Saudis silence critics and influence UN - Search for peace - Lack of water - 800 killed terrorists? - Qatar, Saudis fueled Syrian war - Arabia and Isis
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner
cp13c Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp14a Offensive gegen / against Al Qaida
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp 18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
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**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
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
https://www.caat.org.uk/campaigns/stop-arming-saudi/a-shameful-relationship.pdf
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
25.4.2016 – Foreign Policy (*** B K P)
Inside Saudi Arabia’s Push to Silence Criticism of Its Brutal War in Yemen
Behind the scenes at the U.N., Riyadh and its friends are blocking resolutions and killing human rights investigations.
Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-majority Persian Gulf allies don’t hold a single seat on the U.N. Security Council. But you’d hardly know it: Over the past year, they have wielded their diplomatic clout like a major power, shaping the 15-nation council’s diplomatic strategy for Yemen and effectively suppressing U.N. scrutiny of excesses in their 13-month air war against the country’s Shiite rebels.
The United States and Britain, two of the U.N. Security Council’s five veto-wielding powers, have largely delegated Yemen crisis management to the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council. But both have grown increasingly concerned in recent months that Arab armies are pursuing a reckless war that has contributed to the widespread destruction of the Middle East’s poorest country and planted the seeds for greater extremism.
An examination of Saudi Arabia’s Yemen diplomacy provides rare insights into the ways a vital U.S. ally has been granted a privileged perch at the world’s most powerful security body. Working through its military allies — principally the United States, Britain, and Egypt — Saudi Arabia has succeeded in blocking actions to restrain its military conduct and highlight humanitarian costs of the conflict.
Shortly after entering the war, Riyadh and its Gulf allies sought Security Council support for a resolution reinforcing their demands that the Houthis lay down their weapons and recognize the Saudi-backed Hadi government.
The United States and Britain, which at the time were seeking Saudi support for landmark nuclear negotiations with Iran, let Riyadh take the lead.
The initial draft resolution, which was written by Saudi and other Gulf diplomats, was presented to the council by Jordan, a member of the coalition that at the time served as the only Arab government seated on the Security Council. Amman also led the initial round of negotiations, and the United States, Britain, and France advised the draft. But when the negotiators reached an impasse with Russia, it was Saudi Arabia’s ambassador who negotiated directly with Russia’s U.N. envoy, Vitaly Churkin.
Critics inside and outside the council believe the resolution was tilted too strongly in favor of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and that it since has become a major sticking point in political talks. The Houthis believe it amounts to an unconditional surrender. But Saudi Arabia and its Gulf state allies say their approach would rightly prevent the Houthis from achieving through the use of force what they could not obtain through negotiations.
Riyadh has argued that a new resolution that focuses on humanitarian relief — like the one proposed by New Zealand — would only encourage the Houthis to ignore obligations to put down their arms, as required in the earlier proposal by Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia also has successfully blocked efforts at the U.N. to scrutinize excesses in the course of the conflict. Last September, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates effectively killed an effort by the Netherlands to establish a U.N. Human Rights Council investigation into violations of international humanitarian law by both sides in the Yemen conflict.
The United States and Jordan also derailed an effort to send a Security Council envoy to meet with representatives of Yemen’s warring parties.
Some of the most intense diplomatic pressure surrounding the war in Yemen has been applied on U.N. investigators to overlook alleged war crimes by members of the Saudi-led coalition.
Over the last year, the [Security Council’s] panel has sought to examine abuses by the Saudi-led coalition, a position that has infuriated Gulf countries. In January, Gulf diplomats held a closed-door meeting with the panel to detail their grievances: The panel, they protested, had no authority to scrutinize the coalition’s conduct – by Colum Lynch
Comment: A great article, a must read in full length at the original site. It clearly shows the partisan and dubious role of the UN in the Yemen war. Looking at the newest peace talks, this article shows why there is a great probability why they will fail.
26.4.2016 – Brookings / Aljazeera (** B K P)
The search for common ground in Yemen
A peace agreement in Yemen will be impossible without an innovative form of inclusive local power sharing.
Furthermore, to improve upon the failed ceasefires of July and December 2015, the delegations should consider the following factors, which may provide a degree of common ground on which to build a lasting peace in Yemen.
First, the conflict has become a mutually hurting stalemate. Yemen is facing a humanitarian catastrophe that will haunt the region for years to come.
Second, it will be almost impossible to advance a peace agreement in Yemen without an innovative form of inclusive local power sharing that addresses the concerns of all parties.
Mistakenly viewed by many observers as a two-sided conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebels, Yemen's war is actually a multifaceted predicament involving a volatile combination of local, regional, and international actors, all of them armed and having major and competing interests in the country's future.
The political transition process set out by the Gulf Cooperation Council back in 2011 failed to incorporate key sections of Yemeni society into the decision-making process, such as the southern separatist Hirak movement, the Houthis, and Yemeni youth and women.
As a result, Hadi’s transitional government was increasingly viewed as illegitimate and unrepresentative of the demands and concerns of the Yemeni people.
Constructing a truly all-inclusive decision-making process to pick up where the National Dialogue Conference left off will be key to reaching any power-sharing agreement.
Relatedly, the Houthis continue to harbour grievances against the Hadi government. They associate Hadi with the corrupt Saleh regime that exacerbated political problems in Yemen for decades. They protested the exclusive way in which he oversaw Yemen's transition process, leading to unilateral decisions on major national issues and the drafting and implementation of a new constitution.
It seems that the Saudis too, do not have full confidence in Hadi and his cabinet.
As a compromise, the Saudis should consider working with the Houthis in order to reach an understanding on how to cease hostilities and resolve political disagreements with an open mind as to who should be in the leading seat. This may be another point of convergence that is rising fast.
Fourth, the six-region federalism plan endorsed by Hadi must be re-examined and evaluated more thoroughly if an effective power-sharing agreement is to be reached. Without proper consensus from factions such as Hirak and the Houthis, these divisions will put at risk any prospect of lasting peace in Yemen.
One of the major concerns is that federalism may exacerbate calls for secession in the future.
Among Hirak supporters, certain factions say they will accept nothing less than complete secession of the South, while others have hailed the six-federation outline as a step towards possible secession in the near future.
Since the enemies of al-Qaeda and ISIL - the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition - are busy fighting each other, extremist organisations can now operate with impunity. It is in the interest of all parties heading to Kuwait to ensure that this situation does not continue.
The peace talks in Kuwait will provide the Saudis with an opportunity to present a strategy for ceasing hostilities in Yemen without necessarily sacrificing their political goals – by Sultan Barakat, professor at the University of York and director of research at the Brookings Doha Center. He is a senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/04/search-common-ground-yemen-160418053332967.html = http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2016/04/26-conflict-resolution-yemen-barakat
27.4.2016 – Newsweek (** B H K)
Yemen: Thirsty for Peace
The escalation of the conflict, following the 2011 uprising, that toppled the regime of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has exacerbated an already severe water crisis that may ultimately determine the future of the country.
Traditional water conservation and harvesting methods are nowhere near sufficient to support the country’s current needs. And while other techniques have been adopted such as fog-harvesting, these are small scale initiatives only feasible in the mountainous countryside and dependent entirely on environmental conditions.
Furthermore, crumbling infrastructure and neglect regularly has led to substantial wastage. The result has been a heavy reliance on ground water, but reserves of this nonrenewable resource are quickly running out, with projections for major wells to dry up as early as next year.
Yemen’s rapid population growth is another major contributing factor to the water crisis, with approximately half the population under the age of 18 and a fertility rate of 4.21 (2012), placing it among the highest in the world.
This young and quickly growing population is, by and large uneducated about the importance of water conservation.
“There’s no water, there’s no food, there’s no education, there are no jobs. If the population keeps growing at this rate, there’s not future for Yemen. It has just been too frustrating,” adds Hehmeyer who has worked with the Yemeni government and international partners in program development and evaluation.
In 2010, the World Health Organization, (WHO) estimated that the country consumes 3.9 billion cubic meters of water annually, 1.4 billion of which comes from non-renewable sources. The WHO identifies the global water poverty line at 1000 cubic meters per capita per year.
In a 2009 publication, the World Bank indicated that Yemen had just 120 cubic meters of renewable freshwater resources per capita. By 2014 that number had dropped to 86 cubic meters.
And then there’s the qat issue. Qat is a narcotic chewed by a vast majority of Yemen’s population, including women and sometimes children.
According to the World Bank, qat cultivation, which devours 38 percent of irrigated land in the country, has led to a massive spike in water consumption. “It is the biggest issue in terms of use of water resources.”
While the issue of qat is well known, the massive consumption of scarce water resources to cultivate it is less talked about.
Prior to the outbreak of the current conflict, Yemen was already facing a number of serious issues placing a heavy burden on the country’s limited water resources.
Things have only gone worse over the past year. “During war, communities have no possibility to do anything but face the war,” explains El Hethmy.
“Of course this affects water preservation, access, and cultivation. Cultivation has just stopped,” he adds.
This interruption, combined with increasing difficulty in accessing certain areas of the country, are largely responsible for the current humanitarian crisis in Yemen – by Sarah El Shaarawi
http://newsweekme.com/yemen-thirsty-for-peace/
26.4.2016 – Activist Post (** A P T)
What’s Behind Saudi Arabia’s Claim To Have Killed 800 Terrorists In Yemen?
As Saudi war crimes and crimes against humanity continue apace in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is now apparently attempting to gain public support and better reception from the viewing audience by painting itself as an enemy of al-Qaeda and ISIS, despite the fact that the feudal monarchy’s reputation for supporting these very same terror organizations has been documented time and again.
Still, Saudi Arabia is attempting to show that it is, in fact, the enemy of al-Qaeda by issuing claims that the Saudi “coalition” in Yemen has recently fought a large-scale battle against the terror organization and that it was able to capture the city of Mukalla after killing around 800 terrorists.
What is interesting is that the alleged operation is part of another alleged operation “aimed at securing parts of the country captured by jihadist militants who have exploited a 13-month war between Gulf-backed loyalists and rebels supported by Iran.” The operation itself takes place alongside the UN-brokered ceasefire was enacted on April 11 where jihadist groups are excluded.
What is even more interesting, however, is the description provided by “military officer” sources quoted by the AFP as to the nature of the battle for Mukalla.
As AFP reports,
“We entered the city centre (of Mukalla) and were met by no resistance from Al-Qaeda militants who withdrew west” towards the vast desert in Hadramawt and Shabwa provinces, a military officer told AFP by phone from the city the jihadists seized last April.”
While it was reported that the coalition members had conducted airstrikes against “AQAP positions” in Yemen, it is important to note that coalition forces admittedly met no resistance when entering Mukalla.
At what point did the Saudis kill 800 AQAP members? Was it in the alleged and unconfirmed airstrikes which apparently kill only terrorists but no civilians?
Is it not extremely convenient that Saudi forces would bomb Yemen back into the Stone Age, allow AQAP to gain vast amounts of territory against Houthi, rebel, and government forces in the process and then retake it from them “without any resistance” shortly after a ceasefire agreement is made that does not include AQAP?
Was the Saudi bombing merely an act of death squad herding or was the Saudi bombing never aimed at AQAP at all? Were the casualties actually civilians simply labeled as terrorists for propaganda purposes? Was there actually a bombing campaign?
What kind of military operation kills 800 militants while, at the same time, faces no resistance from those militants?
All of these questions are relevant and must be asked of any reports suggesting Saudi military action against AQAP in Yemen. While it is impossible to draw concrete conclusions based on the reports currently circulating throughout Western media, considering the nature of the Saudi involvement and their history of supporting terrorism across the world, one must question their motives as well as any claims made by the Saudi government – by Brandon Turbeville
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/04/whats-behind-saudi-arabias-claim-to-have-killed-800-terrorists-in-yemen.html = http://www.globalresearch.ca/whats-behind-saudi-arabias-claim-to-have-killed-800-terrorists-in-yemen/5522148
25.4.2016 – Almasdar News (** B P)
Qatar and Saudi Arabia fueled the Syrian war, former Qatari FM
Former Qatari Foreign Minister, Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al Thani, revealed his country's vile role in igniting and fueling the Syrian uprising in March 2
Former Qatari Foreign Minister, Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al Thani, revealed his country’s vile role in igniting and fueling the Syrian uprising in March 2011, which has eventually turned into one of the world’s bloodiest proxy wars. Bin Jassim’s remarks came as he was interviewed by the Financial Times days ago. Even though the facts unveiled are tremendously shocking, the interview has been suspiciously ignored and undervalued by most of Arabic and western media outlets. The former foreign minister made it clear that what has happened in Syria is not a ‘revolution’, rather an ‘international gameplay’ whereby the United States has given ‘the green light’ to both Saudi Arabia and Qatar to intervene in Syria’s affairs.
“I will tell you one thing. Ever since we got involved in the Syrian crisis, we’ve been given the leading role in all of this, thanks to the Saudis’ reluctance at that point. Then some change occurred without our knowledge; the Saudis wanted us to take a back seat which eventually ended up in a competition. That was not good at all“, he told FT reporter. Both the timing and significance of these remarks entirely refute the narratives invented and promoted by Saudi Arabia and other Arab and western governments about a revolution being erupted against the Syrian tyrant who tragically kills his own people, aided by Iran and Russia. The misleading campaigns affected Assad’s allies as well. Russia and Iran have been labeled with destabilizing regional security and supporting terrorism, Hezbollah has been blacklisted as a terrorist group for fighting alongside the Syrian Army. In parallel, Jassim’s confessions might have serious repercussions for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and even the United States itself.
Legally speaking, the Syrian government, and upon these statements, is entitled to file a legal claim asking for trillions of dollars to cover the reconstruction, re-arming and equipping the Syrian Army, indemnifications for the families of victims affected by the war.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/qatar-saudi-arabia-fueled-syrian-war-former-qatari-fm/
Comment: We are sharing this because the war in Syria is a war on Syria as the war in Yemen is a war ON Yemen.
