoggi’s death have sent their senior executives.
https://twitter.com/Adhwan/status/1054668995486535680
and
(A E P)
Saudi Arabia reassures boycotting banks, prince to address forum
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it would not penalize foreign banks boycotting an investment forum in a message of reassurance for a gathering overshadowed by a global outcry over slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The crown prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler and architect of its reform drive, is scheduled to speak at the event in the late afternoon after making a brief appearance on the opening day, declaring the event as “great - more people more money”.
He wil be accompanied on the panel by the crown prince of Bahrain, which sent a 110-strong delegation to the event, according to a Bahraini delegate. The United Arab Emirates, another Gulf Arab ally, also made a big showing, led by UAE vice president and Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
“They are circling the wagons, rallying the allies in order to weather the storm,” a Saudi businessman told Reuters.
(A E P)
Total to announce retail network in Saudi Arabia with Aramco: Total CEO
French oil and gas producer Total MTOTF.PA is set to announce a retail network in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Aramco, Total’s chief executive said on Tuesday.
Patrick Pouyanne was a speaking at an investment conference in Riyadh.
(* A E P)
Saudi's PIF invested in 50-60 firms via SoftBank fund: director
The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has invested in 50 or 60 companies via SoftBank Group’s (9984.T) Vision Fund and will bring most of those firms to the kingdom, managing director Yasir al-Rumayyan said on Tuesday.
The state fund has agreed to invest $45 billion in the giant tech fund led by SoftBank and the pair are also working with other parties on a number of large-scale, multi-billion dollar projects relating to the solar industry.
Rumayyan was speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference at which SoftBank’s Chief Executive Masayoshi Son canceled a speaking engagement, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing a spokesperson for the conference.
Remark: For Soft Bank, read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoftBank_Group , and here in Google Translation an excerpt of (Japanese only) Wikipedia article on Soft Bank Vision Fund:
SOFTBANK VISION & FUND
SoftBank Vision Fund LP (hereinafter referred to as SVF), the registered headquarters are in the jurisdiction of Britishjersey , the office is located in theCity ofLondon - Cityof Westminster,Mayfair Investment fund operated by private equity fund (SoftBank Vision Fund LP and SB Delta Fund (Jersey) LP) which places head office function. Established on May 20, 2017 by Softbank Group 's Masayoshi Son and SaudiPublic Investment Fund (hereinafter abbreviated as PIF) Vice Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salmann in 2017. Softbank is scheduled to perform investment in selecting investment destinations. SOFTBANK Group's strategic finance manager Rajive Misra led and Jonathan BarockCOO and AROCK SAUMACFO of SOFTBANK Group International assumed senior advisors. January 10, 2017 Alok Sama was dismissed at the request of shareholders and Saleh Romeih took over as Director.
In addition to PIF ($ 45 billion), SoftBank ($ 25 billion), Mubadara Development Corporation ($ 100 to 15 billion dollars), Apple (1 billion dollars), Qualcomm (1 billion dollars ), about 10 companies including Larry Ellison's private office ( Oracleco-founder (1 billion dollars), Hon Hai Precision Industry etc. participate and the scale of operation is expected to exceed 10 trillion yen.
In addition, SOFTBANK jointly acquired a Fortress Investment Group with assets under management of 8 trillion yen, the Nikkei Newspaper said, "We will expand the scale of operations to 20 trillion and also incorporate our know-how and become a solid Fortress and "We anticipate that the aggressive VIF will balance the investment sector as a whole and aim to reduce the risk." Forbes says, "Is not it not only technology but also substitute asset management as an investment target for SVF?" I expect it.
My comment: An insight into the neoliberal New World Order which really shakes me.
(* A E P)
Saudi signs deals worth $50 billion in oil, gas and infrastructure
Saudi Arabia signed deals worth more than $50 billion in oil, gas, infrastructure and other sectors at an investment conference in Riyadh on Tuesday, officials there said.
Details were announced at the Future Investment Initiative, held in Riyadh in the face of boycotts by Western political figures, international bankers and executives that were prompted by the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Companies involved in the deals included commodities trader Trafigura, Total (TOTF.PA), Hyundai (011760.KS), Norinco (000065.SZ), Schlumberger, Halliburton (HAL.N) and Baker Hughes (BHGE.N), state television said.
Swiss-based Trafigura said it had signed a deal for a joint venture partnership with Riyadh-based Modern Mining Holding Co.
My comment: You see, CEOs and prominent figures boycotting the conference is for show, what really matters are these deals.
(A E P)
Saudi Arabia reassures on oil supply, says will meet demand
Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it would continue to meet customer demand for crude despite looming U.S. sanctions that are expected to reduce oil exports from Iran.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said at an investment conference in Riyadh that the oil market was in a “good place” and he hoped oil producers would sign a deal in December to extend cooperation to monitor and stabilize prices.
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp13b
(* B P)
Bernie Sanders: We Must Stop Helping Saudi Arabia in Yemen
Congress needs to step in to end our complicity in the kingdom’s human rights abuses.
The likely assassination of the Saudi critic and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi underscores how urgent it has become for the United States to redefine our relationship with Saudi Arabia, and to show that the Saudis do not have a blank check to continue violating human rights.
One place we can start is by ending United States support for the war in Yemen. Not only has this war created a humanitarian disaster in one of the world’s poorest countries, but also American involvement in this war has not been authorized by Congress and is therefore unconstitutional.
The United States is deeply engaged in this war. We are providing bombs the Saudi-led coalition is using, we are refueling their planes before they drop those bombs, and we are assisting with intelligence.
The administration defends our engagement in Yemen by overstating Iranian support for the Houthi rebels. But the fact is that the relationship between Iran and the Houthis has only strengthened with the intensification of the war. The war is creating the very problem the administration claims to want to solve.
The war is also undermining the broader effort against violent extremists.
Above and beyond the catastrophe that this war has created, there is the fact that American engagement there has not been authorized by Congress, and is therefore unconstitutional.
I very much hope that Congress will act, that we will finally take seriously our congressional duty, end our support for the carnage in Yemen, and send the message that human lives are worth more than profits for arms manufacturers – by Sen. Bernie Sanders
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/opinion/bernie-sanders-saudi-arabia-war-yemen.html = https://www.opednews.com/articles/We-Must-Stop-Helping-Saudi-by-Bernie-Sanders-Arming-Saudi-Arabia_Congress_Houthis_Murder-181026-200.html
and more comments: http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2018/10/ongoing-catastrophe-yemen
(B K P)
Cut ties with Saudi, stop backing bombing of Yemen
However, there is something vastly more important and obvious that the U.S. Congress can do ― regardless of what Trump wants ― about Saudi atrocities. The Congress can stop U.S. participation in the Saudis' genocidal war in Yemen.
Under the two resolutions, if the Congress votes to end U.S. military participation in the Saudi war, the president will have 30 days to withdraw.
In the coming months, tens of thousands of people across the country will be contacting their representatives and senators to persuade them to vote to end this war that has nothing to do with U.S. national security.
They will be up against some of the most powerful interests in the world: the military-industrial complex ― including the weapons manufacturers that Trump has expressed concerns about ― as well as the national security state. But if enough people participate in this effort, the war will end.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2018/10/197_257601.html
(A H P)
Film: Trump’s Travel Ban Is Forcing This American Mother to Move to Yemen to Reunite with Her Husband
“I don't want to go to a different country. I want to live in my country. Why am I forced to now leave my own home because of this racism and this fear?” Sondos al-Silwi is planning to move to Yemen so that she and her infant daughter can be with her husband. Why? Because of Trump’s Travel Ban.
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5bcf3712e4b0b02d9e0e8766/amp
(* B P)
Saudis Move to Behead Female Activist as Facebook Censors Anti-Saudi Content
Although Saudi Arabia has killed or injured several thousand women in neighboring Yemen, beheading a female is completely unprecedented inside the Kingdom thus far.
Facebook has Riyadh’s Back in the Public Relations Department
Just as news broke about five activists, Facebook initiated a crackdown on anti-Saudi accounts — which also made headlines.
In fact, it appears that the Saudi regime and their Western counterparts in the United States have adopted the “Russian interference” hysteria as a strategy in their soft war against Iran. Facebook announced on Tuesday that it had removed 652 accounts which it claimed were promoting anti-Saudi, anti-Israel, and pro-Palestinian themes.
