Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Am wichtigsten / Most important
Allgemein / General
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
USA
Großbritannien / Great Britain
Deutschland / Germany
Frankreich / France
Schweiz / Switzerland
Flüchtlinge / Refugees
Journalismus / Journalism
Propaganda
Terrorismus / Terrorism
Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Saudi Arabia – “Dirty Deads of the Middle East” in full
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(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
Am wichtigsten / Most important
25.1.2016 – Consortium News (** B P)
US Abets Saudi War Crimes in Yemen
U.S. officials are quick to decry “human rights violations” in “enemy” states, but different rules apply to “allies” such as Saudi Arabia, which is committing war crimes in Yemen and executing dissidents at home while the Obama administration aids and abets the atrocities.
Saudi Arabia has engaged in war crimes, and the United States is aiding and abetting them by providing the Saudis with military assistance.
The U.S. government is the primary supplier of Saudi weapons. In November 2015, the U.S. sold $1.29 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. It included more than 10,000 bombs, munitions, and weapons parts manufactured by Raytheon and Boeing, as well as bunker busters, and laser-guided and “general purpose” bombs.
A month earlier, the United States had approved a $11.25 billion sale of combat ships to Saudi Arabia. The U.S. also provides intelligence and logistical support to the Saudi-led coalition. During the past five years, the U.S. government has sold the Saudis $100 billion worth of arms. These sales have greatly enriched U.S. defense contractors.
Why has the United States “usually looked the other way or issued carefully calibrated warnings in human rights reports as the Saudi royal family cracked down on dissent and free speech and allowed its elite to fund Islamic extremists,” in the words of New York Times’ David Sanger? “In return,” Sanger writes, “Saudi Arabia became America’s most dependable filling station, a regular supplier of intelligence, and a valuable counterweight to Iran.” Saudi Arabia, and close U.S. ally Israel, opposed the Iran nuclear deal.
In April 2015, the U.S. government prevented nine Iranian ships loaded with relief supplies from reaching Yemen. President Barack Obama also sent an aircraft carrier to the area to enforce the Saudi embargo on outside supplies. According to UN estimates, 21 million people lack basic services, and over 1.5 million have been displaced. UNICEF notes that six million people don’t have enough food.
Moreover, the U.S. government seeks to prevent scrutiny of Saudi human rights abuses in Yemen. In October 2015, the United States blocked a UN Security Council sanctions committee proposal that would have required the committee’s chair to contact “all relevant parties to the conflict and stress their responsibility to respect and uphold international humanitarian law and human rights law.”
The U.S. government is also violating domestic law by providing the Saudis with military aid. The Leahy Law prohibits U.S. assistance to foreign security forces or military officers “if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.”
In an interesting twist, the Saudis contributed $10 million to the Clinton Foundation before Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State. In 2011, the year after the State Department had documented myriad serious human rights violations by Saudi Arabia, Hillary Clinton oversaw a $29 billion sale of advanced fighter jets to the Saudis, declaring it was in our national interest.
The deal was “a top priority” for Secretary Clinton, according to Andrew Shapiro, an assistant secretary of state. Two months before the deal was clinched, Boeing, manufacturer of one of the fighter jets the Saudis sought to acquire, contributed $900,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
Hillary Clinton now says the U.S should pursue “closer strategic cooperation” with Saudi Arabia – by Marjorie Cohn
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/01/25/us-abets-saudi-war-crimes-in-yemen/ = http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Saudi-Arabia-Is-Killing-Civilians-with-US-Bombs-20160125-0004.html
Comment: Just another article that says it all - the deal is we in the west provide arms - probably to both sides but especially to those with big pockets - and we then look the other way. Easy
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1091641147655042
24.1.2016 – We Are Anonymous (** B P)
Dirty Deeds of The Middle East
[Excerpts; in full at the end of this Yemen Press Reader]
In a number of ways, this kind of diplomatic dispute ended up being unavoidable: Saudi Arabia and Iran read each other as foes and, therefore, are “caged” in a rising struggle for control and prominence in the Middle East. This power struggle stretches far beyond statements, with both the nations supporting militant organizations and tailoring proxy wars across the region, specifically in Syria. Their challenge is a serious operator of dispute in the Mideast.
By executing Baqir [better known as Sheihk Al-Nimr] , the Kingdom is apparently engaging anti-Shiism, in terms of rallying that favored clerical institution to the country’s intention. On the day Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr was executed, Saudi Arabia announced it was officially finishing the present armistice in Yemen. To be clear, the Kingdom’s foreign policy concerns eventually line up with sectarianism, and from now on, their main priority is Yemen.