We are talking about proxy wars. We are talking about massacres orchestrated by the same game players: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and the United States.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1014045328648497&id=961126490607048
23.4.2016 – The Intercept (** B K P)
ANDREW BACEVICH AND AMERICA’S LONG MISGUIDED WAR TO CONTROL THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST
The conviction that invasion, bombing, and special forces benefit large swaths of the globe, while remaining consonant with a Platonic ideal of the national interest, runs deep in the American psyche.
Nothing undermines the American belief in military force. No matter how often its galloping about results in resentment and mayhem, the U.S. gets up again to do good elsewhere. Failure to improve life in Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya stiffens the resolve to get it right next time. This notion prevails among politicized elements of the officer corps; much of the media, whether nominally liberal or conservative; the foreign policy elite recycled quadrennially between corporation-endowed think tanks and government; and most politicians on the national stage. For them and the public they influence, the question is less whether to deploy force than when, where, and how.
Since 1979, when the Iranians overthrew the Shah and the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, the U.S. has concentrated its firepower in what former U.S. Army colonel Andrew Bacevich calls the “Greater Middle East.” The region comprises most of what America’s imperial predecessors, the British, called the Near and Middle East, a vast zone from Pakistan west to Morocco. In his new book, America’s War for the Greater Middle East, Bacevich writes, “From the end of World War II until 1980, virtually no American soldiers were killed in action while serving in that region. Within a decade, a great shift occurred. Since 1990, virtually no American soldiers have been killed anywhere except the Greater Middle East.” That observation alone might prompt a less propagandized electorate to rebel against leaders who perpetuate policies that, while killing and maiming American soldiers, devastate the societies they touch.
Bacevich describes a loyal cadre of intellectuals and pundits favoring war after war, laying the moral ground for invasions and excusing them when they go wrong. He notes that in 1975, when American imperium was collapsing in Indochina, the guardians of American exceptionalism renewed their case for preserving the U.S. as the exception to international law. An article by Robert Tucker in Commentary that year set the ball rolling with the proposition that “to insist that before using force one must exhaust all other remedies is little more than the functional equivalent of accepting chaos.” Another evangelist for military action, Miles Ignotus, wrote in Harper’s two months later that the U.S. with Israel’s help must prepare to seize Saudi Arabia’s oilfields. Miles Ignotus, Latin for “unknown soldier,” turned out to be the known civilian and Pentagon consultant Edward Luttwak. Luttwak urged a “revolution” in warfare doctrine toward “fast, light forces to penetrate the enemy’s vital centers” with Saudi Arabia a test case. The practical test would come, with results familiar to most of the world, 27 years later in Iraq.
Bacevich, a West Point graduate and Vietnam veteran, while conceding his “undistinguished military career,” is more willing than most journalists to question the justice and utility of expanded military operations in the Middle East and to challenge the media-hyped reputations of some of America’s favorite generals, Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell, Wesley Clark, and David Petraeus foremost.
This tour de force of a book covers the modern history of American warfare with sharp criticism of political decisions and rigorous analysis of battlefield strategy and tactics. As such, it should be required reading at the author’s alma mater. It would not hurt for those aspiring to succeed Barack Obama as commander-in-chief to dip into it as well. None of them, with the possible exception of Bernie Sanders, is likely to reject the worldview that led to so many deaths around the world. Watch for more military missions. Be prepared for more assassination by drone, of which even former Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal said, “They are hated on a visceral level, even by people who’ve never seen one or seen the effects of one.” McChrystal pointed out that drone strikes are great recruiters, not for the U.S. military, but for the Taliban, al Qaeda, and ISIS – by Charles Glass
Comment: Failure to improve life in Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya stiffens the resolve to get it right next time.
https://www.facebook.com/Classy.Yemeni/posts/819068858223297
cp2 Allgemein / General
26.4.2016 – Press TV Iran (B P)
E. Michael Jones: Saudis would like to get out of Yemen crisis to save face
Press TV has conducted an interview with E. Michael Jones, editor of the Culture Wars Online Magazine from Indiana, about a proposition by the UN Security Council that calls on the secretary general to submit a plan to support peace in Yemen.
The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: How do you feel about the UN Security Council now getting involved demanding that Ban Ki-moon come up with a plan?
Jones: I think it’s time to make a move here, because I think that the Saudi monarchy is in a very desperate situation now. Last year they revealed that they had a 99-billion-dollar deficit, one of the richest oil-producing countries in the world and it’s largely for two reasons: First reason is the United States is forcing the Saudis to overproduce oil, which is driving the price of oil down. This is part of their strategy against Russia. They want to drive bankrupt Russia in the same way they did that in the 80s during the Afghanistan war.
But the second reason is that they’re funding all these proxy warriors both in Syria and in Yemen. And it’s just proving to be too much. And so, the Saudis would like to get out of this thing. They’re threatening to start cutting back production. The United States doesn’t want that to happen. And so I think the simplest way for everyone involved here is peace negotiations at this point. They can’t win the war under these conditions; so, they’re going to have to negotiate a settlement.
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/26/462696/Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-UNSC-Jones/
25.4.2016 – Amnesty International (B K P)
Are U.S. weapons being used to kill Yemeni civilians?
Watch Amnesty International USA’s Middle East North Africa Advocacy Director, Sunjeev Bery on CNN here.
Watch Sunjeev Bery, Advocacy Director for the Middle East North Africa at Amnesty International USA, discuss Yemen’s war and how the US-Saudi alliance makes it worse.
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/middle-east/are-u-s-weapons-being-used-to-kill-yemeni-civilians/
Comment: the headline is rather funny, as everybody knows that and the photos of American bombs dropped on Yemen count to the hundreds at least.
22.4.2015 – Middle East Eye (* B K P)
A Saudi war going badly wrong
What began as a military adventure for Mohammed, son of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and the world’s youngest minister of defence, is turning into a major fiasco - See more at:
It must have seemed a very good idea at the time. The young, ambitious son of an aged king launching a war against a rebellion in a troubled country to the south.
Ignore the fact that the tribe you are attacking is in fact a useful buffer against an even greater threat. Ignore that this tribe badly beat your country’s forces just a few years previously. Ignore the disquiet of old friends because it’s your moment and you have just been appointed the minister of defence.
You are bristling with new weapons, billions of dollars’ worth of them, you have a powerful older rival and you need to prove your mettle both to your supporters and to him. Go to war, young man, go to war and win a quick, decisive victory that confirms your stature as a great military leader.
And so when Mohammed bin Salman, sixth and favourite son of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, launched Operation Decisive Storm on 26 March 2015, and orchestrated an air war against the Houthis of Yemen, he did so no doubt convinced of an easy win.
This would be a breeze, especially as the Egyptians would commit ground troops and if not them than the Pakistanis. After all, both countries have received billions of dollars in aid and interest-free loans from the Saudis over the years. But the Egyptians proved to have long memories. In the 1960s, 20,000 of their soldiers died in Yemen fighting a futile war that came to be known as Egypt’s Vietnam.
And Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan who, it is frequently said, owes his life to the Saudis, proved shrewd in referring the matter to a parliament that then universally rejected it. No doubt the MPs were annoyed that the Saudis had previously and rather pompously announced Pakistan had joined the fray, without bothering to ask them.
However, the Saudi-led bombing campaign, which was supposed to break the Houthis' resistance and drive them from the cities, seems to have failed miserably – by Bill Law
Continue at:
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/saudi-war-going-badly-wrong-689564484
Comment: read an article like this to see that this war did not change anything within one year – apart from killing thousands, starving hundreds of thousands, destroying a country.
Comment by Judith Brown: A sad story of greed and misused power. And of course like all mass killers the perpetrator will go free.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154310780898641
6.4.2015 – RT (* B K P)
‘Saudi Arabia saving democracy in Yemen? That’s a cruel joke!’
Saudi Arabia, one the most undemocratic states in the world where people have absolutely no say, is incapable of saving democracy in Yemen, said Eric Draitser, geopolitical analyst. That is an insult to the intelligence of people globally, he added.
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/247053-iran-israel-nuclear-us-arms/
Comment: It's really interesting to follow Russian news because they give a voice to alternative western viewpoints that are not following government lines and some of these are very well informed. This is one such report.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1130271140458709
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
27.4.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A H)
We need access and aid: Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen
On 26 April, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, concluded a three-day assessment mission to Sa’ada Governorate. He urged Yemeni parties to remain committed to the Cessation of Hostilities and allow unhindered humanitarian access. Mr. McGoldrick also asked the international community to increase the level of support for Yemen. “Only a political solution to the conflict can end the suffering in Yemen. I hope that the Cessation of Hostilities continues to hold to allow the scale-up of humanitarian activities and pave the way to peace.” Accompanied by George Khoury, Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen, the Humanitarian Coordinator visited the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Jomhouri Hospital, which is facing impending closure due to lack of resources. This is one of the few remaining functioning hospitals in Sa’ada and is the main treatment facility for wounded patients. “The closure of the ICU at Jomhouri Hospital would have dire consequences for access to life-saving care as critically-wounded patients would need to travel long distances,” noted Mr. McGoldrick.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/we-need-access-and-aid-humanitarian-coordinator-yemen-enar and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/HC%20press%20release%20YEMEN%2027APRIL2016.pdf
26.4.2016 – CIGI (B H)
Canada should act quickly to provide aid for Yemen
Why is Canada not thinking more broadly about Yemen?
In Yemen, Canada can make a significant difference where the international community has failed to act, but the window is closing.
Canada should leverage its strengths in water security and nutrition to lead the world in addressing Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe.
Canada’s current aid commitments fail to recognize the severity of the situation in Yemen and how dramatically it could escalate. Canada last year provided $15-million (U.S.) in humanitarian aid for Yemen, or 71 cents per needy Yemeni. In contrast, Canada allocated $173-million for Syria, approximately $13 for each needy Syrian. Both conflicts are tragic, but Syria has captured the world’s attention while the plight of Yemenis has not – by Jacqueline Lopour
https://www.cigionline.org/articles/canada-should-act-quickly-provide-aid-yemen
4.2016 – Operation Mercy (B H)
Help us Combat the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen
We have a tremendous opportunity to prevent Yemen from becoming the next Syria by intervening now, while many Yemenis are still in their homeland.
Even with the escalation in violence and instability, Operation Mercy continued most of its projects through mid 2015 and has successfully continued poverty reduction through transformational community development.
Now, with national Operation Mercy staff and partners on the ground, we can make a difference in this time of extreme need and show the Yemeni people that they are not forgotten. We can do something about this, one family at a time.
Funds are needed urgently so that we can provide food, safe water, and hygiene supplies - items that can mean the difference between life and death in this dire humanitarian crisis. Families who have not received services at all since the start of the war will receive priority status, as will female-headed households, those with disabilities, pregnant women, homes with children under two, and widows.
Purchasing through local markets, we can provide one life-saving food basket that provides 60% of the monthly requirement for a family of 7, for approximately $80 USD. For approximately $35 USD we can provide a family with drinking water ration cards, allowing them to purchase 20L of safe water each day for a month.
Together we can restore hope, fill urgent need and save lives. Please click on the Donate Now button and help us help parents provide the basic necessities for their families.
http://www.mercy.se/en/component/k2/item/424-help-us-combat-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-yemen
26.4.2016 – World Food Programme (A H)
Response to the Crisis in Yemen (infograph)
Since the escalation of the conflict in March 2015, UNHRD has supported 6 Partners responding to the crisis by sending 413 MT of critical relief items, equipment and medical supplies to Djibouti and Yemen. Most recently, UNHRD dispatched 35 metric tons of medicine to Hoedida on behalf of WHO.
For information about stocks available for emergency deployment through UNHRD’s Loan and Borrow facility, please visit www.unhrd.org or contact unhrd.customerservice@wfp.org.
http://unhrd.org/sites/default/files/yemen_snapshot_as_at_26.04.2016.pdf
cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
24.4.2016 – UNESCO (* B K)
Yemen Heritage Week kicks off in 10 leading museums around the world
UNESCO, together with 10 leading museums around the world, launched today an international campaign “Yemeni Heritage Week – Museums United for Yemen” aimed at raising awareness on the great richness of Yemen’s culture and history from 24 to 30 April 2016.
All the participating museums will organise temporary exhibitions and highlights of Yemeni collections at their respective museums. These exhibitions will provide general public with a great opportunity to explore and understand cultural heritage of Yemen, which is not always well-known in the world.
Participating museums include:
- The British Museum
- Freer|Sackler, Smithsonian
- Louvre Museum
- Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale “Guiseppe Tucci”
- Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences
- The State Hermitage Museum
- The State Museum of Oriental Art
The Yemeni Heritage Week – Museums United for Yemen is organised by the UNESCO Office in Doha from 24 to 30 April 2016 under UNESCO’s global campaign of #Unite4Heritage.
http://www.unite4heritage.org/en/news/yemen-heritage-week-kicks-off-10-leading-museums-around-world = http://www.unesco.org/new/en/doha/about-this-office/single-view/news/yemen_heritage_week_kicks_off_in_10_leading_museums_around_the_world/
24.4.2016 – UNESCO (* B K)
Foreword by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO for the Yemeni Heritage week – Museums United for Yemen 24-30 April 2016
The cultural heritage of Yemen carries the soul of the Yemeni people, reflecting a millennial history that it belongs to all humanity.
Yemen is home to unique heritage sites and monuments from both pre-Islamic and Islamic period – including four UNESCO World Heritage sites, three cultural (Old Walled City of Shibam, Old City of Sana’a, Historic Town of Zabid) and one natural (Socotra Archipelago), recognized for their outstanding universal value. I see all of these as an open book on humanity’s cultural diversity.