In addition to Facebook’s sweep, Twitter deleted nearly 300 accounts while Google and YouTube also deleted at least one. Facebook claims these accounts originated inside Iran from Tehran’s government itself — just like the hyper-inflated “Russian misinformation” campaign.
A private cybersecurity firm called FireEye tipped Facebook, Twitter, and Google off to the alleged accounts. The CEO of FireEye, Kevin Mandiant, is a former US Air Force officer with an extensive background in cyber espionage.
It’s very convenient for Riyadh that FireEye informed the tech companies about these alleged misinformation accounts on the very same day the news broke about Saudi plans to behead five new activists — and their first woman nonetheless.
And with FireEye’s ties to the US military, this is not surprising at all.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/saudi-arabia-behead-activist/248162
(* B P)
The War in Yemen Is a Tragedy—and America Can End Its Complicity
The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi—a Saudi national and U.S. resident who spent much of his career explaining the kingdom to Americans and more recently adopted a critical approach—has brought long overdue scrutiny to Saudi Arabia’s most toxic and destabilizing policies.
A critical mass of American politicians in both parties now have the opportunity to challenge Saudi preferences and clarify American interests.
One of their top priorities should be to disentangle the United States from the disastrous Saudi-led war in Yemen. American policy in the Gulf cannot be subsidiary to weapons sales: major contracts must be reassessed so that they serve American policy interests, rather than drive them. Finally, a principled and strategically sound recalibration on Yemen can spur an even more important process: the revival of congressional oversight of America’s wars. It’s time to begin reversing the militarization of foreign policy and rethinking the logic of America’s reflexive and unconstrained global war on terror.
Bipartisan frustration was already building over the trajectory of the Yemen War and Saudi’s seeming indifference to congressional concerns even before Khashoggi’s murder. The Trump administration is unlikely to dramatically change course, but Congress has the authority to restrain the worst excesses of America’s involvement in Yemen and, equally important, to force a debate about our forever war.
The United States has thereby lost considerable face in the region, which has further diminished its ability to condemn war crimes with authority and to call for reasonable dispute resolution between the Middle East’s competing regional powers.
The real question, however, is of American culpability—legal, political, and moral. Pentagon lawyers argue that, based on their read of U.S. law, the United States is not legally engaged in direct hostilities in Yemen. This Pentagon position has shaped U.S. policy. For example, the Pentagon has told Congress that American refueling of coalition bombers does not amount to direct involvement. Some members of Congress have recoiled at the legalistic nature of the claim; and Yemeni civilians at the receiving end of an indiscriminate bombing campaign have not parsed responsibility along such fine lines. Regardless, there are serious legal arguments that U.S. officials could be held liable for their role in aiding and abetting war crimes. In any case, the United States is considered a central player in the conflict, and cannot escape political blame for the disastrous turn it has taken. The moral calculus is clearest of all: unlike murkier conflicts, where the United States can plausibly point to strategic benefits of messy engagements, in Yemen the human toll is damningly high, and is accompanied by a strategic loss rather than a mitigating payoff.
We know about some of the worst missteps in Yemen because of the work of local advocates, humanitarians, and journalists; but there is a great deal that remains completely opaque about the conflict and the United States’ role in it.
https://tcf.org/content/commentary/war-yemen-tragedy-america-can-end-complicity/?agreed=1
(* A P)
Film: MSM U-TURN ON MBS
The honeymoon with Saudi Arabia is officially over. Right?
https://www.facebook.com/soapboxxx/videos/187925038765759
(A P)
Elizabeth Warren Would Like Consulting Firm McKinsey to Please Explain Its Work for Saudi Arabia
Senator Elizabeth Warren is urging McKinsey & Co. to be transparent about its relationship with Saudi Arabia and its consulting services that she said may have enabled the kingdom to crack down on dissent (with film)
http://fortune.com/2018/10/24/senator-elizabeth-warren-mckinsey-saudi-arabia
(* B P)
Film: Pompeo Backed Yemen War For Weapon Sales Profit. The Jimmy Dore Show
Secretary of state reportedly was warned that a cutoff of U.S. support could jeopardize $2 billion in weapons sales.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azx90nHiIeg
(A P)
Petition: Congress:Stop supporting the attacks in Yemen
To be delivered to The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate
The U.S. must immediately stop aiding the Saudi-led attacks in Yemen. These arbitrary attacks are killing civilians and pushing millions to the brink of starvation. Congress never authorized military intervention in this conflict in Yemen, and it's time to stop all U.S. involvement.
Our tax dollars and U.S. bombs are contributing to this unnecessary ongoing conflict. This can't continue to happen on our watch.
The U.S. is supporting a coalition that is bombing children in Yemen, and that support must end now.
https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/end-the-attacks-in-yemen
and film https://www.facebook.com/moveon/videos/vb.7292655492/10155747617765493
(* A P)
This is the first step to recalibrating U.S.-Saudi relations
THE MURDER of Jamal Khashoggi should spark a long-overdue recalibration of U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and its reckless de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman. In the past several years the crown prince has launched a series of foolhardy foreign policy initiatives that have damaged U.S. interests, including his rupturing of relations with Qatar and Canada and the kidnapping of the pro-American Lebanese prime minister. But the best place to start the U.S. readjustment is where Mohammed bin Salman himself began: with the disastrous war in Yemen.
The Saudis say they are countering Iran, which backs the Houthis. But the Houthis are an indigenous group with legitimate grievances, and the war has only enhanced Iranian influence. As has been obvious for some time, the only solution is a negotiated settlement. But the Saudis have done their best to sabotage a U.N.-led peace process. Talks planned for Geneva in September failed when Saudi leaders would not grant safe travel guarantees to Houthi leaders.
Congressional concern about this strategic and humanitarian disaster has been mounting.
Iran hawks will howl that the prohibition will work to Tehran’s advantage. But the Trump administration’s unquestioning support for what amounts to a sectarian crusade by Sunni Saudi Arabia against Shiite Iran needs an adjustment, too.
My comment: This is really true, but: Dear WaPo, why just now? YOU had backed this war and this pro-Saudi politics by twisted or just none reporting on the Yemen war. When will you finally fire David Ignatius?
Comment: Colonial media bastion the #WashingtonPost now questioning #Washington's continued backing for the dirty war on #Yemen
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1918942395068412
(A P)
USA | Protesters Hold Candles in Front of the Saudi Embassy Mourning Victims Killed by Saudi-Led Coalition
Protesters held candles in front of the Saudi embassy in New York in mourning for the victims of the crimes committed by the Saudi-Led Coalition in Yemen and victims of political assassination including Yemeni President Ibrahim Al-Hamdi and the Saudi opposition writer Nasser Al-Saeed and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in his country's consulates in Turkey.
Caricatures have been raised condemning the continued massacres in Yemen and calling for an end to interference in Syria.
https://www.u-news.net/en/news/50/14452/.htm
(* B P)
Khashoggi's fate is proof the US-Saudi relationship is over
Michael Fuchs says it’s time for the US to take a stand against the destructive bond that Donald Trump has with Saudi Arabia
The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia was broken long before the apparent murder of Jamal Khashoggi. It’s far past time for a fundamental break in the relationship. The United States must view the Saudis not as flawed partners, but rather as malign actors undermining US interests.
And yet, specious arguments for a robust US-Saudi partnership have dominated policy circles and government. We need Saudi Arabia to combat terrorism, we are told. Mere whispers of the words “but, terrorism cooperation” have long won debates in Washington over the need to work with the Saudis. But is Saudi Arabia a real partner? Fifteen of the 19 men who attacked America on 9/11 were Saudis. And according to a leaked US government memo from 2009, “donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide”.
Another argument claims the United States needs Saudi Arabia for regional stability. But the facts tell a different story. In Yemen, Saudi Arabia has been waging a war – with US support – for more than three years, causing one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
Ah, yes, Iran! Combatting Iran’s malign influence is another magic end that supposedly justifies the means of the United States working with Saudi Arabia. But what has the relationship achieved for the United States? Saudi Arabia tried to prevent the United States from negotiating a deal that verifiably stopped Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon, and then encouraged the Trump administration to withdraw despite the fact that the deal was working. Iran is no doubt a destabilizing actor, funding terrorism and threatening Israel. But Saudi Arabia is also a destabilizing actor, and by taking Saudi Arabia’s side against Iran it is entirely possible that the United States helps fuel the deadly regional rivalry.