Primarily, the conflict in the Mideast is being driven by the anxiety and turbulence between Sunni and Shia sects. However, that dispute is not really about faith, even if it is conveyed with the religious sermon. Instead, it is motivated by the cold war battle for power between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mainly because they are both ruled by the religiously guided officials in one form or another – Islamic Republic of Iran states portray our planet’s Shia population living collectively and Saudi Arabia says to signify its Sunni population, they’ve wanted to attack each other on the grounds of ‘we are right and you are wrong’ — therefore making that religious sect “correct”.
Four years ago, the Arab Spring started to turn down governments across the Mideast, both the Saudis and the Iranians once more attempted to occupy the spaces and promoted violence. In order to suffice their needs, the Kingdom wanted to intentionally boost up the sect division. In Yemen, for instance, the Kingdom saw the Houthis (Zaidi Shias from Northern Yemen) revolt as a form of Iranian propaganda. Yes, the Islamic Republic of Iran did assist the uprising.
As a result, in order to segregate Iran’s impact in the Republic Of Yemen, and to feud up assistance for the Kingdom’s interference there, it attempted to cause physical conflict – Sunnis against the Shias. This is one reason why the Mideast is indeed so segregated nowadays, especially when it comes to the Sunnis and Shias.
In an attempt to maintain influence in their fragile states, both the nations have attempted to place themselves as the gérants of their own Islamic group, and they’ve influenced discrimination to build up tensions with the opposite side.
The removal of Iran’s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (though he was a Shia himself), and setting of the government by hardcore Shia Ruhollah Mostafavi Moosavi Khomeini, came as a shock to the Saudi government. It led to power a person who clearly quarreled the fact that Islamism and the ancestral monarchy were contradictory, a frightening message, to put it mildly, for the ruling class of the Saudi Arab. As a result, the Kingdom and remaining super-conservative Gulf kings created the Gulf Cooperation Council, a group originally made to undo and hold the Iranian effect.
It is relevant to realize that the Saudi kingship is seriously troubled – It recognizes that its grip on power is weak. The current Iran, purely by its establishment, tests this authenticity — not since it’s Shia, but due to the fact its theocratic wave was prevalent and showed promise to serve Muslims greater than the Saudi royals.
In the Republic Of Yemen, for instance, Farea al-Muslimi, a writer and activist from Yemen, alerts that discrimination is dragging the nation. Over the years, sect synchronicity and blending was overlooked by the majority of people living in Yemen, and was viewed as an ordinary function of daily life. Sadly, the battle that spread like wildfire in 2011, along with the prominent revolt, has since led the people to favor their sect. This not only makes serenity less likely in today’s dispute, it also this makes Yemen less workable in the long run.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant can prey on years of anti-Shiism provocation in Saudi institutions. In fact, a great number of people joint the revolts in Syria. In addition, uprisings in the Republic of Iraq have been built from a motivation to circumvent the Shia and the Iranian effect, along with the foreign policy objectives that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other Gulf countries, function upon.
Saudi Arabia’s execution of Sheikh Baqir demonstrates an intensification of its current calamitous approach of using discrimination for political purposes. It is an approach that is not only negative, but is also seen as a short term solution. This war, like any other war, is heedless, badly designed, detrimental and pushing everyone to a costly end – by Anon.Dos
http://anonhq.com/dirty-deeds-middle-east-investigative/
22.1.2016 – Consortium News (***A P)
Neocons Flack for Unsavory Saudis
Since Israel decided that Iran was its big enemy – and made Saudi Arabia its quiet ally – American neocons have fallen in line, demanding that the U.S. government punish Iran and coddle the Saudis whatever their unsavory behavior.
Bret Stephens’, the deputy editorial page editor who writes The Wall Street Journal’s weekly “Global View” column, latest installment is typical. Entitled “Why the U.S. Should Stand by the Saudis Against Iran,” it begins with not one premise, but two. The first, as the title suggest, is that the U.S. should stand by Riyadh in its time of woes. The second is that if the kingdom stumbles, only one person is to blame – President Obama.
Stephens says it would be wrong to abandon the kingdom “especially when it is under increasing economic strain from falling oil prices.”