The conflict that erupted in Yemen in March 2015 has caused immense suffering and the tragic loss of human lives. It is also placing unique heritage at the risk of total destruction. The Old City of Sana’a has suffered severe damage as a consequence of shelling and explosions. Sana’a has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years and bears witness to the wealth and beauty of all Islamic civilization. I am convinced that this destruction exacerbates human suffering, undermining societies over the long-term, weakening the ground for reconciliation and peace.
Whenever culture is attacked, we must stand together and respond with even more culture and knowledge, to foster mutual understanding and safeguard the heritage shared by all humanity. This is the purpose of UNESCO’s global campaign #Unite4Heritage. As part of this campaign, together with 10 leading museums around the world, UNESCO has launched the Yemeni Heritage Week – Museums United for Yemen, to raise awareness about the wealth of Yemen’s culture and history. Partner museums will highlight their collections of Yemeni artefacts and introduce us to their unique beauty, knowledge and wisdom.
I thank you all for sharing and appreciating the outstanding universal power of Yemeni culture – and I call on you all to stand with us to defend the power of heritage for peace. Protecting culture is not about caring for stones – it is about saving and defending the meaning people ascribe to their lives – by Irina Bokova
25.4.2016 – British Museum (* B K)
World heritage at risk in Yemen: Curator's Corner
St John Simpson, Curator for Ancient Arabia and Ancient Iran, talks about the impact that the destruction of Yemeni cultural heritage will have on humanity. He also looks at what international museums can do to assist authorities in limiting the looting and trafficking of portable antiquities in a post-conflict Yemen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQNTEMgGT6c&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop
25.4.2016 – British Museum (* C)
Places and sites of ancient South Arabia
Yemen was home to six major kingdoms in antiquity and these formed the heart of the region we call ancient South Arabia. These kingdoms were Saba, Ma’in, Qataban, Hadramawt, Awsan and Himyar. There are many ancient sites across the entire region, including towns, villages, temples, cemeteries and impressive waterworks. The most famous of these is the site of Marib, former capital of the Sabaean kingdom, where a huge temple – known today as the Mahram Bilqis – and the remains of a monumental dam still stand. Other important sites are at Sirwah and Zabid. Sadly, even these great monuments have been damaged in the recent conflict.
http://britishmuseum.tumblr.com/post/143374037122/places-and-sites-of-ancient-south-arabia-yemen
25.4.2016 – Metropolitan Museum (* B K)
Yemeni Heritage Week: Museums United for Yemen
Art in Yemen from the Islamic and Pre-Islamic Periods: Exhibits
https://metmuseum.atavist.com/yemeni-heritage-week
24.4.2016 – Ashmolean Museum (B K)
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Doha/pdf/Ashmolean.pdf
23.4.2016 – Freer Sackler (B K)
Yemeni Heritage Week
The rich cultural heritage of Yemen is under dire threat due to political and military conflict in that country. The Freer|Sackler, together with nine other museums around the world, is collaborating with UNESCO to celebrate Yemeni Heritage Week (April 23–30). To raise awareness of Yemen and its important history and culture, each institution features some of its finest south Arabian holdings during this time. Download a brochure with highlights from our collection of ancient works of art, uncovered by Wendell Phillips on his archaeological excavations in the region in the early 1950s, and explore our 2015 exhibition Unearthing Arabia.
http://www.asia.si.edu/events/yemeni-heritage-week/
24.4.2016 – Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale “Guiseppe Tucci” (B K)
24.4.2016 – The Walters Art Museum (* B K)
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Doha/pdf/WaltersArtMuseum.pdf
24.4.2016 – The State Museum of Oriental Art (* B K)
http://www.orientmuseum.ru/downloads/yemen-04-2016.pdf
24.4.2016 – Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) (B K)
Yemen Heritage Week (B K)
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) supports Yemeni Heritage Week – Museums United for Yemen organized by UNESCO in the framework of #Unite4Heritage global movement powered by UNESCO that aims to celebrate and safeguard cultural heritage and diversity around the world. Launched in response to the unprecedented recent attacks on heritage, the campaign calls on everyone to stand up against extremism and radicalization by celebrating the places, objects and cultural traditions that make the world such a rich and vibrant place.
The recent conflict in Yemen that started in March 2015 has caused serious security and humanitarian crisis in the country. At the same time, the conflict severely affected Yemen’s unique cultural heritage mostly as collateral damage caused by military operations, aerial bombardment in particular. The Old Cities of Sana’ and Saa’da, the Citadel of Taez, the archaeological site of the pre-Islamic walled city of Baraqish, the archaeological site of Sirwah (near Marib) from the 1st millennium B.C., and the Great Dam of Marib, a wonder of technical engineering, were all affected. Dhamar Museum, which used to host 12,500 artefacts, was completely destroyed.
http://www.kunstkamera.ru/en/unite4heritage/
25.4.2016 – UNESCO (* B K)
Gallery: Heritage at Risk in Yemen
In February 2015, a violent conflict erupted in Yemen causing terrible human suffering and loss of life.Yemeni Cultural heritage sites are heavily affected, mostly through collateral damage. However, the intentional destruction of ancient tombs was reported to have occurred, for the first time, in Hadramout, in July 2015. All three cultural World Heritage properties (Old Walled City of Shibam, Old City of Sana’a, Historic Town of Zabid) are now inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Old City of Sana’a and the historic centre of Saa’da were hit by shelling and gravely damaged.
Many other sites, some of which figure on Yemen’s World Heritage Tentative List, have similarly suffered damage, including the Citadel of Taez, the archaeological site of the pre-Islamic walled city of Baraqish, the archaeological sites of Marib from the end of 2nd millennium B.C., and the Great Dam of Marib, a marvel of technical engineering. Movable heritage has also suffered severe losses, as in the case of the Dhamar Museum, which used to host a collection of 12,500 artefacts, and was completely destroyed in May 2015 (photos).
[Full text. This work by http://www.unesco.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.]
http://en.unesco.org/galleries/yemen-world-heritage-conflict
26.4.2016 – The Qatar Peninsula (A P)
Yemen withdraws in Qatar’s favour for Unesco post
Paris: GCC and Yemen ambassadors to Unesco yesterday welcomed Yemen’s decision to withdraw its candidate Dr Ahmed Al Sayed in favour of Qatar’s candidate H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Cultural Adviser at the Emiri Diwan, for Unesco director-general’s post.
In a statement, the envoys said Yemen’s initiative is out of its desire to have one Arab candidate for the post to consolidate votes. The ambassadors thanked Yemen for its keenness to promote Arab unity.
It said Dr Al Kawari has become the candidate of all GCC members and called on the rest of Arab countries to follow suit.
Dr Al Kawari praised Al Sayed for his expertise and keenness to consolidate GCC and Arab votes.
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/qatar/379746/yemen-withdraws-in-qatar-s-favour-for-unesco-post
Comment by Judith Brown: If anyone deserved a seat at UNESCO it was Yemen who had done so much to preserve treasures for the world to enjoy, only to be destroyed in this disgusting war by the Saudi led coalition with its UK and U.S. arms and munitions
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154310646858641
Comment: The servant giving his place to one of his masters.
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
26.4.2016 – The Intercept (** B K)
Saudi-Intervention im Jemen beschwört bewaffnete Fraktion
“Männer mit dicken Bärten – manche eingepackt in traditionelle Kleidung, andere mit Masken – können dieser Tage dabei gesehen werden, wie sie in Pickups mit angebrachten Maschinengewehren die zentraljemenitische Stadt Taiz durchfahren. Die Männer gehören einer wachsenden Fraktion der Salafisten an, einer ultrakonservativen religiösen sunnitischen Gruppe.
In Taiz waren die Salafisten einst als Prediger in den Moscheen sowie als Religionswissenschaftler bekannt, jedoch entwickelten sie sich zu einer dominierenden Kampftruppe im lokalen Widerstand gegen die schiitischen Huthi-Rebellen, welche Jemens Präsidenten Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi absetzten. Im März vergangenen Jahres, als Huthi-loyale Streitkräfte in die Stadt schwärmten, wurden die salafistischen Kämpger das erste mal gesehen und ihre Mitgliedschaft wächst seit Beginn der Saudi geführten Luftkampagne. Ihre Präsenz in der drittgrößten Stadt Taiz war bisher besonders bemerkenswert.
Bewohner der Stadt sorgen sich, dass die salafistische Bewegung den Grundstein für noch mehr religiöse Konflikte legt. Nach Aussage von mehreren Bewohnern, ähneln die Homat al-Aqida Kämpfer, die größte der fünf salafistischen Fraktionen in Taiz, Al-Qaida-Gruppierungen.
Einige Bewohner „sehen die Salafisten synonym zu Al-Qaida“, sagte Mohammed al Azaazi, ein Student in Taiz. „Die Salafisten inhaftierten mehrere Menschen und führten öffentliche Hinrichtungen aus, während sie behaupteten, die islamische Scharia zu installieren.“
Während die salafistischen Fraktionen in Taiz jegliche Verbindungen zu Al-Qaida abstreiten, waren ihre Kämpfer führend bei einem Angriff auf das zentrale Gefängnis letztes Jahr, was dazu führte, dass mehrere Gefangene fliehen konnten, unter anderem auch Mitglieder von Al-Qaida. Die Präsenz der salafistischen Kämpfer in Taiz sei noch neuartig aber verändere die Stadt rapide, laut Baleegh al-Zuraiqi, 34, einem Bewohner der Innenstadt von Taiz. Die Salafisten waren seit Beginn der Kämpfe bisher in vier Nachbarschaften ansässig, sagte al-Zuraiqi, „einschließlich Bab Mosa, wo sie ein islamisches Gericht errichtet haben, damit die Belange und Fälle der Einheimischen behandelt werden können.“
Laut Quellen zählen die Salafisten nunmehr die Hälfte der Anti-Huthi-Allianz in Taiz – von Mohammed Ali Kalfood
Deutsche Übersetzung von:
http://www.actvism.org/news/saudi-intervention-jemen-fraktion/
26.4.2016 – The Intercept (** B K)
In Yemen, Saudi-Led Intervention Gives Rise to New Armed Religious Faction
Thickly bearded men — some wrapped in traditional outfits, others masked — can be seen these days driving through Yemen’s central city of Taiz in pickup trucks mounted with machine guns.
The men belong to a growing faction of Salafis, an ultra-conservative Sunni religious group. In Taiz, the Salafis were once known for being preachers in mosques and religious scholars, but now they have become the most dominant fighters among local resistance to the Shiite Houthi rebels, who ousted from power Yemen’s President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
First seen in March of last year, when forces loyal to the Houthis swept into the city, the Salafi fighters have increased in number since the Saudi-led coalition began its air campaign. Their presence in Taiz, the third-largest city in Yemen, has been particularly notable.
Residents worry that the growing Salafi movement is laying the groundwork for even more conflict among religious groups. According to several local residents, Homat al-Aqida fighters, the largest of five Salafi factions in Taiz, resemble al Qaeda-linked groups.
Some residents “see the Salafis as synonymous to al Qaeda,” said Mohammed al-Azaazi, a Taiz university student. “The Salafis have detained several people and carried out public executions, while claiming they apply the Islamic Sharia.”
While the Salafi factions in Taiz deny they have links to al Qaeda, their fighters spearheaded the attack on the central prison last year, which led to dozens of prisoners escaping, including al Qaeda members.
The Salafi fighters’ presence is still relatively new in Taiz, but is rapidly transforming the city, according to Baleegh al-Zuraiqi, 34, a local resident in downtown Taiz. The Salafis have been based in four neighborhoods since the fighting started, al-Zuraiqi said, “including Bab Mosa, where they have established an Islamic court to solve issues and cases among the local people.”
According to local sources, the Salafis now account for nearly half of the anti-Houthi alliance in Taiz – by Mohammed Ali Kalfood
26.4.2016 – Judith Brown (A P)
This post is no longer available - but it apparently reported that the son of the South Yemen separatist leader is in Russia for negotiations...
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154310776163641
Comment: As google shows, the post was from Nov. 26, 2014.
25.4.2016 – Al Bab (A T)
Yemeni accused of atheism is murdered
Youth shot dead after complaints about Facebook postings
Renouncing Islam is a crime punishable by death in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. In practice, though, the law isn't implemented nowadays. On the rare occasions that an apostasy case comes to court, the accused person is usually allowed to flee the country or imprisoned for some other offence – thus avoiding international embarrassment.
In the eyes of Islamist militants, however, these governments are neglecting their religious duty, and the result is vigilante killings. Such killings may be inspired by the actions of groups like IS but they are also legitimised by national laws against apostasy and by governments which reject the right to freedom of belief.
Around 10pm last Sunday, a young Yemeni called Omar Mohammed Batawil was abducted in front of his home in the Crater district of Aden.
On Monday afternoon, residents in the Sheikh Osman district found his body. He had been shot.
Sources quoted by Almawqea website say Batawil had been receiving death threats and accusations of atheism because of comments "critical of religion" that he had posted on Facebook.
Threats and attacks which target dissenting individuals seem to be a growing phenomenon in countries where the authorities are unable or unwilling to offer protection (there have been several recent examples in Bangladesh).
The leaflet below is one example of the harassment that non-believers are facing from Muslim militants. Headed "Notice to atheists", it begins:
"To every atheist who reviles and incites hatred of Islam in social media: Your end is to choke to death, to perish as an animal perishes, to be cast under dirt and mud and have worms eat your rotten body. No one will remember you; it will be as if you never existed ..."
It ends with the words: "Islam will remain until the Day of Judgment."
[Full text. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Licence].
http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2016/april/yemen-atheist-murder.htm see also https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/724887878145310721
cp7 UNO und Friedensverhandlungen / UN and peace talks
Siehe / See cp1 Am Wichtigsten / Most important
27.4.2016 – Pars Today (A K P)
Jemenitische Konfliktparteien einigen sich auf Friedensgespräche
Die jemenitischen Konfliktparteien haben sich über den Fahrplan der Friedensgespräche in Kuwait geeinigt.