One more recent justification for the US-Saudi relationship has been Israel.
At the end of the day, this is about more than the US-Saudi relationship. It’s about whether or not America will stand up for democratic values and human rights, including against the growing brazenness of autocracies like Russia and China to reach beyond their borders to murder and abduct critics. The United States must take a stand.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/19/khashoggi-fate-us-saudi-relationship
My comment: America never did “stand up for democratic values and human rights”. The author just tries to save a more general propaganda scam (the US as promoting human rights and democracy) against another more special one (US-Saudi “friendship” as useful for US interests). Look at cp1.
(* B P)
It’s time to silence the Saudi lobbying machine in Washington
Before the horrific murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, Saudi Arabia had amassed one of the largest and well-funded influence operations in the United States. It had more than two dozen lobbying and public relations firms on its payroll. Its lobbyists lined congressional campaign coffers on the very same day they met with senators and representatives to discuss Saudi interests, and the Saudis were pumping cash into think tanks and elite American universities across the nation.
But now the Saudi’s once seemingly invincible influence machine has started to malfunction. Four of Saudi Arabia’s lobbying and public relations firms, and at least one think tank, have severed ties with the Saudis.
The question isn’t why organizations are distancing themselves from Saudi Arabia now; the real question is why did Washington wait to sour on the Saudis? The short answer: the Saudis’ extraordinary spending on influence in the United States.
The story of the rise of Saudi influence in Washington begins after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when it was revealed that 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. In the next 10 years, the Saudis spent more than $100 million to reshape their image in Washington. They were so successful that the Obama administration — while negotiating the Iran deal that the Saudis opposed — offered Saudi Arabia $115 billionin arms sales, far more than any administration in U.S. history. These are the same arms deals that President Trump keeps falsely claiming credit for and is using as a completely misguided justification for not punishing the Saudis for Khashoggi’s death.
While becoming the leading recipient of U.S. arms sales just 15 years after being implicated in the most devastating terrorist attack on U.S. soil might seem surprising, the Saudi lobby was only getting started. In 2016, the Saudi government was fighting the Justice Against State Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which effectively would allow for the families of 9/11 victims to continue with a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia. To fight JASTA, Saudi Arabia’s longtime public relations consultant Qorvis/MSL Group, among others, orchestrated a campaign that reportedly duped U.S. military veterans into lobbying against the 9/11 victims’ families in exchange for a trip to Washington, including a stay at the Trump International Hotel.
This was just the beginning of Saudi Arabia’s courtship of the Trump administration and the dramatic expansion of their influence operation in Washington. Foreign Agent’s Registration Act (FARA) records filed in 2017 show the Saudis spent nearly $27 million on lobbying and public relations firms, nearly triple their spending in 2016.
We owe it to Jamal Khashoggi to not let them win. We owe it to him to silence the Saudi lobby and punish Saudi Arabia for what they have done – by Ben Freeman
My comment: Dear WaPo, be honest: When will you finally fire David Ignatius?
(* A P)
Khashoggi killing fuels renewed push to end US support for Saudi war in Yemen
Saudi brutality in Jamal Khashoggi case 'not new', says US-based professor calling for end to US support for Saudi-led coalition
The killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has shone a light on Saudi Arabia's human rights record, and the country's powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, like never before.
It has also created a renewed opportunity to push the United States to end its support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which has claimed thousands of lives and plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis in which millions of people risk starving to death.
"Honestly, this is the best chance. This is the only way the US can withdraw its support for the Saudis in Yemen," said Shireen al-Adeimi, an assistant professor at Michigan State University.
"Momentum is building against Saudi Arabia with their treatment of Khashoggi," she told MEE.
Part of that momentum comes in the form of a resolution - put forward by US Congressman Ro Khanna in late September, before Khashoggi disappeared - that calls for the withdrawal of US military involvement in the war in Yemen that had not been authorised by Congress.
The resolution builds on a previous motion that was passed in the House last November, but only after it was made non-binding amid opposition from key Republicans and Democrats.
However, "this time around, our coalition to end the war has expanded and the call for withdrawing US involvement is louder," Khanna, a congressman from California, said in a statement.
That support appears to have grown since Khashoggi disappeared on 2 October after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
(* B P)
Surgical strikes: what attacks on Yemen and Khashoggi’s demise have in common
It is the hour of CYA in Washington. The apparent assassination of Jamal Khashoggi and ensuing notoriety of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman have prompted some self-serving revisionist history from former Obama administration officials about the war in Yemen.
From the pundit class to Congress, official Washington is now connecting the liquidation of a critic in a foreign city with the annihilation of people in a distant land. Both crimes, it is apparent, emanate from the person of MBS, the once-admired, now reviled, reformer and ruthless autocrat.
Which casts the Barack Obama administration’s tolerance of MBS in an unflattering light.
Now Ben Rhodes, who was an Obama deputy national security adviser, depicts the Saudi war on Houthi clans of Yemen as an indiscriminate affair in which civilian casualties “mounted,” while US official applied “pressure.”
The problem is there’s little evidence for Rhodes’ version of events.
Did the Obama administration’s “pressure” result in any diminution of civilian suffering?
The number of attacks declined after 2015, but the percentage of attacks on civilians remained the same. And the attacks on agricultural land, production facilities, farm animals and water facilities continued. What Rhodes called “restraint” could also be described “increased precision,” as the latest study of the Yemen war shows.
In her report on “aerial bombardment and food war,” Martha Mundy, an emeritus professor from the London School of Economics, says the Saudi-led war has been anything but indiscriminate.
“The data does suggest clear patterns, not just random collateral damage,” Mundy said.
This blindness goes all the way to the top of the US government. After Donald Trump succeeded Obama, Rhodes claims, everything changed:
“In the absence of any US pressure related to the conduct of the war in Yemen, the conflict escalated, and a humanitarian crisis spiraled out of control with no political endgame in sight.”
Not really. Rhodes is covering his ass. What he doesn’t know – or rather, prefers not to admit – is that MBS intended to inflict a humanitarian crisis all along, and disregarded the Washington verbiage that Rhodes imagined as “pressure.”
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis wasn’t “out of control” any more than “rogue killers” dispatched Jamal Khashoggi. The strikes were surgical. Just as Khashoggi was reportedly dismembered, so MBS seeks to dismember Yemen. And it started on Obama’s watch.
http://www.atimes.com/surgical-strikes-what-attacks-on-yemen-and-khashoggis-demise-have-in-common/
Remark: CYA is the written abbreviation for 'see you,' mainly used in text messages and e-mails.
(B P)
The Saudis Are Killing America’s Middle East Policy
Mohammad bin Salman isn’t just ruining his own reputation—he’s spoiling Washington’s policies across the region.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/22/the-saudis-are-killing-americas-middle-east-policy/
My comment: And just another (boring) US-centered article.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
(* B P)
Britain has sold its soul to the House of Saud. Shame on us
Outrage over the murder of Jamal Kashoggi will not last. Our complicity with this murderous dictatorship is a scandal
There is, finally, some scrutiny of Britain’s sordid relationship with one of the most abhorrent dictatorships on Earth. That it has taken the murder of a journalist – rather than, say, Saudi Arabia’s remorseless war in Yemen, now the world’s worst humanitarian crisis – is a travesty. Do not expect this moment to last. The British establishment and the Saudi tyranny are intertwined: the ties between our ruling elites and a regime that beheads dissidents, exports terror and slaughters Yemeni children are too lucrative to break.
Take our political elite.
The Saudi regime spends hundreds of thousands on British MPs – mostly Tory, but some Labour: from foreign trips to gifts.
Shipping over gullible British parliamentarians on stage-managed trips to project a false image of reform is a good investment.
There are the economic ties. Earlier this year, our then foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, lauded an estimated £65bn worth of Saudi investment over the next decade, in sectors ranging from finance to education to healthcare to defence. The Financial Conduct Authority has changed its rules to allow foreign state-owned companies to be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s “premium category.
Saudi influence reaches deep into civil society. Universities have been lavished with money by the Saudi royal family, including tens of millions on Oxford University institutions such as the Ashmolean Museum and the Said Business School.