Get that? It would be wrong to abandon the kingdom when oil is scarce and prices are high — because that’s when we need the Saudis the most — and it’s wrong to abandon the monarchy when oil is plentiful and prices are low when we need them the least. Oil, in other words, has nothing to do with it. It’s wrong because it’s wrong.
But Stephens thinks it’s wrong for another reason as well: because Saudi Arabia “feels acutely threatened by a resurgent Iran.” Why is Iran resurgent? Because the nuclear deal that it recently concluded with the U.S. has set it free from punishing economic sanctions.
He then goes on to list all the bad things Iran has done thanks to the power that the Obama administration has just handed it on a silver platter.
Then Stephens gets to his main point, which is the nefarious role of Obama:
“Add to this an American president who is ambivalent about the House of Saud the way Jimmy Carter was about the Shah of Iran, and no wonder Riyadh is acting the way it is. If the administration is now unhappy about the Saudi war in Yemen or its execution of Shiite radicals, it has only itself to blame.
“All this means that the right U.S. policy toward the Saudis is to hold them close and demonstrate serious support, lest they be tempted to continue freelancing their foreign policy in ways we might not like. It won’t happen in this administration, but a serious commitment to overthrow the Assad regime would be the place to start.”
In other words, if the Saudi monarchy chops off the heads of dissident Shi‘ites and sentences liberal blogger Raif Badawi to a thousand lashes, it’s because Obama doesn’t show enough love. Ditto Yemen. If Saudi air raids have killed some 2,800 civilians according to the latest UN estimates, including more than 500 children, it’s because Obama has allowed his affections to flag for the Saudi royals. If only he would hug the Saudi princes a little closer, they wouldn’t feel so lonely and bereft and would therefore respond more gently to their neighbors in the south. No blame should be cast on the Saudi leaders. No, everything’s the fault of Obama and his yuppie ways.
What can one say about reasoning like this?
The answer is that Stephens speaks not just for himself, but for an entire neocon establishment that is beside itself over the mess in the Persian Gulf and desperate to avoid blame for the chaos (which is now spreading into Europe). So, talking points must be developed to shift responsibility.
It’s not a pretty picture, which is why the neocons are pointing the fingers at others, Obama first and foremost. All are furious at what Obama administration has done to their beloved petro-sheiks.
As neocon theorist Max Book put it at the Commentary Magazine website: “The American policy should be clear: We should stand with the Saudis – and the Egyptians, and the Jordanians, and the Emiratis, and the Turks, and the Israels [sic], and all of our other allies – to stop the new Persian Empire. But the Obama administration, morally and strategically confused, is instead coddling Iran in the vain hope that it will somehow turn Tehran from enemy into friend.”
Something else is also at work, however – the I-word. The neocons are now firmly on the Saudis’ side.
Why? The reason is Israel, which has decided since tangling with Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon War that the Shi‘ites are its chief enemy and the Sunni petro-monarchies, comparatively speaking, its friend. Like Communists responding to the latest directive from Moscow, the neocons have turned on a dime as a consequence, churning out reams of propaganda in support of Arab countries they once loathed.
In the neocon domain, Saudi Arabia has undergone a wondrous makeover, transformed from a bastion of reaction and anti-Semitism to a country that is somehow peace-loving and progressive. Formerly an enemy of Washington – or at best a distasteful gang of business associates supplying lots of oil and buying lots of guns – Saudi Arabia has been re-invented as America’s dearest friend in the Arab world.
People like Bret Stephens have done their bit in behalf of the cause, turning out article after article whose real purpose is hidden from view. Where neocons formerly scorned anyone who spoke well of the Saudis, they now denounce anyone who speaks ill.
The funny thing is that Obama is to blame for the disaster in the Middle East, not because he disregarded the latest diktat from the Washington neocon-dominated foreign-policy establishment, but because he has accepted its priorities all too dutifully. He stood by as Qatar steered hundreds of millions of dollars to Salafist jihadis in Libya and while the Saudis, Qataris, and other Gulf states did the same to Sunni fundamentalists in Syria.
Obama’s response to Saudi Arabia’s repression of Arab Spring protests in Bahrain was muted, he refused to condemn the beheading of al-Nimr — the best the State Department could come up with was a statement declaring that the execution risked “exacerbating sectarian tensions at a time when they urgently need to be reduced” — and Obama has even given military support to the kingdom’s air assault on Yemen.