Laut Sky News hat der UN-Sondergesandte Ismail Ould Scheich Ahmed die Jemen-Friedensgespräche auf heute (Mittwoch) verschoben.
Der Fahrplan der Jemen-Friedensgespräche soll gemäß dem Fünf-Punkte-Plan der UN-Resolution 2216 verfasst werden. Diese Resolution, die am 14. April 2015 bezüglich des Jemen-Krieges verabschiedet wurde, hat ein Waffenembargo für die jemenitischen Armeekräfte auferlegt.
Der UN-Sicherheitsrat hat die UNO aufgefordert, innerhalb von 30 Tagen einen Plan für die Umsetzung des Fahrplans, die Beendigung des Krieges im Jemen, die Abgabe von Waffen sowie Wiederaufnahme von politischen Verhandlungen vorzulegen.
Die Jemen-Friedensgespräche haben vergangenen Donnerstag begonnen. Die verschiedenen Seiten des Jemenkonfliktes haben vorher Meinungsverschiedenheiten über den Fahrplan gehabt.
Die jemenitische Delegation hat Gespräche über die Festigung der Feuerpause im Jemen vor jeder Verhandlung gefordert.
Kommentar: „Die jemenitische Delegation“ hier gemeint: Houthis und Saleh-Anhänger.
27.4.2016 – Middle East Online (* A P)
Yemenis' Last Glimmer of Hope
Pondering over this misery, the negotiators should have realized that one-side winning is unattainable. However, they will be all unequivocal winners as well as the nation if they earnestly negotiate for sake of peace, not for the purpose for narrow-minded political interests and war tactics. Blood of Yemeni innocent people is more precious than any other interests. Do not these negotiators remember they do not stand for their parties only, not for the entire impoverished nation? If they care about the grass roots, they would not opt for bloody violence to resolve their disputes.
When the plane that transported the delegations of the Houthi group and former president Ali Saleh's party touched down in Kuwait city on Thursday, the delegations got off the plane, walking on the red carpet. This sparked a big debate on the Yemeni social media. Pro-government Facebook and twitter users felt it as a shock. According to them, how can the Iran-backed Houthis be received with the red carpet? It has been said the government delegation did not receive the same attention upon their arrival. This is really funny and saddening.
It is funny because the red carpet has turned out a controversial debate. It is saddening that such a trivial matter sparks divides among Yemenis, let alone serious issues. The red carpet should not be an issue. The genuine issues are the millions of people who are famished in the country, the millions of homeless and the thousands of injured.
It does not matter who walked on the red carpet. It does not matter who came to talks on a special plane. Only peace counts.
Obviously, Yemen peace talks are in full swing now. People are waiting for good news and positive sweeping changes. They are waiting to breathe peace and live in safety. If the negotiators help the people satisfy such an urgent need, they would survive all. If not, all are at risk of continuing ferocious war – by Khalid Al-Karimi, a Yemeni scholar at Kerala University, India. He is a former newspaper journalist, Yemen.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=76536
27.4.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K P)
Saudi side rejects halt to airstrikes in Yemen: Report
Head of the Saudi-led delegation to Yemen's peace talks being held in Kuwait has dismissed a halt to airstrikes, Yemen's al-Masirah TV says, citing sources privy to the negotiations.
Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi, the head of the Saudi-led delegation, rejected on Tuesday UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed's proposal to halt the air raids, the report said.
The Saudi side claims that a halt to airstrikes would help Houthis which are fighting forces supported by the kingdom rebuild their power, the sources reportedly said.
On Wednesday, Saudi warplanes bombed Yemen’s Ta’izz Province, despite the UN-brokered truce in the Arab country.
The two sides began their peace talks in Kuwait on April 21. On Tuesday, they agreed to begin work in two parallel committees, following heavy pressure from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
The delegates have been told that no one would be allowed to leave Kuwait without an agreement.
Both delegations “agreed to an agenda for negotiations, which is a framework for discussing security, economic and political issues,” Cheikh told a press conference, adding that “comprehensive negotiations” would start on Wednesday.
“We don’t want to go back to Yemen without a peaceful settlement,” Ahmed said.
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/27/462781/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-airstrike-peace-talks-Kuwait/
27.4.2016 – Saba News (A K P)
Yemeni joint negotiations session held in Kuwait
A Yemeni joint negotiations session was held on Tuesday in Kuwait under the auspices of the UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
During the meeting, the national delegation confirmed its keenness on the peace option and to deal positively with the peace consultations currently being held in Kuwait and to exert all efforts that lead to a just and comprehensive political solutions.
The delegation expressed hope for the continuation of the cease-fire based on what has been agreed upon between all parties, so as to ensure the success of the consultations and the discussion of the rest of the other points, topped by the political solution.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news426211.htm = http://www.albawaba.com/news/yemen-peace-talks-joint-negotiations-address-continuing-ceasefire-833764
Comment: National delegation meaning hear: Houthi and Saleh delegation.
26.4.2016 – Reuters (* A K P)
Yemen peace talks back on track following world pressure
Yemen's warring factions agreed on an agenda on Tuesday for U.N.-backed peace negotiations, delegates said, following heavy pressure from world powers.
The talks to end fighting between the Iran-allied Houthis and supporters of Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi were launched last week but were suspended on Sunday amid bickering about flights over Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition.
The Houthis argue that the flights constitute a violation of the truce that began on April 10 to facilitate the talks. The Hadi government insists the flights are intended to prevent the Houthis and their ally, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, from moving heavy weapons around.
Differences over the agenda had made it difficult for the two sides to start real negotiations to end the 13-month war that has killed more than 6,200 people, wounded more than 35,000 and displaced more than 2.5 million people.
The two sides had agreed last week to a five-point agenda outlined by the U.N. special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, but remained divided over whether to start with a unity government or to focus on a Houthi withdrawal from the cities and the handover of their weapons.
Delegates said the two sides had agreed on Tuesday to work in two parallel committees.
"The talks will start tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss this agenda," one delegate told Reuters.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said the agenda provided for the Houthis to quit cities they seized since 2014, allowing the government to retake control of the state.
"We consider approval by the Houthis and the General People's Congress party (of ex-president Saleh) of the agenda as a good step that can lead to positive results," Mekhlafi said.
Delegates said Tuesday's talks followed strong pressure from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, Writing by Sami Aboudi, editing by Gareth Jones)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-talks-idUSKCN0XN24F = https://www.yahoo.com/news/yemen-peace-talks-back-track-following-world-pressure-165738875.html
Comment: Since when the world cares about Yemen? And because of Al Qaeda? If there are any interests they are neither for the civilians nor Al Qaeda/ISIS. The world cares about Bab el Mandab, oil terminal in Mukhalla, the gas present in Yemen. Aden port. Nobody cares.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1014763195243377&id=961126490607048
26.4.2016 – Al Araby (A K P)
Yemen peace talks making progress, says UN envoy
The UN special envoy to Yemen said Tuesday that warring parties have agreed to a framework for talks that will open the way for extensive negotiations to end the conflict.
The announcement came after Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, whose country is hosting the talks, met with the two delegations separately and urged them to reach a peaceful solution.
It also came a day after the UN Security Council urged all sides in the negotiations to be constructive.
The two delegations "agreed to an agenda for negotiations which is a framework for discussing security, economic and political issues," UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told a press conference.
He said "comprehensive negotiations" would start on Wednesday in line with UN Security Council resolution 2216, which is seen as a basis for any peace plan.
It states that the rebels must withdraw from seized territories and disarm before talks can progress.
But Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the UN wants all the main issues to be discussed in parallel by joint committees.
He said no timeframe has been set for the talks which should continue as necessary to achieve a "comprehensive peaceful settlement."
"We don't want to go back to Yemen without a peaceful settlement," Ould Cheikh Ahmed said.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/4/26/yemen-peace-talks-making-progress-says-un-envoy
Comment: With this agenda, it will hardly work.
26.4.2016 – Almanar (A K P)
Yemeni National Delegation Meets Kuwaiti Emir: Air Raids Hinder Agreement
Yemeni National delegation met with Kuwaiti Emir Sobah Ahmad al-Sobah on the margin of the ongoing talks in Kuwait to end the crisis of the poorest Arab country, stressing that the continued Saudi raids will hinder concluding a comprehensive agreement between the various negotiating parties.
Ansarullah spokesman Mohammad Abdol Salam highlighted the importance of the Kuwaiti role in restoring peace, describing the meeting as positive and fruitful.
http://english.almanar.com.lb/adetails.php?eid=267375&cid=23&fromval=1
Comment: Yemen National Delegation means: Houthi and Saleh’s party delegation.
26.4.2016 – Almanar (A K P)
Yemen National Delegation to P5+1: First of All Ceasefire Reinforcement
Yemen's national delegation told the six world powers that the reinforcement of ceasefire is main factor in the success of the UN-brokered peace talks taking place in the Kuwaiti capital.
The national delegation which includes revolutionary movement, Ansarullah and General People's Congress (GPC) party, met with the world powers late on Monday in Bayan Palace in Kuwait, Union News agency reported.
The delegation said that the continuation of the Saudi-led aggression on Yemen is the reason behind the talks delay, urging the 5+1 to press towards the implementation of the major demand, which is the halt of the aggression, Unews reported.
Meanwhile, the delegation stressed its is committed to reach a peaceful solution to the deadly conflict in the Arab impoverished country.
For their part, the P5+1, which refers to the UN Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany), urged the two sides (national delegation and Saudi-backed exiled government) to reach a peaceful settlement to the current crisis.
http://english.almanar.com.lb/adetails.php?eid=267309&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=31&s1=1
26.4.2016 – Foreign Policy (A K P)
Saudi Blocks UN Yemen Probes
Influence games. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have been punching above their weight when it comes to pressuring the world community to turn a blind eye to the excesses of the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. FP’s Colum Lynch delivers the important story of how Saudi and Gulf diplomats have squashed a series of critical United Nations reports over the past year that have called the coalition out on some of its worst excesses, including bombing civilian targets, and helping create a massive humanitarian disaster – by Paul McLeary with Adam Rawnsley
26.4.2016 – German.China.org (A K P)
Jemen: UN-Sicherheitsrat begrüßt erneute Friedensverhandlungen
Der UN-Sicherheitsrat hat am Montag die vollständige Feuerpause und eine Wiederaufnahme der Friedensverhandlungen im Jemen begrüßt.
Der Sicherheitsrat rief alle betroffenen Seiten zu einem flexiblen, konstruktiven sowie aufrichtigen Friedensdialog auf. Dabei soll eine „Roadmap" für Sicherheit, Truppenrückzug, Waffenübertragung, Wiederherstellung der Staatsorgane und Wiederaufnahme des politischen Dialogs in dem Land entstehen.
Wegen der Verschärfung der humanitären Krise forderte der UN-Sicherheitsrat zum Schutz der Bevölkerung sowie der zivilen Einrichtungen im Jemen auf, um die humanitären Hilfen schnell und reibungslos innerhalb des Landes zu transportieren.
http://german.china.org.cn/txt/2016-04/26/content_38329807.htm und ähnlich http://vovworld.vn/de-de/Nachrichten/UNSicherheitsrat-ruft-zum-Friedensprozess-für-Jemen-auf/431252.vov
25.4.2016 – UN Security Council (A K P)
Security Council Presidential Statement Welcomes Cessation of Hostilities, Launch of Peace Talks in Yemen
The Security Council today welcomed the nationwide cessation of hostilities in Yemen and the launch of peace talks, commenced on 10 April and 21 April 2016, respectively.
Issuing presidential statement S/PRST/2016/5, the 15-member Council urged all parties to comply fully with the cessation-of-hostilities agreement and to exercise restraint in response to any reports of violations. It welcomed the establishment in Kuwait of a De-escalation and Coordination Committee to bolster adherence to the nationwide accord, and called upon the parties to work with it in resolving violations.
The Council called upon all Yemeni parties to develop a road map for the implementation of interim security measures, especially at the local level, withdrawals, the handover of heavy weapons, the restoration of State institutions and the resumption of political dialogue.
Expressing strong concern over intensified terrorist attacks, including by Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), the Council encouraged all parties to avoid security vacuums. Furthermore, it stressed that a political solution to the crisis was essential to addressing the terrorism threat in Yemen.
Noting the devastating humanitarian impact of the conflict on the Yemeni people, the Council called upon all sides to comply with international humanitarian law, respect medical facilities and personnel, and allow safe, rapid and unhindered access for humanitarian supplies to all affected governorates.
The Council requested that the Secretary-General present, within 30 days, a plan outlining how the Office of the Special Envoy could support the next phase of its work with the parties.
The meeting began at 1:56 p.m. and ended at 1:58 p.m.
Presidential Statement
The full text of presidential statement S/PRST/2016/5:
“The Security Council recalls its resolutions 2014 (2011), 2051 (2012), 2140 (2014), 2201 (2015), 2204 (2015), 2216 (2015), and 2266 (2016) and presidential statements of 15 February 2013, 29 August 2014, and 22 March 2015.
“The Security Council recalls that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and Implementation Mechanism, the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue conference, and relevant Security Council resolutions provide the basis for inclusive negotiations for a political settlement of the crisis in Yemen.
“The Security Council welcomes the commencement of a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Yemen which began at midnight on 10 April 2016, and the launch of Yemeni-Yemeni peace talks, hosted by Kuwait, led and facilitated by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, which commenced on 21 April. The Council urges the parties to comply fully with the cessation of hostilities and exercise restraint in response to any reports of violations. The Council welcomes the establishment of a De-escalation and Coordination Committee in Kuwait to bolster adherence to the nationwide cessation of hostilities, and calls on the parties to work with the De-escalation and Coordination Committee to resolve any reports of violations to the cessation of hostilities. Furthermore, the Council reiterates its call to all parties to engage in peace talks in a flexible and constructive manner without preconditions, and in good faith.
“The Security Council further notes the importance of reaching agreement on a framework of principles, mechanisms and processes for the conclusion of a comprehensive agreement which will bring about a permanent end to the conflict.