And consider the so-called British free press. The Independent – my former employer – has teamed up with a media group close to the Saudi royal family to launch websites across the Middle East and Pakistan.
Con Coughlin, the Telegraph’s defence correspondent, attended the National History Museum bash, posting the next day an article accompanied by the tweet: “Was Jamal Khashoggi a liberal or a Muslim Brotherhood lackey who reviled the west?”
Saudi Arabia is a tyranny that threatens all of us. It was central to the rise of the Taliban, al-Qaida and Isis. It subjects women to monstrous oppression, maintains the death penalty for gay people and “witches”, bans all political parties and free media, and uses British and US weapons to butcher civilians in Yemen. Britain’s alliance with the House of Saud exposes our ruling elite’s talk of “human rights” abroad as a crock of lies. Foreign regimes are arranged into a hierarchy of villains; but the order is not decided on the basis of how villainous they are, rather how hostile they are deemed to be to western interests. There are many reasons why our country’s crumbling social order has lost any legitimacy. This blood-soaked pact is as striking as any – by Owen Jones
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/24/britain-house-of-saud-jamal-khashoggi-murder
(* B E P)
The government says Britain needs to trade with Saudi Arabia. It’s a myth
The figures don’t add up, and the death of Jamal Khashoggi means we must think again about our relationship
Another misconception: that arms sales to Saudi Arabia are important to the British economy. But even in 2015-2016, a recent peak year for those sales, total exports of all goods and services to Saudi Arabia (military and non-military) made up just 1.3% of UK exports worldwide. The real value of arms sales is not to the economy as a whole, but more narrowly to the arms industry itself, 42% of whose exports went to Riyadh in the last decade. A domestic arms industry is required to meet London’s long-term commitment to remain a global military power, and to entrench strategic ties with allies such as the Saudis. But these commitments are, of course, a choice not a necessity.
The real economic value of Saudi Arabia is the trade surplus Britain has with it, and its role as a major source of inward investment.
A move away from neoliberalism, including the adoption of a full-scale industrial strategy, could narrow the current account deficit, reducing both the importance of the trade surplus with Saudi Arabia and the significance of “petrodollar” inflows.
The common suggestion that Riyadh could easily import arms from elsewhere if the UK were to stop supplying them fundamentally misunderstands the nature of what the UK and US provide: complex, state-of-the-art weapons systems, together with ongoing support to sustain their use
A final myth is that Saudi Arabia has an inherently different culture from ours, but that we are supporting the “reformers”. In reality, the Arabian peninsula is contested socio-political space, like everywhere else in the world, but for decades real reformers have faced the obstacle of repressive regimes armed to the teeth by the west. The only “reforms” those regimes have ever been interested in are those that consolidate their wealth and power.
Ties with the Saudi kingdom matter less to Britain as a whole than they do to a specific type of Britain: one with a neoliberal economic model and a post-imperial desire to retain its status as a military and strategic power in the world. The human costs of maintaining this alliance have become inescapable, and alternatives exist: it’s time to properly explore them – by David Wearing
(* B P)
Sky Views: UK boxed into a corner over Saudi Arabia
A recent paper published by Kings College London reported that Britain sold £6.2bn worth of goods to Saudi Arabia in 2016 - that equates to 1% of the UK's total export value that year.
According to our research, arms sales specifically to Saudi Arabia that same year were worth £587m - 0.2% of total UK exports in those 12 months.
By comparison, total car sales accounted for 9.9% of all UK exports that same year.
The figures show that the UK-Saudi arms deals are lucrative but also that the government is guilty of exaggerating the value in order to justify its controversial relationship.
Of course it isn't actually the British government that directly sells arms to Riyadh, rather defence manufacturers, the largest and best known of which is BAE Systems.
The government does though grant licences for arms to be sold, it often lobbies on behalf of the manufacturers, and the Treasury gets a cut of the sales in revenue (corporation tax, income tax, and so on).
Furthermore, the defence industry in the UK employs more than 2.5 million people and many of them rely on those contracts with Saudi Arabia.
But at what reputational cost does this all come?
The UK is not directly involved in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, but if you give a country weapons, and then teach them how to use them, it's hard to turn a blind eye.
The result is an erosion of Britain's reputation to uphold the international laws and values it promotes.
https://news.sky.com/story/sky-views-uk-boxed-into-a-corner-over-saudi-arabia-11532902
(A P)
Film, Emily Thornberry: Yesterday in Parliament, I talked about the parallels between the Khashoggi murder and the air strikes against civilians in Yemen, both of which belong squarely at the door of the Saudi Crown Prince.
https://twitter.com/EmilyThornberry/status/1054684595235495936
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(* A P)
14 Millionen Menschen von Hungersnot bedroht: Müller wirft Weltgemeinschaft Versagen im Jemen vor
Entwicklungsminister Müller wirft der Weltgemeinschaft Versagen bei der Verhinderung einer humanitären Katastrophe im Kriegsland Jemen vor
Entwicklungsminister Gerd Müller (CSU) wirft der Weltgemeinschaft Versagen bei der Verhinderung einer humanitären Katastrophe im Kriegsland Jemen vor.
„Die Lage im Jemen ist katastrophal“, sagte Müller dem „Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland“ (Donnerstagsausgaben). „Die Hälfte der Menschen ist von einer Hungersnot bedroht – fast 14 Millionen Menschen. Die Cholera ist ausgebrochen. Alle zehn Minuten stirbt ein Kind“, so der CSU-Politiker weiter.
Einfachste Medikamente und Nahrungsmittelhilfen könnten jemenitische Kinder retten. „Aber die Hilfswerke der Vereinten Nationen wie UNICEF und das Flüchtlingswerk UNHCR sind massiv unterfinanziert“, beklagte Müller. Nicht einmal die Hälfte des Hilfsbedarfs sei gedeckt.
Der Minister bescheinigte der internationalen Gemeinschaft Tatenlosigkeit.
Mein Kommentar: Müller hat ja völlig recht. Wo aber bitte steht und stand denn seine eigene Partei, die CSU? Wie positioniert sie sich denn jetzt aktuell bei der Diskussion um weitere Waffenlieferungen an Saudi Arabien? Die CSU hat die Kuschelei mit den Saudis die ganze zeit mitbetrieben.
(A P)
Germany mulling whether to stop approved arms exports to Saudi
Intensive discussions are underway in the German government on how to deal with arms exports to Saudi Arabia that have already been approved but not yet delivered, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Wednesday.
Seibert said the review would be completed in the coming days, looking carefully at the arms sales from both a political and legal perspective. “We’re not talking about weeks or months.”
A spokesman for the economy ministry said German officials were in close touch with other European countries about the issue, but declined to provide any details about progress in Berlin’s push to ensure a unified European response.
“We’re working on it,” the spokesman said.
(* A P)
Fall Khashoggi: Merkel-Sprecher Seibert gerät bei kritischer Frage in Erklärungsnot
Frage zu den Waffenexporten nach Saudi-Arabien bringt Seibert in Erklärungsnot
Auf die Nachfrage eines Journalisten, weshalb die Bundesregierung erst nach dem Mord an einem einzelnen saudischen Journalisten zu dem Schluss käme, die Waffenexporte nach Saudi-Arabien einzustellen und nicht nach „den Hunderten toten Zivilisten im Jemen-Krieg,“ geriet Regierungssprecher Steffen Seibert in Erklärungsnot.
Zunächst: Lange Pause. Die ebenfalls anwesende stellvertretende Sprecherin des Auswärtigen Amtes, Maria Adebahr, hob ihre Arme bereits resigniert, da antwortete Merkels Sprecher doch noch zögernd auf die Frage: „Sie werfen - wie Sie es nicht selten tun - die Dinge alle durcheinander. Wir haben uns in vielen Fällen über den Jemen-Krieg und zivile Opfer in diesem Krieg geäußert. Diese Fälle sind von der saudischen Militärführung bearbeitet und zum Teil bedauert worden.“ Damit sei nicht alles gut, so Seibert, „denn Zivilisten, die einem Krieg zum Opfer fallen, dass ist immer ein Fehler in der Führung eines Krieges. Darauf haben wir auch immer hingewirkt, dass so etwas unterbleiben muss,“ führte der Regierungssprecher weiter aus. Seibert tat sich sichtlich schwer auf diese - sicherlich nicht unberechtigte Frage - eine adäquate Antwort zu geben.
und Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBcDWWQLwfk
Mein Kommentar: Wenn eindeutig die eigene Doppelmoral aufgezeigt wird, geht außer Gestammel nicht mehr viel, Seibert.