Yet now the neocons blame him for not doing enough to keep the Saudis happy – by Daniel Lazare
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/01/22/neocons-flack-for-unsavory-saudis/
Allgemein / General
25.1.2016 – The Independent (** B K)
It no longer matters what day it is in Yemen when your sole focus is survival
Time is gradually lost because everyday life as we know it has almost come to a stop
It has been almost 10 months since the war started. On 26 March a coalition of states led by Saudi Arabia launched a joint military campaign in Yemen. A campaign that many, including me, only learned of hours after being knocked out of bed by earthshaking explosions from surprise airstrikes in Sanaa.
The airstrikes have lasted 44 weeks now. I expected to be desensitised, grow numb and lose track of things after months of war. But my sense of time wasn’t one. There are battles, bombs dropping, buildings collapsing, people screaming in the chaos of a raging war. Time is gradually lost because everyday life as we know it has almost come to a stop. Our city is slowly being choked to death.
When schools, businesses, and most other institutions shut for months, days are all the same. It no longer matters what day it is when your sole focus is survival. You still need water, food and shelter.
You adopt a new dynamic – “War o’clock” – where you track hours and days according to the amount of time it takes to secure basic life-sustaining necessities.
By last Wednesday it had been 300 days of war. That was 7,200 long hours queuing for petrol, food and water. Surviving the eternity of one hour at a time with the false hope that your misery won’t be extended by another. That was 432,000 minutes, many spent praying for self and loved ones not to be killed by a bomb, shell or stray bullet. Praying that you will be able to secure the necessities of life. Praying that war is over soon. Praying that your prayers will be answered.
That was 25,920,000 seconds. Seconds you and your children held your breaths during airstrikes and shelling. Seconds where your hearts skipped beats when the whooshing sound of a projectile was followed by an explosion. We have, luckily, survived. For now – by Hisham al-Omeisy, Yemeni political analyst living at Sanaa
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
26.1.2016 – International Red Cross (* B H)
ICRC in Yemen: Our work in 2015
Millions of Yemenis lack the necessary means to provide for their families’ basic food needs. With the start of the conict, more than two million Yemenis became displaced and grew increasingly dependent on the provision of humanitarian assistance. In 2015, the ICRC provided various forms of assistance to over 300,000 people, of which the majority were displaced. This assistance was distributed in close coordination with the Yemeni Red Crescent Society and other local organizations.
The emergency relief aid (food and non-food items) was distributed during 137 dierent distributions as follows: t food rations including rice, beans, lentils, oil, tea and sugar were distributed to about 180, 000 people in Aden, Lahj, Hadramout, Shabwa, Taiz, Ibb, Al-Hodeidah, Saada, Amran, Sana’a, and Al-Jawf t close to 110, 000 people in northern and southern governorates bene‑ted from the distribution of blankets in addition to hygienic items (including soap, washing detergents, shampoo, personal hygiene items, etc.) and other essential household items (including kitchen utensils, buckets, jerry cans and sleeping mats) t more than 4,500 people and their dependents bene‑ted from cash-for-work activities More than 1,800 displaced and vulnerable persons in Taiz, Marib, North Amran, and Al Jawf covered their essential needs through an ICRC supported cash transfer program.
The ICRC works to ensure that people aected by violence have access to clean water and acceptable sanitary conditions. In 2015, more than 2.2 million people bene‑ted from ICRC activities in the ‑eld of water and sanitation. Highlights of these activities include: [detailed]
In 2015, the conict caused severe shortages of medical and surgical supplies across the country. To address some of these shortages and help treat thousands of wounded people, the ICRC: t supported 62 hospitals and 44 health facilities in 15 governorates through 282 donations of medical and surgical supplies enabling them to treat more than 26,000 war wounded and perform over 14,900 surgeries [and more]
[more fields of work]
Throughout 2015, the ICRC has coordinated the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement humanitarian response in Yemen Crescent Society (YRCS) emergency response activities. This headquarters and select branches across the country. day to help communities throughout Yemen. The tragic dangers that the people of Yemen have faced in 2015.
The ICRC acknowledges that what has been done remains a drop in the ocean when looking at the overall needs of the population of a country which was suffering from years of internal conflicts and political upheaval and poverty. Helping Yemenis affected by the armed conflict will remain at the heart of ICRC's humanitarian operations in 2016.
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen-icrc-activities-2015
Comment: “The ICRC acknowledges that what has been done remains a drop in the ocean” – that is not the fault of the Red Cross, which does an admirable work. It is the fault of this what we in the “West” like to call “International community” = USA and vassals, who produce and sell weapons and military equipment worth billions and billions.