“The Security Council also calls on all Yemeni parties to develop a road map for the implementation of interim security measures, especially at the local level, withdrawals, handover of heavy weapons, restoration of State institutions, and the resumption of political dialogue in line with relevant Security Council decisions, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and Implementation Mechanism, and the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue conference.
“The Security Council notes that in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2216 (2015) and the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue conference, the Parties should commit to ensure that security mechanisms, including the formation of security committees, facilitate and oversee the negotiated withdrawal of militias and armed groups and provide for the orderly handover of heavy and medium weapons to State control.
“The Security Council recalls the importance of the full participation of women and civil society in the peace process (including on security arrangements), in line with the outcomes of the National Dialogue conference.
“The Security Council expresses its strong concern about intensified terrorist attacks, including by Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (also known as Da’esh), and encourages all Yemeni parties to avoid any security vacuums that can be exploited by terrorists or other violent groups. The Security Council stresses that a political solution to the crisis is essential to address, in a durable and comprehensive manner, the threat of terrorism in Yemen.
“The Security Council stresses the importance of the restoration of Government control over all State institutions, including respect for the legally established lines of authority in State institutions; removal of any hindrance or obstructions to proper functioning of State institutions; and changes to ensure inclusivity in political institutions.
“The Security Council reiterates that resuming Yemen’s peaceful political transition to a democratically-governed State, in line with the GCC initiative, should be guided by a new constitution and the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections, and conducted in an inclusive manner involving the full participation of all of Yemen’s diverse communities, including all regions of the country, youth, and the full and effective participation of women.
“The Security Council notes the devastating humanitarian impact of the conflict on the Yemeni people and emphasizes that the humanitarian situation will deteriorate in the absence of a political solution. The Security Council calls upon all sides to comply with international humanitarian law, including to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects, in order to prevent any further suffering for the people of Yemen. The Security Council further underlines the need to ensure the security of humanitarian and United Nations personnel. The Security Council further calls on all parties to respect and protect medical facilities and personnel. The Security Council calls on all parties to take proactive steps to protect civilians and civilian objects, in order to prevent any further suffering of the Yemeni people. The Security Council further calls on the parties to allow the safe, rapid and unhindered access for humanitarian supplies to all affected governorates and to facilitate access for essential imports of food, fuel and, medical supplies into the country and their distribution throughout. In this regard, the Security Council calls upon all States to respect the mandate and processes of the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM), based in Djibouti, and facilitate the full implementation of its mandate without any further delay.
“The Security Council recalls its resolution 2266 (2016) which expressed the Council’s support for and commitment to the work of the Special Envoy for Yemen to the Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in support of a Yemeni-led transition process.
“The Security Council requests the Secretary-General to present a plan to the Security Council, within 30 days, outlining how the Office of the Special Envoy could support the next phase of its work with the parties, in particular to support the elements set out in paragraph 5 above.
“The Security Council reaffirms its strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen.”
http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12337.doc.htm
Comment: A session of 2 minutes on Yemen!!!!
25.4.2016 – UN News Centre (A K P)
Yemen: Security Council calls for parties in talks to develop road map for security measures
The United Nations Security Council today called on all parties involved in the intra-Yemeni peace talks to develop a road map for the implementation of interim security measures as they work towards a comprehensive agreement that will bring a permanent end to the political crisis in the country.
Adopting a Presidential Statement, the 15-member body welcomed the commencement of the nationwide cessation of hostilities in Yemen on 10 April as well as the launch of the intra-Yemeni peace talks in Kuwait, reiterating a call to all parties to engage in the peace talks in a “flexible and constructive manner without preconditions, and in good faith.”
In its statement, the Council called on all Yemeni parties to “develop a road map for the implementation of interim security measures, especially at the local level, withdrawals, handover of heavy weapons, restoration of state institutions, and the resumption of political dialogue in line with relevant Security Council decisions, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and Implementation Mechanism, and the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue conference.”
In line with its resolution 2216 (2015) and the outcomes of the National Dialogue conference, the Council said the parties should commit to ensure that security mechanisms, including the formation of security committees, facilitate and oversee the negotiated withdrawal of militias and armed groups and provide for the orderly handover of heavy and medium weapons to state control.
The Council also expressed “strong concern” about intensified terrorist attacks, including by Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), and encouraged all Yemeni parties to “avoid any security vacuums that can be exploited by terrorists or other violent groups.”
“The Security Council stresses that a political solution to the crisis is essential to address, in a durable and comprehensive manner, the threat of terrorism in Yemen,” the statement said.
In addition, the Council stressed the importance of the restoration of Government control over all state institutions, including respect for the legally established lines of authority in state institutions; removal of any hindrance or obstructions to proper functioning of state institutions; and changes to ensure inclusivity in political institutions.
Reiterating that resuming Yemen’s political transition to a democratically governed State, in line with the GCC initiative, should be guided by a new constitution and the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections, the Council said that such election should be conducted in an inclusive manner involving the full participation of all of Yemen’s diverse communities, including all regions of the country, youth, and the full and effective participation of women.
Noting the “devastating humanitarian impact” of the conflict on the Yemeni people, the Council emphasized that the humanitarian situation will deteriorate in the absence of a political solution.
“The Security Council calls upon all sides to comply with international humanitarian law, including to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects, in order to prevent any further suffering for the people of Yemen,” and to ensure the security of humanitarian and UN personnel, the statement said.
Moreover, the Council requested that the Secretary-General present to it a plan, within 30 days, outlining how the Office of the Special Envoy for Yemen could support the next phase of its work with the parties.
In related news, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, welcomed reports that indicate tangible progress in bringing an end to hostilities and an improvement in the general security situation in Yemen.
“Reports indicate real improvement in the situation which reflects the parties’ commitment to the cessation of hostilities,” said Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed in a statement.
“The De-escalation and Coordination Committee and the Local Committees are exerting extraordinary efforts to ensure the safety and security of Yemenis. It is clear that these efforts and the recommendations from the members of the delegations assigned to follow up on support for the cessation of hostilities are contributing to the stabilization of the security situation in the country,” he added.
The Special Envoy also said that he began consultations with the heads of the delegations today on a general framework for the talks, proposed by the UN, and which will be discussed by the two delegations over the coming days.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53780#.Vx7zNzCLSUk
Comment: This statement makes it clear that the UN Security Council does not ask for a solution of two sides negotiating on a par with each other but a de facto capitulation of the Houthis to the Hadi government. But, this will not work and certainly is the best guarantee to prolong the war for much longer.
25.4.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K P)
Significant differences remain in Yemen talks: UN envoy
UN envoy to Yemen says “significant differences” still remain between warring sides as peace talks in Kuwait enter their fifth day.
The fifth day of negotiations between representatives from Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and the former government began on Monday in Kuwait City.
"Significant differences in the delegations' points of view remain but nonetheless there is consensus on the need to make peace and to work intensively towards an agreement," Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement late on Sunday.
Both sides are reportedly still addressing ways to consolidate a ceasefire deal that went into effect on April 11, but have yet to address a political settlement yet.
Cheikh Ahmed said each side is expected to appoint an official to propose recommendations on how to sustain the ceasefire.
The Ansarullah movement said that the ceasefire should immediately end the Saudi airstrikes, but the government delegation insisted that safe passages should be opened to areas controlled by Houthis.
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/25/462509/Yemen-Ansarulah-UN-Kuwait-Hadi-Cheikh-Ahmed-Saudi-Arabia/
25.4.2016 – TASS (A K P)
UN envoy notes improvement in security situation in Yemen
The positive developments have made it possible for the United Nations envoy to begin discussion of the general frames of the talks with the Yemeni delegations
United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed noes progress in terms of observance of the regime of cessation of hostilities in Yemen and general improvement in the security sphere, Stephane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General, said on Monday.
He said the positive developments have made it possible for the United Nations envoy to begin discussion of the general frames of the talks with the Yemeni delegations. Dujarric said the consultations will take several days.
http://tass.ru/en/world/872335
25.4.2016 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (A P)
Facebook has unilaterally blocked the account of Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Spokesperson for Ansar Allah, and participant in the Kuwait Consultative Talks on Yemen. His Messenger Account is also blocked as can be seen from these photos. FB was informed and asked about this and no reply has been given.Has FB also joined the Saudi Coalition against Yemen?
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1014177931968570&id=961126490607048
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
26.4.2016 – Süddeutsche Zeitung (A E P)
Mohammed bin Salman: Der Mann, der Saudi-Arabien das Öl abgewöhnen will
Mit erst 31 Jahren ist Vize-Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman der neue starke Mann in Saudi-Arabien. Jetzt will er das ölabhängige Königreich reformieren.
Die Hälfte aller Saudis ist unter 25 Jahre alt - als ihr Vertreter präsentiert sich Prinz Mohammed. Viele setzen also ihre Hoffnung in den mit (nur) einer Frau verheirateten Vater von vier Kindern, und dessen großen Plan, die Saudi Vision 2030, die er über Twitter verkünden lässt.
König Salman übertrug seinem Lieblingssohn die Vollmachten, um diese Träume zu verwirklichen. Mohammed leitet nun das Komitee für Wirtschaft und Entwicklung, eine Art Wirtschaftskabinett; zudem kontrolliert der Prinz Saudi Aramco, den staatlichen Ölkonzern – von Paul-Anton Krüger
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/profil-mohammed-bin-salman-1.2965498
26.4.2016 – Middle East Monitor (A P)
Saudi deputy crown prince criticises country’s military spending
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said yesterday that his country is seeking to increase the purchase of locally supplied military equipment from two per cent to 50.
“Our aim is to localise over 50 per cent of military equipment spending. We have already begun developing less complex industries such as those providing spare parts, armoured vehicles and basic ammunition,” the prince said in an interview with Al-Arabiya news agency. “We will expand this initiative to higher value and more complex equipment such as military aircrafts.”
“Is it possible that Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest country in the world in terms of military expenditure, and the third in 2015, and we have no military industry in Saudi Arabia?” he added.
The prince said that military industries will be a prosperous sector which will support the economy and create new jobs.
“We are now about to establish a holding company for military industries, 100 per cent owned by the government that will be listed later in the Saudi market,” he said.
“We expect it to be launched by the end of 2017.”
Salman criticised military spending in Saudi Arabia saying: “When I enter a Saudi military base, the floor is tiled with marble, the walls are decorated and the finishing is five stars. I enter a base in the US, you can see the pipes in the ceiling, the floor is bare, no marble and no carpets. It’s made of cement.”
25.4.2016 – The Guardian (* A E P)
Saudi Arabia approves ambitious plan to move economy beyond oil
15-year plan includes diversification, privatisation of state assets, tax increases and creating a $2tn sovereign wealth fund
Saudi Arabia has approved an ambitious strategy to restructure the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy, involving diversification, privatisation of massive state assets including the energy giant Aramco, tax increases and spending and subsidy cuts.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz announced cabinet backing for the Saudi Vision 2030 plan in a brief televised announcement on Monday in which he called on his subjects to work together to ensure success. Shares on the Riyadh stock market rose sharply – by Ian Black
25.4.2016 – Financial Times (A E P)
Will Saudi Arabia’s ambitious reform programme work?
Mohammed bin Salman hopes to rebalance its economy away from oil.
Saudi Arabia has unveiled the most far-reaching reform programme in the kingdom’s history, in its latest attempt to wean the country off dependence on falling oil revenue and shift towards a post-oil economy over the next decade and a half.
The plan, called Saudi Vision 2030, is the work of Mohammed bin Salman, 30-year-old son of King Salman and deputy crown prince, who has taken control of economic and oil strategy. He is also overseeing defence and foreign policy in a startling transfer of power to the younger generation of the ruling House of Saud.
Previous Saudi attempts to reform fizzled out as soon as oil prices recovered. But many economists think this time could be different, because this oil price collapse is not cyclical but structural, brought on by the shale revolution, growth in renewable energy and international climate change commitments.
The kingdom, furthermore, is burning through its cash reserves at least twice as fast as it had anticipated. On that view, the Saudis have no choice but to change. But it is a view that may underestimate the absolute primacy of politics and control for the House of Saud – by David Gardner
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0cbec6aa-0aea-11e6-9456-444ab5211a2f.html
Comment by Haykal Bafana: How will Mohammed Bin Salman's lofty economic aims under Saudi Vision 2030 translate into reality without any change to the Wahhabi-House of Saud compact?
https://www.facebook.com/haykal.bafana/posts/1000571743356169?fref=nf ?
cp9 USA
27.4.2016 – The Blaze (* B K P)
Obama’s Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia Are Hurting Our Security And Devastating Yemen
Last week, Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced a bill to halt the sale of American arms to Saudi Arabia, only permitting munitions transfers to resume on a few key conditions.
If the measure passes, President Obama would be required to certify the Saudis are not supporting terrorists or carelessly harming civilians in Yemen, and that they are facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid and commercial goods to regular Yemenis who desperately need it. That would be difficult, if not impossible, for Obama to assert.
“For too long the Obama administration has not been holding countries receiving U.S. military munitions accountable in the Middle East,” Paul said, explaining his support for the bill. “It is no secret that Saudi Arabia’s record on strictly targeting combatants and legitimate military targets in Yemen has been questionable,” which makes it far from clear that these weapons transfers are “being used in a way that is consistent with our country’s national security strategy and values.”
For many Americans, it may come as a surprise that they’re being used at all. The White House has been tellingly silent about the fact that Saudi Arabia is bombing Yemen into oblivion – and American weapons, guidance and surveillance are making the assault possible.