(* A B P)
Geschäfte mit Saudi-Arabien: Ethik kostet etwas
Wie soll Berlin umgehen mit einem Herrscher, der über Leichen geht? Der Fall Khashoggi zeigt: Wirtschaftsgetriebene Außenpolitik und eine weiße Weste sind zusammen nicht zu haben.
Es ist die große Illusion im Umgang mit Saudi-Arabien, aber auch mit jedem anderen autokratischen Unrechtsstaat, dass sich fein säuberlich unterscheiden ließe zwischen knallharten Interessen und weichen Werten. Die Bundesregierung erlebt es gerade im Streit über Rüstungslieferungen an das Regime in Riad. Im Koalitionsvertrag hatte die SPD wegen des von Saudi-Arabien geführten Krieges in Jemen einen weitgehenden Stopp von Waffenverkäufen an das Land durchgesetzt. Zugleich waren aber erhebliche Schlupflöcher eingebaut worden.
Wenn Kanzlerin, Außen- und Wirtschaftsminister nun unisono verkünden, es gebe für weitere Waffenlieferungen nach Saudi-Arabien vorerst keine Grundlage, zeugt das weniger von ethischer Standfestigkeit als von innenpolitischem Realismus. Neuerliche Exporte wären jetzt weder der Öffentlichkeit noch einer Mehrheit im Bundestag zu erklären. Die Bundesregierung hat aber - so fürchterlich das Schicksal des Journalisten Khashoggi ist - in den vergangenen Wochen vermutlich nichts wirklich Neues über die Natur des saudischen Herrschaftssystems erfahren.
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/khashoggi-deutschland-ruestungsexporte-1.4179976
(* A B P)
German halt to Saudi arms sales could put squeeze on Eurofighter
Germany’s hardline halt to arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi may jeopardize a big UK-led Eurofighter order from Riyadh and could hit jobs at a shipyard in struggling northeastern Germany.
Berlin is now reviewing all Saudi sales, including contracts approved in September for more patrol boats built by privately-held Luerrsen and four Cobra counter-battery radar systems built by a consortium that includes France’s Thales, Airbus and the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin.
German authorities approved more than 400 million euros worth of Saudi arms supply contracts in the first nine months of 2018, but have not specified the value of equipment not yet delivered.
Germany accounts for just under 2 percent of total Saudi arms imports, a small percentage internationally compared with the United States and Britain - but, crucially, also makes components for other countries’ export contracts.
The biggest impact may be on a 10-billion-pound ($12.99 billion) agreement by Saudi Arabia to buy 48 new Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets from Britain, given that a third of their components would come from Germany, industry sources said.
The deal, nailed down in a memorandum of understanding in March, has not been finalised yet, and is not reflected in BAE Systems Plc’s 2018 financial statements.
Nearly four years in the making, the Saudi Eurofighter order would secure thousands of jobs at BAE, and help extend production of the European warplanes until a next-generation fighter jet to be designed in coming years goes into production.
Of more immediate concern are three patrol boats currently under construction at the Luerrsen shipyard in Wolgast.
If Berlin does halt work on approved orders for the Saudi patrol boats, it may have to compensate the shipyard, which invested heavily to be able to execute the work, said Jan Techau, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund think-tank.
“Ultimately, the question is, how much is a principled foreign policy worth,” he said.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
Siehe / Look at cp1 (Canada)
(* B K P)
Trotz Verbrechen im Jemen-Krieg: Schweizer Flugzeugbauer Pilatus hilft Saudi-Luftwaffe
Von der Forderung nach einem kompletten Waffenexport-Verbot will man beim Wirtschaftsdepartement (WBF) von Bundesrat Johann Schneider-Ammann (FDP) trotzdem nichts wissen. Gegenüber dem Tages-Anzeiger sagt ein Sprecher des für Exportbewilligungen zuständigen Staatssekretariats für Wirtschaft Seco, Saudi-Arabien sei seit 2016 für Rüstungsexporte «quasi gesperrt». Man liefere höchstens Ersatzteile für defensive Waffen, etwa Flugabwehrsysteme, bei welchen keine Gefahr bestehe, dass sie im Jemen-Konflikt zum Einsatz kämen.
Gemäss «Tages-Anzeiger» ist diese Darstellung durch das Seco allerdings unvollständig. Die Zeitung verweist auf einen bisher unbekannten Vertrag zwischen den Pilatus-Flugzeugwerken in Stans NW und der saudischen Luftwaffe. Die Vereinbarung wurde Anfang 2017 unterzeichnet, also fast zwei Jahre nach Beginn des Jemen-Konflikts. Es handelt sich um einen so genannten Supportvertrag.
Laut Vertrag erbringt die Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG Unterstützungsleistungen für die 55 Trainingsflugzeuge vom Typ PC-21, welche die saudische Regierung 2012 bei Pilatus gekauft hat. Um den Supportvertrag zu erfüllen, hat Pilatus seine Belegschaft in der Hauptstadt Riad ausgebaut. Die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Pilatus und der saudischen Luftwaffe ist vorerst auf fünf Jahre befristet.
Für den «Tages-Anzeiger» wirft dieser Vertrag die Frage auf, ob Saudi-Arabien nur dank Schweizer Hilfe so zahlreiche und zerstörerische Einsätze über dem Jemen fliegen kann. Was genau Pilatus in Saudi-Arabien tut und ob das Schweizer Unternehmen die Bombardierungen der Luftwaffe im Jemen direkt oder indirekt unterstützt, bleibt unklar. Auf Anfrage der Zeitung will sich Pilatus weder über Umfang noch Inhalt der Zusammenarbeit äussern.
(A P)
Swedish Statement at the UN Security Council Briefing on Yemen
Today, this Council has once again been put on high alert and we have a responsibility to respond. Based on resolution 2417 addressing conflict-induced food insecurity, and as agreed in Presidential Statements already earlier this year, it is now time to come together and make urgent demands equally critical.
First, a durable ceasefire, at least for the purpose set out by Mark.
Second, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all those in need: ports and key roads kept open and functioning, including Hodeida and Saleef. Commercial imports should also be maintained and expanded into all ports.
Third, respect for International Humanitarian Law in all circumstances, including by protecting civilians, medical-, humanitarian and UN personnel across the country, and meeting the basic needs of the civilian population.
And fourth, Mr. President, the Council should call with urgency and in good faith for the parties to engage in a UN-led inclusive political process.
Remark: As a reminder https://www.thelocal.se/20180226/swedish-arms-exports-topped-11-billion-kronor-last-year
(A E P)
Russian fund CEO says Saudi economic drive important for world
Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation plan is important for the world, the chief executive of the Russian sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Tuesday.
Kirill Dmitriev, who runs the $10 billion Russian fund, told an investment conference in Riyadh that Saudi Arabia is an important partner and that partnership among sovereign wealth funds is a “great opportunity”.
My comment: Who does not care where he steps has shit on his shoes.
(A P)
Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Calls for Halt of Sale of Arms to Saudi Arabia
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander de Croix, stressed the need to stop his country's arms exports to Saudi Arabia following the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. De Croix said in statements to the FRET-based radio station VRT that his country should follow Germany's example in its move to stop its arms exports to Saudi Arabia. He also called on his country to focus on the humanitarian dimension, pointing out that this step will contribute to reducing the number of victims in Yemen.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3395&cat_id=1
(A P)
Amnesty International: France Must Halt Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
Amnesty International has once again called on France to suspend its arms sales to Saudi Arabia, due to Riyadh's war crimes in Yemen and the display of its disrespect for human rights, following the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
Director of Amnesty International France's Program for Responsibility Yves Prigent said on Tuesday that a number of serious human rights violations, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, have been observed since the beginning of the conflict in Yemen in 2015, presstv reported.