26.1.2016 – Tunisia.tn (A T)
Release of Tunisian ICRC Aid Worker Abducted in Yemen ‘May Take Months’
Speaking to Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) Adnane Hazem, Information Officer for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yemen, said the organization was ‘working hard to set [Nourhane Houas] free unconditionally and without paying any ransom’.
http://tunisia-tn.com/release-of-tunisian-icrc-aid-worker-abducted-in-yemen-may-take-months/
26.1.2016 – International Organisation for Migration (A H)
IOM Aids Most Vulnerable Displaced Families from Yemen’s Taizz City
IOM Yemen reports that the security situation in Yemen’s Taizz governorate continues to deteriorate, with continuous armed clashes through residential areas, especially in an enclave comprising three districts in Taizz City.
IOM over the past week has delivered 720 shelter and non-food item (NFI) relief kits to residents forced to flee the enclave. The kits include mattresses, blankets, bed sheets, kitchen sets, plastic sheets, ropes and jerry cans.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick has now met with city authorities on the ground to appeal for sustained humanitarian access in all districts of Taizz governorate.
The IOM distribution of 300 shelter/ NFI kits began in Al Mudirah district. It targeted the most vulnerable internally displaced people (IDPs), mainly sheltering in public schools and open spaces, who had fled the Al Qahirah, Al Mudhaffar and Salah districts of Taizz City. These districts have seen intense fighting over the past several months.
Other IOM teams distributed the remaining 420 kits to IDPs from Taizz who had fled to the neighboring governorate of Lahj. Some 400 kits were distributed in Madarebah and We Ras Elarah districts, and the remaining 20 in Tur Al Baha district.
The immediate needs and locations of the displaced populations were identified through IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), an information management system designed to regularly, systematically capture, process, and disseminate information on IDP locations.
http://www.iom.int/news/iom-aids-most-vulnerable-displaced-families-yemens-taizz-city
25.1.2016 – UNICEF (* B H)
In Yemen, a young Messi from Sana’a
For one boy living in the midst of Yemen’s conflict, soccer is more than just a game – it’s a way to overcome all the obstacles the world has thrown at him.
Today, I want to introduce to you another football star. Rafik, age 15, is from Sana’a, the main city of Yemen. Eight years ago, Rafik lost his leg in an air strike while playing football in the north-western governate of Sa’ada. His closest friend was killed on the spot.
Rafik’s spirit and determination to play ‘the beautiful game’ has brought together a band of brothers and sisters, united in their struggle to survive this conflict in a shelter ravaged by hunger and desperation. With his one solitary leg and crutches, Rafik has given this neighbourhood courage in a time of chaos.
More than a 100 children are living at this temporary shelter. While the boys enjoy a game of football, the girls prefer to make handicrafts, draw pictures and perform puppet shows.
There is little food, hardly any water and garbage is strewn on the streets of Sana’a. Medicines are in short supply, and hospitals are barely functioning. Yet despite these seemingly impossible odds, Rafik and his friends find a new life in a game of football.
Clearly our young champion has little concern for what others see as his disability. This determined teenager doesn’t believe that bombs and bullets can cripple his nation, nor dent his belief in humanity. It takes a lot of heart to bring such cheer to the desperate families who look to this boy, their homegrown Messi, the football icon for these young displaced children, to remind them of better times and pray for a better tomorrow.
For now, he runs off for a quick game before reality can sink in and the sounds of war force the children into running for cover once again –by Rajat Madhok
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/yemen_89951.html
Comment: Hurt by an airstrike at Saada eight years ago… Saudis bombed that area already at that time to defeat the Houthi uprising – at that time as allies of president Saleh.
25.1.2016 – Saba News (H)
Over 7000 families displaced by aggression in Mareb
The number of the displaced families from inside and outside Mareb province amounted to 7,700 families due to the Saudi aggression on Yemen.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news417159.htm
25.1.2016 – World Food Programme (A H)
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has managed to send food supplies inside areas under siege in the central Yemeni city of Taiz where residents have been suffering in dire conditions with very little food.
A 12-truck convoy entered the besieged areas of Al Qahira and Al Mudhafer districts on Thursday carrying 3,000 family food rations – each ration enough to feed a family of six for one month. The food includes vegetable oil, wheat, pulses and sugar.