That silence might make life easier for Obama, but it deprives the rest of us of the opportunity to scrutinize a foreign policy arrangement which is hardly an obvious boon to our security. Much like Obama’s ill-conceived intervention in Libya – conducted over the objections of citizens and Congress alike – this meddling in Yemen has led to a power vacuum for terrorist expansion and a humanitarian disaster – by Bonnie Kristian
25.4.2016 – Reader Supported News (** A K P)
Saudis Should Kill Civilians More Slowly, Two US Senators Say
I t sounds a little like a joke (and in a sense it is): Two US senators introduce a resolution based on fraudulent representations of reality, seeking to make the president insist that the Saudis bomb fewer civilians in Yemen, and this darkly hilarious hoax is still better than anything the other 98 senators (and the whole House) are doing about the US illegal war in Yemen. Our would-be heroic duo in the Senate doesn’t actually oppose the US war on Yemen, even though they acknowledge its savage daily violations of international law (currently suspended during a tenuous ceasefire). Regardless, these two senators are simultaneously misrepresenting US participation in those ruthless crimes (which the rest of the Senate simply ignores and the State Department trivializes).
Following 15 years of special ops there, the US has been openly at war against Yemen for more than a year, in support of a genocidal Saudi coalition (mostly the Gulf Cooperation Council that President Obama met with privately recently). Once again, the US is in a war undertaken without Constitutional consultation with Congress, and without Congress raising a peep of an objection. This is a criminal war in which the US is at least accomplice to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The US drone war’s toll on civilians arguably makes the US guilty of committing both sets of crimes.
Most of this is acknowledged in Senate Joint Resolution 32, which the senators introduced on April 13, after which it was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for further consideration possibly. Resolution 32 states in part:
Whereas the Panel of Experts established pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2140 (2014) reported on January 22, 2016, that the military coalition led by the Government of Saudi Arabia in Yemen ‘‘had conducted air strikes targeting civilians and civilian objects, in violation of International Humanitarian Law, including camps for internally displaced persons and refugees; civilian gatherings, including weddings; civilian vehicles, residential areas, medical facilities, schools, mosques, markets, factories and food storage warehouses, and other essential civilian infrastructure such as the airport in Sanaa, the port in Hudayadah, and domestic transit routes’’…. [emphasis added]
The same UN Panel of Experts cited in Resolution 32 also reported attacks on civilians by the Houthi-Saleh forces (usually referred to as the “rebels”) in Aden and Taiz, but the panel did not accuse the Houthi-Saleh forces of a systematic, countrywide campaign in violation of international humanitarian law. Yemen has been engulfed by civil war time and again in recent decades, but the current civil war is overwhelmed in brutality and carnage caused by the international aggression of the US/Saudi coalition. Theirs is the only bombing campaign in a largely defenseless country. The US/Saudi allies are responsible for most of the war’s 3000-plus civilian deaths and the destruction of at least three Doctors Without Borders hospitals among other atrocities.
Resolution 32 fails to acknowledge that this is a war that could not have begun without US blessing. The resolution obliquely acknowledges that this is a war that could not be fought without US weapons, or certainly not fought as easily and devastatingly. But the resolution does not oppose the war. The resolution seeks to leverage the Yemen war in favor of a preferred war elsewhere, in places where civilians might be more easily disregarded as would-be “enemy combatants.”
Senate response to criminally murderous war: use fewer bombs, maybe
There is no peace movement in the US Senate. There is no anti-war movement in the US Senate. There is no anti-criminal-war in Yemen movement in the US Senate. There is no active anti-war-crimes movement in the US Senate. But there are two senators who have co-sponsored Resolution 32, the gist of which is to put pressure on Saudi Arabia to drop fewer bombs on Yemeni civilians unless they start dropping more bombs on ISIS, the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Resolution 32 is not a proposal designed to save lives, merely to take different lives in different places, and not necessarily fewer lives. Fortune Magazine reported the resolution with standard, unexamined foreign policy clichés and an appropriate emphasis on the weapons business:
A major U.S. ally is in the crosshairs.
The U.S. defense industry has sold at least $33 billion worth of weapons to its Persian Gulf allies over the past year as dual bombing campaigns against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and Houthi rebels in Yemen have depleted stores of aerial bombs and other munitions. But as civilian casualties mount in Yemen in particular, a bipartisan duo in the U.S. Senate is working to tighten the free-flow of weapons and cash between the U.S. and one of its most important Gulf allies. Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced legislation on Wednesday [April 13] that would restrict the sale of U.S. aerial bombs and missiles to Saudi Arabia unless certain conditions are met.
Fortune has a funny way of seeing things: Saudi Arabia, without significant military risk, bombing civilians to the point of running out of bombs, is somehow seen as “in the crosshairs.” These so-called crosshairs are merely an empty threat by two senators to sell them fewer bombs. So long as the Saudis get the president to certify that they’ll bomb ISIS more, then everyone involved can go on about the business, the very lucrative business, of random killing as usual, even if the Saudis don’t bomb ISIS more. There is no purpose here beyond more killing, with little regard for who gets killed. Well, that’s pretty much a summary of the post-9/11 American zeitgeist, isn’t it?
Is the United States capable of governing honestly about anything?
Senators Murphy and Paul falsely describe the American role in the war on Yemen this way in Resolution 32:
Whereas the United States Armed Forces provide dedicated personnel and assets to the armed forces of Saudi Arabia to support their military operations in Yemen, including over 700 air-to-air refueling sorties, and to assist with effectiveness and reduction of collateral damage….
This is true as far as it goes, but it minimizes complicity: how much bombing would be possible without air-to-air refueling? The answer to that question would provide a measure of direct US responsibility for bombing at will in a country with no air defenses.
The senators refer in deceitfully benign language to US personnel who “assist with effectiveness and reduction of collateral damage” the US/Saudi bombing raids. In reality, US personnel work side by side with Saudi counterparts in Riyadh, planning, authorizing, and assessing the bombing missions that began over a year ago and have produced a world-class humanitarian crisis. That result suggests that any effort to reduce collateral damage has been limited, incompetent, or both.
But the senators also deceive by omission. Resolution 32 omits the moral (if not legal) war crime that the US commits every time it supplies the Saudi coalition with a cluster bomb, a devastating anti-personnel weapon, that leaves explosives littered around each bomb site, where they remain lethally dangerous, especially to children. That’s why most of the rest of the world has banned cluster bombs, while the US and other rogue states have not. Senators Murphy and Paul, like their 98 peers, lack the courage even to admit they’re on the wrong side of the law of war on this.
And while the senators acknowledge “the systematic and widespread blockade” that has substantially deprived Yemen of food, fuel, medicine, humanitarian aid, and commercial goods, they omit any hint of US participation in that blockade by land, air, or sea. The US Navy in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean reinforces the Saudi-dominated blockade. Yemen, the poorest country in the region, has long depended on food imports to feed its population of some 25 million. The result of the blockade, not unexpected, is that Yemen has been brought to the verge of mass starvation by the US/Saudi coalition. And the blockade further heightens the crisis by preventing Yemenis from leaving this nation-sized prison purgatory.
An elaborate, meaningless charade is better than nothing, right?
The US has been militarily engaged in Yemen since 2000, when suicide bombers attacked theUS Navy destroyer Cole while refueling at port in Aden. The attack killed 17 crew members and wounded 39. US counter-terrorism operations in Yemen since then have included Special Forces, an extended drone campaign, and the current US/Saudi war. In that time, the al Qaeda presence in Yemen has increased to control much of the eastern part of the country, including the port of Mukalla, where Saudi battleships control access from the sea. As of April 23, Saudi coalition forces, including a large contingent from the United Arab Emirates, were massing for an attack on Mukalla, according to UAE official media.
In almost identical press releases from Sen. Murphy and from Sen. Paul, they define the intent of Resolution 32 as a means
to prevent the United States from continuing to support Saudi-led military campaigns in places like Yemen where Saudi Arabia’s year-long campaign has led to a devastating humanitarian crisis and a security vacuum that has empowered our terrorist enemies al Qaeda and ISIS. The Murphy-Paul bipartisan legislation will require the President of the United States to formally certify that the Government of Saudi Arabia is demonstrating an ongoing effort to target terrorist groups, minimize harm to civilians, and facilitate humanitarian assistance before Congress can consider the sale or transfer of air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia.
In other words, Resolution 32 is a Rube Goldberg contraption designed to give the impression of moral decency while leaving the reality of the US/Saudi war unlikely to be affected even in the unlikely eventuality that this proposal becomes law. (A companion resolution has now been introduced in the House, where it too will be sent to committee to await further action, if any.)
We pay senators $174,000 a year (plus their perks and staff) and this is the best any of the hundred of them can suggest “to prevent the United States from continuing to support Saudi-led military campaigns in places like Yemen”? Seriously?
The conventional beltway banalities, the bipartisan deceits, the continuing failure of business as usual are worthless. We need someone who will stand up and say, simply: US OUT OF YEMEN NOW – by William M. Boardman
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/36513-saudis-should-kill-civilians-more-slowly-two-us-senators-say = http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-supports-saudi-led-war-in-yemen-bombing-civilians-running-out-of-bombs/5522108
25.4.2016 – Al Araby (A P)
US approves $260 million missile sale to Qatar
The US has approved Qatar's purchase of hundreds of surface-to-air missiles from an American weapons manufacturer, the State Department has said.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification, notifying Congress of the possible sale on Thursday.
"This proposed sale will provide Qatar with military capabilities to protect its naval forces and nearby oil/gas infrastructure from air and missile threats," the statement said.
Emphasising Qatar's standing as "an important force for political stability and economic progress" in the Gulf, the statement added that the missile sale "will not alter the basic military balance in the region".
The agency also stated that selling the weapons to Qatar would improve the national security of the US "by helping to improve the security of a friendly country".
In addition to RIM-116C and RIM-116C-2 Rolling Airframe Missiles, the $260 million deal also includes support equipment, publications, personnel training, US government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, live fire test event support, and other related integration elements.
Qatar has been rapidly building up its weapons arsenal in recent years, stocking up on billions of dollars' worth of tanks, helicopters, warships, artillery, and coastal battery systems.
Last month, the Gulf state purchased 24 new Rafale jets in a deal signed with France during this year's Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition.
A report last year projected Qatar's defence spending would rise by an average of 12 percent annually through to 2020.
http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/4/25/us-approves-260-million-missile-sale-to-qatar
Comment: Might-be the French Rafael jets already are hovering over Yemen.
25.4.2016 – Huffington Post (* A P)
Suing Saudi Arabia for Complicity in 9/11
Without tarry, Congress should pass pending legislation (S. 2040) to authorize 9/11 victims or their families to sue Saudi Arabia for alleged complicity in the international terrorist abominations.
It would be nauseating for President Barack Obama to veto the legislation as he has pledged.
A nation that would subordinate justice to courting a religiously bigoted and misogynist tyranny is a nation that has lost its way.
Opponents of S.2040 worry that it might provoke other nations to reciprocally expose the United States to civil liability in their courts for crimes against humanity such as torture or extrajudicial killings. But the United States should be legally accountable in such cases as long as judgments are rendered consistent with due process.
Sovereign immunity is a moral obscenity based on the tyrannical concept that “the king can do no wrong.” Not only is the king chronically wrong, but commits wrongs on an industrial scale far beyond the means of ordinary mortals. The need for law is at its zenith when the sovereign is implicated in wrongdoing.
A resounding congressional override of President Obama’s veto of S.2040 would mark one of the finest hours in the annals of justice – by Bruce Fein
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-fein/suing-saudi-arabia-for-co_b_9771998.html
25.4.2016 – Salon (A P)
Lawmakers launch bipartisan effort to restrict U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, citing war crimes in Yemen
Congressmen in both chambers introduced legislation to halt U.S. air-to-ground munitions sales to the monarchy
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and both chambers of Congress are concerned about the U.S. government’s support for the Saudi war in Yemen, and have introduced legislation in hopes of protecting human rights.
Congressmen Ted Lieu and Ted Yoho have introduced a joint bill in the House that would bar the sale of certain U.S. weapons to Saudi Arabia – by Ben Norton
24.4.2016 – AP (* A P)
White House poised to release secret pages from 9/11 inquiry
The Obama administration will likely soon release at least part of a 28-page secret chapter from a congressional inquiry into 9/11 that may shed light on possible Saudi connections to the attackers.
The documents, kept in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol, contain information from the joint congressional inquiry into "specific sources of foreign support for some of the Sept. 11 hijackers while they were in the United States."
Bob Graham, who was co-chairman of that bipartisan panel, and others say the documents point suspicion at the Saudis. The former Democratic senator from Florida says an administration official told him that intelligence officials will decide in the next several weeks whether to release at least parts of the documents. The disclosure would come at a time of strained U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, a long-time American ally.
"I hope that decision is to honor the American people and make it available," Graham told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "The most important unanswered question of 9/11 is, did these 19 people conduct this very sophisticated plot alone, or were they supported?"
Reps. Walter Jones, R-N.C., Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote Obama last week saying they don't think releasing the chapter will harm national security and could provide closure for the victims' families.
California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has read the pages and said this past week that while he wants to see them declassified to end speculation about what they say, releasing them will not quell the debate over the issue.
"As is often the case, the reality is less damaging than the uncertainty," he said – by Deb Riechman
23.4.2016 – Tom Dispatch (** B K P)
We’re not the “good guys”: American drone warfare is terrorizing the Middle East
The Obama administration clings to Hollywood fantasy about the war on terror, even as its whistleblowers call foul
“Sometimes I am so sad that my heart wants to explode,” an Afghan man says, speaking directly into the camera. “When your body is intact, your mind is different. You are content. But the moment you are wounded, your soul gets damaged. When your leg is torn off and your gait slows, it also burdens your spirit.” The speaker is an unnamed victim of a February 2010 drone strike in Uruzgan, Afghanistan, but he could just as easily be an Iraqi, a Pakistani, a Somali, or a Yemeni. He appears inNational Bird, a haunting new documentary film by Sonia Kennebeck about the unexpected and largely unrecorded devastation Washington’s drone wars leave in their wake. In it, the audience hears directly from both drone personnel and their victims.