Amnesty International has long been calling on France to halt arms sales to the Saudis, on account of Paris being a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty, which regulates the international trade in conventional arms.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly said her country exported 11 billion euros ($12.6 billion) to Saudi Arabia between 2008 to 2017, a figure which was crucial for French jobs.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970802000222
(A P)
France's Macron evades questions on halting Saudi arms sales
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday refused to take questions about halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite Germany’s calls on its European partners to follow its example and stop arms exports to the kingdom.
Journalists asked Macron during a visit to a naval defense show whether France would follow Germany in halting weapons sales to Riyadh after it admitted to the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in its consulate.
“This has nothing to do with what we’re talking about. Nothing. So I won’t answer that question. I’m sorry but as long as I’ll be in office this is how it will be, whether people like it or not,” he told reporters, visibly irritated.
“It’s not because one leader says something that I must react to it every time. So I won’t answer that,” he added, after a journalist asked a follow-up question.
(* A K P)
Spain's parliament backs arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Spain’s parliament voted on Tuesday against blocking arms sales to Saudi Arabia, despite increasing international pressure to punish Riyadh for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
Spain’s socialist government said on Saturday it was “dismayed” by the death of the Saudi journalist but it decided to join forces with the main opposition party, the conservative People’s Party, to defeat a parliamentary motion that called on the government to stop such trade.
My comment: This “Socialist” Party is a bad joke.
(A P)
Pakistan to mediate in Yemen war: PM
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said Pakistan will act as a mediator in the war between the Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia-led alliance in Yemen.
The prime minister said this while addressing the nation in order to take the people into confidence over his recent visit to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's political and economic situation. The premier said he will try to get the Muslim countries together, besides acting as a "mediator" in resolution of conflicts between the Muslim countries.
"We are trying our best to act as a mediator to resolve the Yemen crisis," he said. Imran Khan said the assistance provided by Saudi Arabia has lessened the financial burden on Pakistan, adding that they were thankful to Riyadh for helping them at a difficult time.
"We were trying to get loans from our friendly nations so we rely less and less on the IMF," the prime minister said in his address. "We are also in talks with other friendly countries," he added.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/385109-pakistan-to-mediate-in-yemen-war-pm
and also https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-mediating-between-saudi-arabia-iran-to-end-yemen-war/4627750.html
(* B P)
Pakistan is slowly being forced into the heat of Middle Eastern rivalries
Pakistan has tried to remain neutral as Syria, Yemen and the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar have inflamed tensions in the Middle East. Pakistan is now finding out it may no longer be able to sit on the sidelines.
Pakistan is poised to re-enter the quagmire of Middle East politics, having sat warily on the sidelines since the outbreak of hostilities in Syria to avoid taking sides between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The expressed desire to remain neutral in conflicts between its "neighbours" and "brothers", respectively, led Pakistan to politely but resolutely refuse to join the Saudi-led alliance which went to war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen in March 2015.
However, the rigours of managing Pakistan's volatile economy soon pushed Khan to climb down on his promise not to make any foreign visits during his first three months in office, to enable him to focus on domestic governance.
In search of financial aid to boost Pakistan's rapidly depleting foreign reserves, and worried by US threats that an International Monetary Fund bailout would come with political strings attached, Khan chose Riyadh and Abu Dhabi as the destinations of his first overseas tour.
Unsurprisingly, recent events have shown that Pakistan is being dragged into their rivalries and enmities, rather than leveraging them to its advantage.
The Khan administration discovered that when Saudi Arabia and the UAE agreed to extend financial assistance, but with unpalatable conditions. Although not publicly stated, it was obvious that they wanted Pakistan to repent for its recalcitrance on Yemen and take their side in the Middle East.
and
(* A P)
Saudis offer Pakistan $6 billion rescue package to ease economic crisis
The $6 billion total exceeds forecasts by analysts and will likely reduce the size of any bailout Pakistan it receives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with whom it is currently engaged in talks on a rescue package.
The Saudi agreement came as new Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan attended a Saudi investment conference that has been boycotted by several other leaders over the death of a dissident Saudi writer at the country’s consulate in Istanbul.
My comment: That’s it. Saudi money buys everything, everyone.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp10, cp11, cp12
(* B P)
No western country will boycott or suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Any country can commit all crimes and be terrorist and then go unpunished if it is an ally of White House and Downing Street. Hope West does not insist on stupid things such human rights, democracy or values!
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1054785663357382656
My comment: How to bring reality into one tweet (279 characters).
cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner
(* B P)
WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE OF ELITE AMERICAN MERCENARIES IN YEMEN?
A recent Buzzfeed exclusive reveals that veterans of America’s elite military units, working for the United Arab Emirates, are responsible for a string of assassinations in Yemen.
I don’t know how this story is going to play out now that it’s in the open, but I have some initial thoughts to share, as a scholar of both targeted killing and mercenarism in the context of the counter-terrorism.
First, this is unabashed mercenarism. While U.S. citizens may serve as members of the armed forces of foreign countries so long as they are not at war with the United States, there is no plausible way to argue that Golan and his team were actually serving in the Emirati military in any regular way. The Emirates may have a long-standing tradition of employing foreign mercenaries, but even by that standard, Spear was an arms-length, more or less autonomous outfit, able to request materiel and a military escort, but otherwise free to pursue its targets as desired, with whomever Golan chose to recruit.
This is abnormal. It is not a thing that U.S.-based companies and contractors do. It is legally dubious. It is in violation of the private military and security industry’s code of conduct, the International Code of Conduct, which enjoys broad buy-in from the U.S. government — as elaborated in Deborah Avant’s superb research and referenced in her own recent take on Buzzfeed’s story.
Hiring American door-kickers seems inappropriately high-profile, or at least risky overkill.
What gives? I can only speculate, but I see a few possibilities.
One is that the Emirati leadership is hesitant to institutionalize targeted killing.
Another is that by employing Americans, the Emiratis hope to insulate themselves from international consequences. Since the assassinations of Yemeni citizens on Yemeni soil is being carried out by U.S. citizens, working for a U.S.-based company, registered in the state of Delaware, the U.S. government may be more reluctant to apply any punitive measures. This episode is, after all, a regulatory failure and an embarrassment for America’s private military and security industry, and for the government.
Regardless, one thing is certain: We should very closely watch how the U.S. government responds to these revelations – by Simon Frankel Pratt
https://warontherocks.com/2018/10/what-should-we-make-of-elite-american-mercenaries-in-yemen/
Comment: This article on @WarOnTheRocks considers some of the issues. But the question that keeps begging is this: Why were these U.S. mercenaries willing to expose their acts to a journalist? Rare for mercs. 2nd: What was the AIM of the Buzzfeed exposé? And whose
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1054831670841483264
(* B P)
Letter to the Editor: How About Some Regulation of the Mercenary Industry?
Following Sarah Knuckey and Ryan Goodman’s post on U.S. mercenaries in Yemen, I’d like to provide a bit of international legal background to the urgent discussion of whether legal gaps exist in the regulation of mercenaries, and if so, how to fill them.
First, Sarah and Ryan are spot on in saying that U.S. private contractors who kill abroad for hire are murderers, pure and simple. There’s no ambiguity about their culpability under U.S. law
But acting as a mercenary, that is, fighting in someone else’s war for profit, is not per-se prohibited by international law. There is an international treaty prohibiting recruitment, use and financing of mercenaries, but only 35 nation-states, and not the U.S., are parties. More importantly, the treaty is quaint. Traditional mercenarism has morphed into a private, multinational military industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars (yes, that’s with a “b”). The treaty, while still reflecting essential principles, is insufficient. For this reason, the U.N Human Rights Council has established an inter-governmental working group to consider the need for, and the content of, binding international legal regulation of the private military and security contracting industry. Western countries, including the United States, are slow-walking the process, due either to general “treaty fatigue,” or to protect the industry, or both.
In the meantime, and despite the fact that murder by Americans is murder, whether committed at home or abroad, there are legal gaps that Congress could fill.
While we await international and congressional responses that may never come, there is much that existing law permits and requires by way of regulation and accountability, such as the application of garden-variety criminal laws to Americans’ conduct beyond U.S. borders.