The convoy entered these areas following extensive negotiations to allow the WFP to deliver life-saving assistance to thousands of hungry people in desperate need.
The breakthrough delivery coincided with a joint UN mission to Ibb, northeast of Taiz city, where UN humanitarian officials met local representatives and witnessed the safe arrival of humanitarian assistance.
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-food-convoy-enters-besieged-areas-inside-city-taiz-yemen
25.1.2016 – Oxfam (B H)
Oxfam Yemen Situation Report #13, 18th January 2016
Overview, Activities per region
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/oxfam-yemen-situation-report-13-18th-january-2016 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen%20External%20Sitrep%2013%20180116.pdf
25.1.2016 – Ärzte ohne Grenzen (A K)
Jemen: Wiederholte Angriffe auf Gesundheitseinrichtungen – Ärzte ohne Grenzen fordert unabhängige Untersuchung
Die medizinischen Aktivitäten von Ärzte ohne Grenzen im Jemen wurden in drei Monaten viermal angegriffen, jeder Vorfall war ernster, als der vorherige.
“Wir beobachten immer öfter, dass Angriffe auf medizinische Einrichtungen heruntergespielt und als „Fehler” oder „Versehen“ bezeichnet werden“, sagt Ayora. „Erst vergangene Woche behauptete der britische Außenminister, das Königreich Saudi Arabien habe das humanitäre Völkerrecht in Jemen nie vorsätzlich gebrochen. Dies impliziert aber, dass es tolerierbar ist, wenn ein von Rechts wegen geschütztes Krankenhaus versehentlich bombardiert wird. Das ist eine abstoßende und unverantwortliche Logik.“
Ärzte ohne Grenzen fordert nun eine unabhängige Untersuchung des Angriffs auf das Shiara-Hospital durch die Internationale Humanitäre Ermittlungskommission (IHFFC). Diese Kommission hat Ärzte ohne Grenzen bereits nach der Bombardierung eines Krankenhauses der Organisation durch die US-Armee im afghanischen Kundus angerufen. Die Hilfsorganisation wartet nach wie vor auf eine offizielle Antwort der US-Regierung darauf, ob sie einer unabhängigen Untersuchung zustimmt oder nicht. Die IHFFC stellt die einzige Instanz dar, die speziell zur Untersuchung möglicher Verletzungen des humanitären Völkerrechts gemäß den Genfer Konventionen geschaffen wurde.
„Innerhalb von vier Monaten wurden vier unserer medizinischen Einrichtungen im Jemen und in Afghanistan angegriffen“, sagt Joanne Liu, die internationale Präsidentin von Ärzte ohne Grenzen. „Ist das von jetzt an die Normalität: ein bombardiertes Krankenhaus von Ärzte ohne Grenzen pro Monat? Wie viele andere Krankenhäuser werden im Jemen und anderen Konfliktgebieten noch angegriffen, ohne dass das medizinische Personal dort die Möglichkeit hat, dies öffentlich zu machen, so wie Ärzte ohne Grenzen das tun kann? Wir weigern uns zu akzeptieren, dass dies so weitergeht, ohne dass irgendjemand dafür zur Rechenschaft gezogen wird. Wir brauchen unbedingt die Garantie von allen Kriegsparteien, dass funktionierende Krankenhäuser niemals ein legitimes Angriffsziel sein werden.“
Kommentar: Auch ohne Zustimmung der USA soll ja wohl eine unabhängige Untersuchung in Kunduz möglich sein.
in English:
25.1.2016 – Doctors Without Borders (A K)
Yemen: Health facilities under attack - MSF wants answers
MSF medical activities in Yemen have come under attack four times in less than three months, each incident more serious than the last.
“Increasingly, we are seeing attacks on medical facilities being minimised, being labelled ‘mistakes’ or ‘errors’,” says Ayora. “Just last week the UK Foreign Secretary claimed that there have been no deliberate breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This implies that mistakenly bombing a protected hospital would be tolerable. This logic is offensive and irresponsible.”
MSF has decided to request that the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) conduct an independent investigation into the Shiara Hospital attack. MSF first turned to the commission after the bombing of its trauma hospital in Kunduz by the US army in Afghanistan. MSF is still waiting for an official response from the US Government about whether it will consent to the investigation. The IHFFC is the only permanent international fact-finding body with a specific mandate to investigate potential violations of international humanitarian law under the Geneva Conventions.