“When we are in our darkest places and we have a lot to worry about and we feel guilty about our past actions, it’s really tough to describe what that feeling is like,” says Daniel, a whistleblower who took part in drone operations and whose last name is not revealed in National Bird. Speaking of the suicidal feelings that sometimes plagued him while he was involved in killing halfway across the planet, he adds, “Having the image in your head of taking your own life is not a good feeling.”
These previously faceless but distinctly non-robotic Air Force recruits are the cannon fodder of America’s drone wars. You meet two twenty-somethings: Daniel, a self-described down-and-out homeless kid, every male member of whose family has been in jail on petty charges of one kind or another, and Heather, a small town high school graduate trying to escape rural Pennsylvania. You also meet Lisa, a former Army nurse from California, who initially saw the military as a path to a more meaningful life.
The three of them worked on Air Force bases scattered around the country from California to Virginia. The equipment they handled hovered above war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Pakistan and Yemen (where the U.S. Air Force was supporting assassination missions on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency) – by Pratap Chatterjee
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175964/tomgram%3A_pratap_chatterjee,_is_drone_warfare_fraying_at_the_edges/ = http://www.salon.com/2016/04/23/were_not_the_good_guys_partner/ and see also from 2015: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175964/tomgram%3A_pratap_chatterjee,_is_drone_warfare_fraying_at_the_edges/
Comment: Long and sound article, please read in full length.
22.4.2016 – New York Times (A P)
Better the Saudis We Know
SAUDI ARABIA is dismayed by President Obama’s Middle East policy. Its leaders feel that he does not play by the rules that have governed the Saudi-American alliance for decades: The United States provides security guarantees in return for the Persian Gulf states’ reliable stewardship of their oil reserves and support for American regional dominance.
In the Saudis’ view, Mr. Obama has betrayed their interests, often in favor of their enemy, Iran.
Despite the surface tensions, King Salman and Prince Mohammed are by temperament and conviction deeply pro-American. It would be a desperately wasted opportunity for Washington not to take advantage of this.
As unpalatable as cooperation with the kingdom might be for some, cutting it adrift is worse. Whatever the resentments, neither side has a realistic alternative to the other — something President Obama has clearly had difficulty reconciling himself to – by Bernard Haykel and Steffen Hertog
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/23/opinion/better-the-saudis-we-know.html?_r=0
Comment: Demanding to keep the alliance with Saudi Arabia, with all it’s human rights violations.
On Saudi-US relationship also: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/why-the-u-s-relationship-with-saudi-arabia-is-under-strain/
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
27.4.2016 – Politics.co.uk (* B K)
The destruction of Yemen shows why the UK must stop arming Saudi Arabia
This January, a UN expert panel accused Saudi Arabia of "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilian targets. Its 51 page report "documented 119 sorties relating to violations of international humanitarian law" and reported starvation being used as a war tactic.
One place where these concerns have fallen on deaf ears is in Whitehall, where the government bears a greater responsibility for the unfolding crisis than most. Right from day one the UK has supported the Saudi intervention. Foreign secretary Philip Hammond made his position crystal clear. After the first night of bombing he assured his Saudi allies that the UK government would support them "in every practical way short of engaging in combat". Government minister have provided political legitimacy for the strikes, while UK made fighter jets have flown overhead and British bombs have been dropped from the skies.
UK arms export rules are clear that licences for military equipment should not be granted if there is a "clear risk" that they "might" be used in violation of international humanitarian law. But that hasn’t altered a thing. The political will hasn’t been there. Since the bombing began, the UK has licensed almost £3 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. These arms sales been complemented by a steady stream of diplomatic visits and photo opportunities.
Unfortunately this political intimacy is nothing new. Successive governments have worked and colluded with the Saudi dictatorship. The depths and extent of that shameful relationship has been revealed in a new report, A Shameful Relationship: UK Complicity in Saudi State Violence by David Wearing, a researcher at the School of Oriental & African Studies. As Wearing makes clear, the issue is not party political, or unique to this particular government. It is long term, institutional and unbending.
Regardless of the atrocities Saudi Arabia has committed, governments of all political colours and stripes have consistently and uncritically supported the regime. The political outcomes of this toxic relationship and the influence it buys are extremely clear. We see it every time that government ministers sign military agreements and lobby for arms sales, and every time they turn their back on those living under Saudi oppression.
Millions are suffering and in desperate need of aid. It is for their sake that the UK must finally stop arming, supporting and empowering the brutal Saudi monarchy – by Andrew Smith, spokesperson for Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).
26.4.2016 – They work for you (A P)
MPs asking the government
Alison Thewliss, Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Cities)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has made to the government of Saudi Arabia on the designation of the Yemeni cities Sa'da and Marran as military targets by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition on 8 May 2015.
Penny Mordaunt, Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government takes all allegations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations very seriously and we have emphasised the importance of full compliance with IHL to the Saudi Government and other members of the military coalition on several occasions. We have provided training and advice to the coalition to support continued compliance with IHL and minimise civilian casualties.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2016-04-19.34726.h&p=24938
Comment: No answer to the question, the general 2 phrases repeated for ever.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
25.4.2016 – Human Rights Watch (A K P)
Canada Ignoring a Commitment to Human Rights with Saudi Arms Sale
Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion recently announced that Canada was proceeding with a $15-billion sale of Light Armored Vehicles, known as LAVs, to Saudi Arabia. My question to Mr. Dion is this: What confidence do you have that the Saudis have not armed these pro-Hadi forces with LAVs? The Saudis have used such vehicles to violently suppress peaceful protests in eastern Saudi Arabia in 2011 and 2012. And should Canada be selling military weapons and materiel to the country chiefly responsible for dozens of unlawful attacks in Yemen that have killed hundreds of civilians?
During the short time he has been in office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already brought a new Canadian perspective on human rights and humanitarian action to the broader world. So in light of the increasing global backlash against Saudi violations in Yemen, Mr. Dion’s announcement about the military sales was something of a surprise.
Human Rights Watch has called for the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries to suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia, given its leading role in widespread laws-of-war violations in Yemen.
It’s hard to predict whether the new LAVs will be used in war crimes in Yemen. But the Saudi record in the current conflict is so bad, and the disregard for the lives of civilians has been so great, that one would think that the new Canadian government would want to part of the growing opposition to arms sales to Saudi Arabia, not part of the problem. Blocking the sale would be sending the right message to Saudi Arabia, to the world, and to long-suffering civilians in Yemen – by Belkis Wille
https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/25/canada-ignoring-commitment-human-rights-saudi-arms-sale-0
cp13 Waffenhandel / Arms trade
2016 – from SIPRI (B K P)
Infograph: Arms exports and imports
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
26.4.2016 – Middle East Eye (* B T)
Why Yemenis are still joining al-Qaeda
Caught between intelligence agency harassment and US drone strikes, young Yemenis have been driven into the arms of al-Qaeda
On the night of the 18th of October 2012, Abdulmajeed Al-Hasni arrived home after spending four years in prison. Abdulmajeed was only 16 when he was taken from the streets of Sanaa by the Yemeni intelligence – the National Security Bureau (NSB).
A week after his return, the then 20 year old man spent a week with his parents in Sanaa before running away to join al-Qaeda. […]
The story began in 2005, when Bandar was arrested by the NSB on terrorism related charges. He was accused of being a member of a cell that was plotting to attack US facilities in Yemen.
The NSB had just been formed as a result of a security pact between Yemen and the United States. Ali Abdullah Saleh – the former president – appointed his nephew Ammar as the head of the NSB, and the newly formed bureau was quickly taking over the role of the old established intelligence agency.
The court acquitted Bandar after he spent three years in prison. According to his family those three years were years of intimidation and humiliation by the Yemeni intelligence. The NSB used to conduct night raids and threaten the family, including Bandar’s younger brothers, Abdullah and Abdulmajeed.
The intimidation and harassment of former detainees was a systematic policy by the Yemeni intelligence. Since its establishment, NSB officers harassed ex-detainees in their personal lives. A number of former detainees reported that NSB officers would threaten their employers once they found a job, and their families would be subject to continuous interrogation. Al-Hasni’s family were no different.
NSB had and still have tens of informants working within the layers of al-Qaeda. In a meeting between the National Dialogue members and the NSB in 2013, NSB deputy Mohammed Al-Hadher was proudly stating, “We are the only security agency that have successfully infiltrated Al-Qaeda.” What the NSB considers infiltration, for many families like Al-Hasni’s, it was recruiting and pushing their sons to join al-Qaeda.
When the Houthi rebels took over Sanaa in September 2014, the NSB was the only government institution that remained unoccupied by the Houthis. It continued functioning as normal even after the civil war broke in the country.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula however benefited from the current conflict and extended its reach to many provinces. The NSB policy of “feeding the beast in order to control it” have failed, and al-Qaeda is now largely going out of control.
Although al-Qaeda lost its top leaders, al-Qaeda as an idea remained. Young people convinced now more than ever that the only tool to achieve justice from their persecutors is using violence – by Baraa Shiban, Yemeni human rights activist. He is the Yemen project co-ordinator for the human rights organisation Reprieve.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/why-yemenis-are-still-joining-al-qaeda-1931213295
26.4.2016 – NZZ (A T)
Drohnenangriff in Jemen: Drei Kaida-Mitglieder getötet
Eine Drohne hat in Südjemen drei prominente Mitglieder des Terrornetzwerks Al-Kaida getötet. Das mutmasslich den USA gehörende unbemannte Flugzeug habe die Verdächtigen am Dienstag in der Stadt Sindschibar beschossen, teilten Sicherheitsbeamte und Stammesvertreter am Dienstag mit. Einer der Getöteten sei für die Finanzen von Al-Kaida im Jemen verantwortlich gewesen. Das Terrornetzwerk habe die Gegend abgeriegelt.
http://www.nzz.ch/newsticker/drei-kaida-mitglieder-bei-drohenangriff-in-jemen-getoetet-1.18732172
Kommentar: Nach anderen Quellen 6 Getötete. Bis auf einen namentlich genannten ist über die Identität der Anderen nichts gesagt. Es ist die typische Aussage der USA, es wären alle Getöteten Al Qaida-Mitglieder. Hier sind es gleich „prominente“. Aber man weiß tatsächlich gar nichts.
26.4.2016 – Anti War (A T)
US Drone Strike Kills Six in South Yemen
Officials Claim Slain Are 'al-Qaeda Leaders'
US drones attacked a moving vehicle in the southern Yemen village of Amoudiya, near the city of Zinjibar today, killing six people, according to local residents. Officials identified all the slain as “al-Qaeda leaders,” with the main leader a heretofore unheard of man named Abu Sameh al-Zinjibari.
http://news.antiwar.com/2016/04/26/us-drone-strike-kills-six-in-south-yemen/
26.4.2016 – Reuters (A T)
U.S. drone strike kills local Qaeda leader in S. Yemen
A suspected U.S. drone strike killed a local leader in Al Qaeda and five of his aides in southern Yemen on Tuesday, residents said, as Yemeni and Emirati troops pressed their offensive against the militant group.
Abu Sameh al-Zinjibari and other men died when a missile struck their moving car in Amoudiya, a village near the Qaeda-controlled towns of Jaar and Zinjibar.
26.4.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A T)
US drones intensified attacks Nsouth Yemen Killing today Qaeda/ISIS leader Hussam Zunjubari,5 aides in this car Abyan
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/725008693369143296
cp14a Offensive gegen / against Al Qaida
Siehe auch cp1 Am wichtigsten / See also cp1 Most important
26.4.2016 – Yemen Post News (A K T)
AlQaeda HURT but ALIVE: After 10s fighters killed this week in #Yemen city Mukalla,1000s relocate to Mareb & Shabwa.
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/725019534650933249
25.4.2016 – Aden Now (A K)
Aviation bombed at dawn Monday Zanzibar where the bombing targeted axis # Abyan new rabbet in al-Nasser neighborhood behind buildings building (images)
https://twitter.com/AdenNowNews/status/724640578047205378
25.4. – Crimes of Decisive Storm (A K T)
Hadramout: the complete destruction and burning Abboudan Jabri merchant plant, which is estimated to cost 1.2 million dollars because of the region, Gul anointed raids to fly during the military operation on al-Qaeda in Almclae (image)
25.4.2016 – Yemen News Today (A K T)
At least 500 AQAP militants who left Hadhramaut reported to have arrived in Marib province. All still alive & armed.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1130268830458940
25.4.2016 – Yemen Post (A K T)
AlQaeda EVACUATES: Govt forces retake #Yemen city Mukalla, 88 militants & 31 govt troops killed over 48 hours
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/724634663529156611
24.4.2016 – New York Times (* A K T)
Yemeni Troops, Backed by United Arab Emirates, Take City From Al Qaeda
Yemeni troops in armored vehicles and backed by airstrikes advanced toward this city of 500,000 people on Sunday, intending to capture it from militants with Al Qaeda who had controlled the major stronghold for more than a year.
Thousands of Qaeda fighters were said to be in the city and appeared ready for the battle against the attacking force, which was backed by the United Arab Emirates. In mosques, the militants asked residents to support them as they confronted “the invaders,” and they placed gas tankers in roads to use as defensive booby traps.
But in the end, hardly a shot was fired. By nightfall, the Qaeda militants had withdrawn from Al Mukalla in an apparently tactical retreat, residents said.
The loss of the city was a blow to the ambitions of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch – by
Even if the campaign is successful, one of the primary challenges will be preventing Qaeda fighters from returning, given the continuing security and political vacuum in Yemen, analysts said. In Huta, for example, local fighters were left to secure the city after the better-trained Emirati-backed Yemeni soldiers returned to their bases in Aden, said Adel al-Halimi, the chief of security for Lahj Province.