With all the smoke and mirrors the U.S. has thrown up about international law since 9/11, it’s hardly surprising that these modern mercenaries could be confused about whether killing people is murder. That’s why we need a good bit more international and domestic regulation to straighten them out and bring this behemoth industry to heel – by Gabor Rona
https://www.justsecurity.org/61169/letter-editor-regulation-mercenary-industry/
(* B K P)
Assassins for Hire: US Citizens, Israelis, and Palestinians Kill for Money in Yemen
The US-based mercenary company Spear Group, headed by an Israeli and hired by a Palestinian on behalf of the UAE, conducts extra-judicial killings in Yemen. Antony Loewenstein discusses the details.
ANTONY LOEWENSTEIN: The UAE army for many years, in fact, has been made up with a lot of mercenary figures and outsiders. So the UAE’s army itself is often not made up of locals, so to speak. It’s made up of foreigners, and it’s been the case for a long time. And it’s got a lot stronger in the last year since they’ve been fighting in Yemen. I mean, essentially, why did they hire this particular company? I don’t think we know, is the short answer. But I think what we do know is why these kinds of companies are being hired is because they’re seen as being effective; effective meaning that they are able to assassinate or kill or capture so-called enemies of the UAE, or the U.S., for that matter. And certainly the Israeli connection here is key, because Israel has become expert at so-called targeted assassinations long before 9/11. And in fact, many other countries, the U.S., UK and others, get inspiration from Israel and the Israeli experience in killing so-called enemies. And that’s I think partly why this kind of company may well have been hired.
ANTONY LOEWENSTEIN: Well, the first thing is that his [Abraham Golan, the founder of Spear Operations] role in talking about these operations is pretty rare. I mean, to be honest, having done a lot of reporting in the last ten years on private military contractors in Afghanistan and elsewhere, most of these kinds of companies and their leaders do not speak openly about their operations, full stop, let alone admit or acknowledge that they did these kind of acts. So this is very unusual.
Why he’s doing this? I guess he feels he has a degree of protection, and that goes to your key question, that essentially the moment the laws of war within the U.S. are incredibly murky, on the one hand, you would think that if an individual is involved in killing people in a war zone then they’re able to be prosecuted inside that country, or the U.S. But the truth is that legally speaking, this is still a very, very murky area. In fact, since 9/11, since the huge explosion in private military contractors, there have been very, very few cases of Western military contractors- many of whom are of course used to be in the U.S. Army, or British army, or Australian army, or armies from South and Latin America actually being prosecuted for crimes, for war crimes. It’s very, very rare. That’s partly because the U.S. has no real interest in doing so; mainly because these individuals have been fighting what the U.S. regards as a legitimate war, whether it’s Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, or elsewhere. So he obviously feels he has protection in speaking openly.
But as I said, it’s very rare that someone is so brazen and speaking so openly about what they did. And we should also note that the individual this organization was trying to murder, assassinate, survived. The person apparently is still alive. He still has a presence in Yemen. And the organization that he belongs to is also very well regarded by some in Yemen and outside. So you could argue, on the one hand, this was a botched operation. But almost history would suggest, and we see this with, for example, the work in the past of Erik Prince, who used to run Blackwater, that failure is really an impediment to more contracts. In other words, the fact that this story is now out in Buzzfeed and the fact that this operation itself was not successful in Yemen does not necessarily mean that this guy won’t get more contracts, which might be counterintuitive, but history would suggest that’s the case.
https://therealnews.com/stories/assassins-for-hire-us-citizens-israelis-and-palestinians-kill-for-money-in-yemen and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lajj_lQWfeo
cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(* A K)
Fighters in the Giants forces blow up a historic mosque south of Hodeidah
Fighters loyal to the pro-Yemeni government forces blew up a historic mosque in the al-Fayza area west of Zabid town, south of the province's western province of Hodeidah, a local source said Tuesday.
Soldiers from the Salafis, consisting of Salafis, including militants, surrounded the historic Al-Fayza mosque with dynamite Ames on Monday and then blew it up to the ground, the source told the source.
The Amalekite forces took control of the area midway this year, on a road extended by air support from the Arab coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia, to the north towards the city of Hodeidah.
The source said that the mosque of Al-Fayza, a landmark landmark built in the days of the Crusader state about a thousand years ago, and contains the tomb of «Ahmed al-Faz», and the last believed by the people of the region as a «guardian» righteous and dignified.
It overlooks the Red Sea and is the historic port of Zabid.
The troops of the Giants, led by Abu Zarah, the military-backed Mujahideen of the UAE, control the region. They are mostly Salafi-Jamaiyya followers, who pursue the bombing of historical monuments, including shrines and tombs, and believe they are fighting "communes."
The same forces had already detonated an attached tomb at Al-Shazly Mosque in the coastal city of Mukha, dating back to the same period (the Crusader state). (photo)
https://www.almasdaronline.com/articles/159993
cp13d Wirtschaft / Economy
(A E P)
Hadramawt authorities say it will save the dollar to merchants in order to lower prices
The provincial governor of Hadramawt, General Faraj al-Bahsani, said on Wednesday that the local authority in the province will provide foreign currency to merchants, with a view to alleviating the suffering of the population from exorbitant prices.
In a speech about the situation, the governor, who is also the commander of the second military region, said the local authorities have drawn up a plan to alleviate the suffering of citizens as a result of the collapse of the currency and high prices.
"The Daily and consumer items that the citizen acquires will be better off, as their prices will be reduced by half by providing foreign currency to merchants in Hadramawt," he said.
Al- Bahsani said the local authority will distribute cards funding to families in Hadramawt to ensure they receive their requirements at better prices.
According to the governor of Hadramawt, the local authority's plan, if successful, will move the province to a qualitative leap.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160059
My comment: Hadramaut, Southern Yemen. Does he want to introduce the Dollar as a new currency in Hadramaut? Where should these Dollars come from?
Yemeni central bank says it has completed the approval of imports of goods at $61 million
(A E P)
The central bank of Yemen said it has completed all measures to cover the funds by withdrawing from the Saudi deposit for the fifth installment of $61 million dollars.
The governor of the central bank, Mohammad Zammam, said on Wednesday that approvals for the previous payment of the arrears of the earlier payments of $66 million had also been issued.
According to Saba, the withdrawal mechanisms are easy and take less than seven days and cover all the funds provided and from all the governorates, including the funds of merchants from Hadramawt Governorate where all applications have been approved and disbursed, especially for the importation of rice, the two batches submitted by a company as well as the rest Credits will be issued on Sunday.
All the funds will be implemented on Sunday, which has informed all merchants of the need to supply the Yemeni riyal to the central bank's coffers in Aden from Thursday to Sunday, he said.
He explained that the prices in the riyal against the dollar for the basic items fixed
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160067
My comment: At Aden, Hadi government. In any case, these bureaucratic mechanism which now is required for any imports could lead to a restriction of imports which would cause more starving and suffering.
(A E P)
Economic Commission announces postponement of implementation of the Executive mechanism for the import of essential commodities
The Supreme Economic Committee announced on Tuesday the postponement of the application of the executive mechanism for restricting the import of basic commodities to funds, remittances or bank documentary collections.
Earlier, the Commission and the Government announced the commencement of the implementation of the commodity inventory and import mechanism.
The statement called, "traders and suppliers of commodities and food, to commit to the implementation of this executive mechanism which will contribute to facilitate their dealings and alleviate the suffering of citizens, reduce the costs of buying and importing and paying the value of imports of basic foodstuffs and also the risks of low levels These important goods availability ".
The Commission stated that the mechanism would contribute to the reduction of currency speculation and would speed up the restoration of the stability situation, and would also significantly contribute to the return of the cash cycle and financial and commercial transactions from the black market to official banking channels
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160015
My comment: At Aden, Hadi government. In any case, these bureaucratic mechanism could lead to a restriction of imports which would cause more starving and suffering.
(* A E)
Yemen Gasoline prices, liter
Yemen: The price of gasoline is 1.58 U.S. Dollar per liter. For comparison, the average price of gasoline in the world for this period is 1.17 U.S. Dollar. The chart below shows the price of gasoline in the country relative to other countries.
https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/Yemen/gasoline_prices/
My comment: Compare to the income, to imagine how horrible this is.
(A E P)
Zammam and U.S. Ambassador discusses ways to help the central bank stop the decline of the Yemeni riyal
Yemeni central bank governor Mohammad Zammam, with US ambassador to Yemen Matthew Toller, discussed monetary and financial conditions in the country.