Given the increasing awareness of and political momentum around the importance of protecting medical facilities, the time has come to make effective decisions and go beyond statements of outrage and condemnation. “Four of our medical facilities have been attacked in four months in Yemen and Afghanistan,” says Joanne Liu, International President of MSF. “Is this the new normal: an MSF hospital bombed every month? How many other hospitals are being attacked in Yemen and other conflict zones, run by medical staff who do not have the platform that MSF does to speak out? We refuse to accept that this trend continues with a total lack of accountability. We urgently need guarantees from warring parties that functioning hospitals are never a legitimate target.”
http://www.msf.org/article/yemen-health-facilities-under-attack-msf-wants-answers
25.1.2016 – Doctors Without Borders (*A K)
Yemen: "They didn’t realise that the missile had hit the hospital itself."
Testimony by Teresa Sancristoval, Head of MSF’s emergency desk, on the 10 January attack on Shiara hospital
“At 9:20 last Sunday morning, the medical team in Shiara hospital heard the noise of a rocket exploding. The border with Saudi Arabia is only half an hour away so everyone here is used to the sound of bombs and rockets. Knowing it had hit somewhere nearby, they set about preparing for mass casualties. What they didn’t realise was that the missile had hit the hospital itself, and soon they would be treating their own colleagues and patients.
The rocket hit a corridor leading from the main gate to the hospital buildings, with a metal fence alongside. The wounded were hit by shrapnel from the missile, and also by shards of metal from the fence. The injuries were brutal.
The corridor was very busy at the time with both staff and patients. Six people were killed, including three staff members, and seven people were seriously injured, including two staff members who are in a critical condition. Many others received shrapnel injuries, but were able to leave on their own.
Staff immediately began to do triage and to stabilise the injured. Two refused to be brought into the hospital – they were expecting a second hit, and they were fearful of being inside the building. This meant we couldn’t stabilise them before the five-hour journey to the MSF hospital in Sa’ada city. One died; the other is in a very severe condition. But we managed to stabilise the rest.
The town of Shiara is up in the mountains. Most of its 40,000 residents are living in caves to shelter from the bombs. People don’t want to leave the area because their crops, which they grow on terraces on the mountainsides, need intensive cultivation. If they left now, they wouldn’t have food for the coming year.
The hospital serves about 120,000 people in the area. Although it has six inpatient beds for emergencies, it only really functions in the daytime. People won’t drive to the hospital at night – they are scared that their headlights will give them away in the dark and they’ll be bombed. And patients don’t want to stay overnight in the building as they know that all too often hospitals are targets. The medical staff don’t want to stay either.
This is the third time we’ve had a hospital or clinic where we work attacked in Yemen, but altogether 130 health facilities have come under attack since the conflict began last March. And Shiara hospital itself has been hit twice before.
The reason we’ve been there for the past six weeks was to help rebuild the hospital after the previous bombing and set up lifesaving operations, including a maternity ward, a lab and an emergency room where patients could be stabilised before being transferred to Sa’ada city. The building we were constructing was completely destroyed by the rocket.
People are more afraid than ever. Since the attack, there have been no deliveries in the maternity room – pregnant women are giving birth in caves rather than risk coming to the hospital.
Immediately after the attack, Shiara hospital closed, but six hours later, it reopened to attend to a new wave of emergency cases arriving at the hospital. The MSF team is doing emergency stabilisation of the wounded, but without guarantees that it won’t be attacked again, we can’t just return to business as normal.” – by Teresa Sancristoval
http://www.msf.org/article/yemen-they-didn%E2%80%99t-realise-missile-had-hit-hospital-itself
25.1.2016 – The Independent (*B H K)
Yemen's healthcare system left in tatters due to Saudi bombing campaign - supported by Britain
Yemen’s healthcare system is in tatters, with 130 attacks on facilities since a bombing campaign (supported by Britain) began. Enough is enough, says Médecins Sans Frontières
Amnesty International, meanwhile, has said attacks on MSF hospitals may amount to war crimes. “Under international law, hospitals and medical units must be respected and protected in all circumstances,” Rasha Mohammed, Yemen researcher at Amnesty, told The Independent.
MSF also reserved criticism for the British government which has supported Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the war, and provides arms to the country, for its “offensive and irresponsible” response to the attacks. The Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond had said there have been no deliberate breaches of international humanitarian law.