“It is possible that the U.A.E. and Yemeni allies can push AQAP out of areas they occupy,” said April Longley Alley, a Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group. But maintaining control, she said, “will require a political strategy to address local grievances and provide for a minimally effective government, none of which appears to be in place at this point.” – By SAEED AL-BATATI, KAREEM FAHIM and ERIC SCHMITT
cp15 Propaganda
27.4.2016 – WAM (A P)
Emirates Red Crescent continues support for educational process in Yemen
The Aden Education Office, with the support of Emirates Red Crescent, has organised a student carnival on the occasion of the first anniversary of 'Operation Restoring Hope' supporting the legitimate government in Yemen.
The Emirates Red Crescent's support for Aden comes within the framework of the UAE's projects in Yemen aiming at restructuring the Education infrastructure, in addition to its different projects in various humanitarian domains.
The events were attended by the Governor of Aden, Brigadier General Aidroos al-Zubaidi, along with a number of officials and parents of the students.
In his speech during the ceremony, Governor al-Zubaidi hailed the UAE's support for his country, praising the role of the Emirates Red Crescent in supporting Aden and strengthening its stature through various developmental and service projects.
https://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates-international-aid/1395294762084.html
Comment: Praising the Saudis and the UAE is one main task of the Hadi government and it’s officials.
26.4.2016 – Aljazeera (A P)
Yemenis have not lost hope
Yemen could have been spared all this misery if armed groups weren't blinded by their greed and ego.
It is about time that we, Yemenis, realise how much we have lost and will lose if this war continues.
In a little over a year, this war has managed to unravel a massive humanitarian catastrophe.
The peace talks that commenced this week in Kuwait offer a golden opportunity for all parties to end the people's struggle and end the cirsis. This could be achieved by the return to the agreed mechanisms: the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative, the National Dialogue outcomes and the UN Security Council Resolution 2216 (2015).
All of which have provided the guiding principles for the Yemeni transition and the restoration of a functioning state.
The Security Council Resolution laid out the plan for the new solution, namely an end to the use of violence, withdrawal of Houthi forces from all areas they have seized, including the capital Sanaa, relinquishing all arms seized from military and security institutions, including missile systems, halting all actions that are exclusively within the authority of the legitimate government of Yemen and the safe release of all political prisoners, and all individuals under house arrest or arbitrarily detained.
Before the coup that spiralled into a full-fledged war and triggered the regional intervention, Yemenis had come very close to successfully completing the political transition.
The constitution drafting process had completed its first phase by submitting a draft constitution to the national body which was supposed to convene and revise it.
But this came to the dissatisfaction of certain parties that sought not to maintain the status quo, but to drag Yemen backwards and throw it in the abyss instead of fulfilling the people's aspirations for change.
The Houthi movement was engaged in all the political processes since 2011 although it is not a formal party. Indeed, it had endorsed the outcomes like everyone else. But all of a sudden, it decided that an inclusive government was not its thing and a peaceful approach was not the means.
Looking back at the choices the government of Yemen was forced to make to address this enormous predicament, it seems that it was left with no option but to act. The decision was to stop a bloodthirsty militia from undermining the state and suppressing rights and freedoms.
The decision was to prevent Yemen from sliding back half a century in time just to please a group that thought it had a divine right to rule. This is a group that had no problem blowing up homes, shelling heavily populated areas, kidnapping people, shutting down the media and putting cities under siege.
Nevertheless, the government continued to show willingness to engage in peaceful solutions.
Today, the Yemeni government goes to another round of dialogue without any true guarantees regarding the Houthis/Saleh positions. It goes armed with only good intentions and determination to end the people’s sufferings.
What does the government want? The government is the Yemeni people's tool to achieve what they want. It is the end of war, the safety and stability, the respect for human rights and the implementation of the National Dialogue outcomes.
We can't afford to let the people down once again. But we can't also afford to trick them with an elusive peace or an unfair settlement. For that, we need guarantees that whatever is agreed in Kuwait will be implemented fully and comprehensively.
We also need to reach a comprehensive negotiated agreement on a number of issues, listed in the UNSCR 2216, in the correct sequence so as to prevent the process from collapsing because of delays or poorly planned transition – by Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, Yemen's ambassador to Washington
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/04/yemenis-lost-hope-160426072602639.html
Comment by Judith Brown: This is a very one sided article which offers the Hadi perspective on this horrible war. For example it states that there was nearly a peace deal but it doesn't say Hadi was the one that didn't accept it. It says the Houthis moved their militias the southwest but it doesn't say that Hadi had fled there first and in the views of many Yemenis it was a ploy to involve the Houthis in fighting in an area outside the area s which they were familiar with. Non the less it is a valid view clearly expressed if you beat I. Mind the political,position of the author.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154311205893641
Comment: Insisting on UN Resolution 2216 and also on “the correct sequence” clearly means: We insist in the Houthis must capitulate first: the best way to bring any peace talks to a failure (look at cp1, article in Foreign Policy). And no mention at all of what has caused most of all destruction and suffering in Yemen.
26.4.2016 – WAM (A P)
Terrorists in Yemen will have no place to hide: paper
A UAE newspaper has said that terrorists in Yemen will now have no place to hide with the command of the coalition forces supporting the legitimacy in that country announcing the launch of a joint military operation against Al Qaeda.
"The fight will be forceful especially because the operation’s participants include the confident Yemeni army and mighty members of Saudi and United Arab Emirates Special Forces," said The Gulf Today in an editorial on Tuesday.
It continued, "The results are already visible on the ground with the operation resulting in the killing of more than 800 elements of Al Qaeda and a number of their leaders in its first hours.
"Though some militants managed to escape, it is a question of time when they would be brought to justice. The aim of the operation is noble and comes as part of the joint international efforts to defeat terrorist groups in Yemen and support the legitimate government, and to extend its influence and control over Yemeni cities that earlier fell under the control of Al Qaeda.
"The city of Al Mukalla was considered the stronghold of the Al Qaeda organisation. Not anymore, Things are changing fast and the heat is turning on terrorists. In a major victory for the coalition, Yemeni troops have recaptured a key port city from Al Qaeda militants who held it for a year.
"The UAE stand is clearly to back the legitimate government as part of its foreign policy to safeguard the security and stability of that country.
"The UAE has been playing a gracious role in Operation Restoring Hope with a view to rebuild and develop Yemen, and help brothers in Yemen to restore their normal lives and to build schools, hospitals and entire infrastructure.
"What gives increased hope of peace returning fast to Yemen is the pledge by coalition countries participating in the operation to continue the policy of chasing terrorist organisations out of all Yemeni cities, defeating them and depriving them of a safe haven until the return of security and stability in the region," concluded the Sharjah-based daily.
http://www.totaluae.com/news/terrorists-in-yemen-will-have-no-place-to-hide-paper/
25.4.2016 – Hussain Bukhaiti (A P)
#Saudi TV @AlArabiya shows Dhahian #Saada double tap strikes(kild21rescure) footage as a strike agnst #AQAP S #Yemen
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/724669595425054720
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
27.4.2016 – Yemen Post (A K)
WAR & PEACE: Saudi airstrikes attack #Yemen today & Houthis clash in 5 regions while #UN peace talks enter 8th day.
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/725323019149819904
25.4.2016 – Pars Today (A K PH)
Zahlreiche jemenitische Zivilisten getötet
Ungeachtet der Friedensgespräche in Kuwait setzt die saudisch-geführte Mililtärallianz ihre Angriffe auf Jemen fort.
Bei einem Angriff am Sonntag auf ein Wohnviertel in der Stadt Nahm in der Provinz Sanaa sind drei Jemeniten getötet worden.
Die Armee und Volkskräfte Jemens verhinderten den Versuch saudischer Aggressoren, Militärbasen in Asilan in der Provinz Sanaa anzugreifen. Bei dieser Operation wurden zahlreiche saudische Aggressoren getötet.
Laut jemenitischen Quellen versuchender saudische Aggressoren, die Region al-Vazeia in der Provinz Taez, im Süden Jemens unter ihre Kontrolle zu bringen.
Saudische Kampfjets feuerten außerdem Bomben auf die Region "Rasakh" in der Provinz Saada im Zentrum von Jemen ab.
http://parstoday.com/de/news/middle_east-i6118-zahlreiche_jemenitische_zivilisten_getötet
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
26.4.2016 – Al Masirah TV (A K PH)
Film: Aggression and his mercenaries continue to breach the ceasefire in Taiz simultaneous negotiations with Kuwait 04/26/2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcLEknrafig
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
26.4.2016 – Scidev / The Guardian (* B H)
Yemen braces for locust ‘plague’
SciDev.Net: The ongoing civil war and the need to protect the bee industry make it difficult to use insecticides
Yemen is bracing itself for a “locust plague” that scientists are unable to stop due to fears that any intervention would also kill bees that are vital to its economy.
The country’s Desert Locust Control Centre issued a warning on 18 April that many desert locusts in the country had reached their flying adult phase, while the remaining juveniles could do likewise in a matter of weeks.
The centre says control efforts this month, especially in the southern coastal province of Shabwah, have largely failed. Yemen is already struggling under the weight of civil war, which has made many affected areas unsafe.
“The intervention process to control locusts through insecticide spraying was very difficult due to a number of obstacles, the most important of which were the security aspect and the presence of beehives,” says Ahmed Al-Eryani, a spokesman for the centre. This is because pesticide spraying is likely to kill the bee populations crucial to the region’s agriculture and honey production, he explains.
Yemen’s civil war has made it difficult for scientists to reach some areas to carry out regular monitoring and control efforts. As a result, teams have been unable to kill substantial amounts of juvenile locusts to prevent them becoming adults, the centre says.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that the locust outbreak threatens the country’s farming
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/26/yemen-braces-for-locust-plague = http://www.scidev.net/global/food-security/news/yemen-locust-plague-desert.html
28.4.2016 – The Guardian (** B K P)
Most Arab states share Isis’s ideology. They’re trying to have it both ways
Isis may be more brutal but many Arab governments are on the same ground – asserting the superiority of Islam
Compulsion in religion is the ideological foundation stone of Isis and Islamist movements in general. Believing they have superior knowledge of God’s wishes for mankind, such groups feel entitled – even required – to act on his behalf and punish those who fail to comply with the divine will. In doing so, of course, they do not claim to be seeking power for themselves but merely trying to make the world more holy.
Bombing Isis and banning Islamist movements may suppress such movements for a while but it does nothing to address the ideological problem. Unless the question of compulsion in religion is tackled head-on, and in a serious way, they will resurface later or similar groups will emerge to replace them.
As far as many of the Arab public are concerned, discriminating against members of the “wrong” faith, or those who hold unorthodox views, is not only acceptable, but the right thing to do. For Arab governments, enforcing religious rules and allying themselves with God helps to make up for their lack of electoral legitimacy.
This causes a particular problem in combating the ideology of groups such as Isis because most Arab states – including several members of the military coalition against it – share Isis’s approach to compulsion in religion. Isis may be more brutal in practice but, basically, they are on the same ground – asserting the superiority of Islam and the legitimacy of religious discrimination.
Isis’s readiness to execute people for their beliefs has parallels in six Arab countries – Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the UAE and Yemen – where apostasy is a crime and in theory the death penalty can apply.
Curiously, though, they seem reluctant to enforce it. No recent executions for apostasy have been reported in any of them and in Saudi Arabia there have been none for well over 20 years, according to the US state department.
These countries are essentially trying to have it both ways. They don’t want to execute anyone for apostasy because they know there would be an international outcry, but they also fear the reaction from religious elements if they try to abolish the death penalty.
This kind of fudging and fence-sitting has served them quite well until now, but with the growth of religious intolerance and the spread of sectarian-related conflicts in various parts of the region it is becoming less and less tenable. So long as they shy away from a clear commitment to freedom of belief, their stance helps to legitimise the actions of groups such as Isis. At some point soon they will have to decide whether they want to be part of the problem or part of the solution – by Brian Whitaker
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/28/arab-states-share-isis-ideology-islam
14.10.2013 – Afrah Nasser’s Blog (** B P)
Politics and the evolution of Takfeer in Yemen
I was declared an apostate at the end of April 2013 because of a political seminar on women’s empowerment hosted at my college in Taiz. In this gathering, I stated that Islam’s most stringent provisions – whether in the Qur’an or the Sunnah – are meant to refine rather than to terrorize. A radical cleric twisted my words and said that I called the Prophet Mohammed a liar and based on it, I was labeled a Kafir (apostate). - Sally Adeeb, age 21, law school student.
Since the overthrow in Yemen of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011, 11 people have been accused of apostasy (see chart 1 below) in the practice referred to as Takfeer. One of them, Jamal al-Junid, was detained by the police in May 2013 for 15 days and finally was released after the staging of several protests. Another accused “apostate” is Ahmed Al-Arami, a literature and arts lecturer who was labeled a “secularist” in April 2013 and subsequently fled the country because of serious threats and the possibility that he might be executed. The sensitivity of offending religion is a stumbling block in the quest to return Yemen to stability.
Al-Zindani is a non-official politician who influences the Yemeni masses by claiming the custodianship of the Shari’ah, or Islamic law. He established an non-profit religious university, Al-Iman, in 1993 and has claimed to have invented a cure for HIV/AIDS and to have found scientific proof that women cannot speak and remember at the same time.
In July 2013, Al-Zindani’s office, which is managed by his son, issued an official statement announcing the names of 37 NDC members who are allegedly “fighting Islam” and asserting that the named individuals “reject the Islamic Shari’ah and are the enemies of Islam.” The statement is believed to be a warrant and could become a Takfeer fatwa pointing to these aforementioned members as apostates. The action prompted an urgent press conference held by the NDC that condemned publication of the list or the issuance of any such destructive fatwas.
The dispute reflects not only the struggle for dominance between the traditional religious base and the newly-emerging civil power in the decision-making process; it is also a critical factor in the evolution of the nation’s potential new identity. As of yet, it remains uncertain whether or not Shari’ah will be the only source of legislation in Yemen – by Afrah Nasser
http://afrahnasser.blogspot.de/2013/10/politics-and-evolution-of-takfeer-in.html
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