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/160090
My comment: Ambassador Tueller (not: Toller) is one of the most extreme backers of the Saudi coalition. He has a very great influence – much more than an ambassador to a failed 3. World government would have – and seems to be an important and horrible puppet master in the background: https://theintercept.com/2017/12/13/yemen-war-peace-talks-matthew-tueller/
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani has warned of attempts by #Iran-backed #Houthi militia to dismiss 1000s of government employees and replace them by its elements within a full-fledged plan to destroy state institutions, according to official statement (photo)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1054825325006385152
(A P)
UN, international media both betraying Yemen !
The United Nations and the international media especially the US and European news websites are betraying Yemen as the impoverished nation struggles in a defining battle with one of the world's strongest and best equipped terrorist organizations- the Houthi militia.
The United Nations' betrayal
Although the UN (through UNSC resolutions) condemned the "rebels" coup of 2014, the world body has since stopped motionless in its tracks. Not going a single step further than "recognizing" President Abd Rabu M. Hadi's government on paper.
The government needs the UN Security Council to intervene to implement its resolution no. 2216 for ending the Houthi rebellion and putting Yemen back on the track of transformation that the Iran-backed theocrats had sabotaged.
It is a betrayal that as the originally internationally mandated military campaign against the savage religious group gives them only the benefit of hardening, the UN starts to pressure for ceasing the campaign against them.
It is weird that some UN officials based in the Houthi-held Sana'a even issue from time to time official statements and agreements that implicitly recognize the militia as a government!
The media bias
Leading western media outlets including the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Associated Press, the Guardian, Reuters and the Antiwar websites have been standing Yemen facts on head.
In line with the Houthi viewpoint, they have been summing up the story of the Yemeni war to a "bombing campaign" by the Arab Coalition and "civilian casualties" as a result.
They are keeping their audience in the dark about the real casualty tolls and root cause of the conflict: that the Houthis:
are behind the majority of the nearly 13 thousand civilian casualties incurred since the beginning of the war in early 2015.
have rounded up civilian oppositionists and journalists to an indefinite detention, forced others to flee outside Yemen and closed newspapers and TVs. In a nutshell wiped out free press and any form of dissent from all areas of Yemen that control.
torture detainees to death, permanent disability or insanity or until they are released in prisoner swap deals.
[…]
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24748
My comment: This propaganda really is putting upside down. The UN bias in favor of the Hadi government and its Gulf backers had been breathtaking in the past. And as well, the Western mainstream media had backed the Saudi side by either no or largely biased, twisted reporting. The Saudi aerial war is responsible for the greatest part of Yemeni civilian victims – and if you also add the victims of the Saudi blockade, you even will get much more. The Houthi crimes had not been nedlected, nor by the UN nor by the generally scarce reporting in the media. This propaganda article seems to have been published just now, as now as a consequence of the Khashoggi murder suddenly international attention is turning to Saudi war crimes in Yemen.
(A P)
Yemen minister: Houthis have destroyed 70 percent of Yemen’s sports facilities
In an interview with Al Arabiya, Nayef al-Bakry, Yemen’s minister of youth and sports, said: “the Houthi militias commit several violations aimed at destroying the sports infrastructure in Yemen.”
He said 70 percent of the sports facilities were partially or completely damaged, because of the war launched by the Houthis on the Yemeni cities.
The minister noted that there several challenges facing sports and athletes in Yemen, among them is exploiting the energies of youth in war.
My comment: Whow! Blaming the Houthis for all destructions caused by the Saudi bombing campaigns.
(* B P)
Judith Brown. Another example of Reuters bias. Look at the first paragraph - which blames the Houthis for not attending the peace talks in Geneva for their failure. Then scroll down and later in the article a statement by a Houthi leader gives very appropriate reasons for their non attendance. Why was this not given the same emphasis at the beginning ? I am not pro-Houthi - all 'sides' in this war behave badly - but unlike the Western media I do not emphasise the perspective of the Saudi led coalition - this unequal exchange always favours those already in power and it makes it less likely that a peace process can start at all by not shaming those who are obstructing parties travelling to peace talk venues.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10157095348383641
My comment: She is right. Western media bias (you might call it: propaganda) is much more sneaky, subliminal, you do not smell it at all, and thus it is so effective. – For contrast, Saudi propaganda is as you see someone holding a gun at you, and you take distance automatically.
More Saudi coalition “We are benefactors” propaganda
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1393406/saudi-arabia
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
Siehe / Look at cp1c
(* A K pH)
Saudi coalition air raids day by day
Oct. 23: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1540394328./1162544223895941
(A K pH)
In Hajja, two civilians were injured when the US-Saudi jets struck a truck carrying beehives in Abs district.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3387&cat_id=1
(A K pS)
Saudi airstrike hit Hodeidah airport
The US-backed-Saudi aggression coalition warplane launched four air raids on Hodeidah province, a security official told Saba on Tuesday.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news512093.htm
(* A K pH)
the Saudi coalition committed its horrific crime with two air raids against a family of three people, a father, a mother and their child who were traveling in their car as they were passing by the general road in the July 7 area of Al- At noon, the two neighbors turned their car into wreckage.
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/photos/a.1434086430220680/1919428075019844 = http://www.lcrdye.org/2018/10/24/بيان-إدانة-جريمة-قصف-مركز-تسويق-وغسيل/
and
(* A K pH)
Photos: #Saudi led coalition airstrikes killed 3 people & wounded 6 today by a #US MK82 guided bomb in 7 July Street #Hodeidah, #Yemen.
https://twitter.com/A_mtrz/status/1055193681274331136
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/1055179417889226752
Films:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m51KU_FfDnQ&bpctr=1540450812 (3.46) https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1055189673818112001 (1.30)
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids reported on:
Oct. 24: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news512229.htm Hajjah p., car with animals
Oct. 23: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news512078.htm Marib p.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3392&cat_id=1 Saada p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp1b
(* A K pS)
Five Civilians, Including Women Killed or Injured in Houthi-planted Mines in Central Yemen
At least three people were killed and two others injured in a landmine that was planted by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in the central province of Al-Bayda, according to local sources.
The sources said that the landmine was planted in the area of Thee Kalib in Qaifa Rad’a in the district of al-Quraishiah in the central province of Al-Bayda. The blast of the landmine killed three civilians and a woman and injured two others, including another woman.
https://republicanyemen.net/archives/11804
(A K pH)
Oct. 24: In Sa'ada, a citizen in Munabih border district was shot by the Saudi border guards. Also, the populated villages in Razih, Shida, Al-zaher and Baqim border districts were hit by Saudi missiles and artillery shells.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3410&cat_id=1
(A K pS)
A landmine planted by al-Houthi militia in al-Baydha killed a civilian
"The old man " Mohammed Ahmed al-Humaiqani "was killed by a landmine planted by al-Houthi militia in Wadi al-Habaj, ' in El Zaher district in Al-Baydha, while another person was moderately injured," said the reporter, the source online.
He explained that " Humaiqani ", he was Sheep Herding during the mine explosion
http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159972
(A K pS)
Yemen army destroy large amounts of mines in Sa’ada
Yemen army destroyed on Monday large amounts of landmines which were planted by Hotuhi militias in the districts of Kitaf and al-Bukua of Sa’ada province.
Moreover, Yemeni security forces have managed to dismantle landmine networks planted by Houthi militias in al-Tuhaita district of Hodeida province.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24752
(A K pH)
Qasef-1 drone targets Saudi-paid mercenaries troops near Najran
Yemeni drone Qasef-1 carried out an attack on Saudi-paid mercenaries troops near Najran
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news512079.htm
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(-)
The phenomenon of carrying arms in Yemen
Weapons in the Yemeni tribe are an integral part of their composition and personality. It sees in it all the meanings of association with the past and the history of Yemen. Yemeni tribe boasts of owning and carrying weapons, the abandonment of it is a disgrace and the cause of humiliation and submission.
The weapons is a major part of his clothing and appearance, it is the most important decoration adorned by men. It is considered the first thing that the man wears in his adornment.
Yemenis also carry weapons on holidays, weddings and events, where the weapon is seen as a man's adornmen and enhanced his social status. Also the weaopns sees as a symbol of strength, heroism, honor and masculinity.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news512167.htm
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-471-yemen-war-mosaic-471
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-471 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-471:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
und alle Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
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