In this climate, people have become too afraid to go to hospital. In the immediate aftermath of the 10 January attack, two of the wounded refused to be treated, fearing a so-called “double tap” attack, when the same targets are hit twice in succession. Since the attack, pregnant women in the area have chosen to give birth in caves. Staff at hospitals have become too afraid to work.
“People ask to spend the minimum time possible in the hospital,” Ms Sancristoval said. “This is the opposite to the many wars I have worked in over the last 25 years, when staff would ask to sleep at hospitals at night because they are considered the safest place.” –by Emma Gatten
25.1.2016 – Al Arabiya (A H)
‘My baby needs oxygen:’ Mother fears newborn’s death in Yemen’s Taez
Devastation looms over Yemen’s war ravaged Taez that has suffered a months-long Houthi siege, limiting the city’s access to the most basic necessities.
As Yemen’s third largest city with a population of over 600,000, the ongoing hostilities have plunged Taez into a serious humanitarian crisis, threatening the lives of its civilians due to the lack of food and medical supplies, according to the United Nations.
With an ongoing intensifying war, scarce medical supplies are prioritized for casualties of the conflict, leaving the sick and vulnerable without the care they need.
Comment: Taiz is under Huthi blockade. The dire need of medical supplies is the same in all parts of the country which are under Saudi blockade.
Kulturerbe / Cultural Heritage
24.1.2016 – Art crime (B K)
A rose may be a rose, but an architectural pillar is not always the same archaeologically significant pillar
The site damaged which was incorrectly identified as the Bar'an Temple (Moon Temple), Ma'rib, Yemen, is actually the Almaqah Temple in Ṣirwāḥ, Yemen.
But even with this much documentation, we still cannot ascertain if this is new damage, or damages sustained earlier in the conflict as intensive airstrikes have been carried out in this region since Saudi-coalition troops pushed into the district in early October 2015. There were also earlier reports of some unidentified level of damage to the site on April 27, 2015 however we have not been able to date what happened to the site during what incident as of yet.
http://art-crime.blogspot.de/2016/01/a-rose-may-be-rose-but-architectural.html
24.1.2016 – Newsweek (B K)
New Tool Maps Cultural Trail of Destruction Left by Islamic Extremist Groups
http://europe.newsweek.com/cultural-heritage-destruction-map-418618
Comment: See Yemen at this map. Does Saudi Arabia label as an “Islamic Extremist Group”, what it certainly is, also as far as the destruction of objects of culture is concerned?
Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi government
26.1.2016 – Al Araby (A K T)
Yemen: Al-Qaeda captures capital of Lahj for second time
Al-Qaeda's franchise in Yemen has captured Yemen's southern city of al-Houta, a day after the militant group blew up a vacant police station in the city, which was controlled by pro-government forces.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP] fighters took back al-Houta, the capital of the southern Lahj province, on Monday, after storming the public institutions in the city.
"Al-Qaeda have taken full control of al-Houta. Security and government forces in Lahj province have broken-down because of escalating tensions over the past few days," a local source told The New Arab.
On Sunday, suspected al-Qaeda militants blew up a police station in al-Houta hours after a high ranking security official visited the location.
The militants have also taken over neighbouring Abyan province's Zinjibar and Jaar districts, about 50 kilometres east of Aden.
Al-Houta lies between Aden, the government's temporary capital, and the strategic al-Anad airbase.
25.1.2016 – A P (A P)
Yemen's PM returns to Aden; Saudi airstrikes kill civilians
The Yemeni prime minister and his Cabinet returned on Monday to the volatile southern port city of Aden, months after he was targeted in a suicide bombing that forced them to leave the country.
Khaled Bahah's return is aimed at establishing a permanent government presence in Aden, officials in his office said, even as the country is torn apart by civil war. The officials didn't provide more information.
Comment: How often this government already has “returned” to Aden? They are not able to assure security and safety even in their capital city.
25.1.2016 – Almasdar (* B P)
The rise of Al-Islah extremists in Yemen
The Muslim Brotherhood linked Al-Islah Party is on the rise in Yemen. Al-Islah is taking advantage of the instability to amass as much political control as possible. The party has positioned themselves as an important player in the war forming its own militias and playing a dominate role in the so called “Popular Resistance.”
Its strength has been growing in cities such as Taiz, Aden, Beihan, Ab Dali and Marib. Taiz in particular is now under effective occupation by Al-Islah’s Islamist militias. The Aden based government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi has been unable or unwilling to effectively respond to the danger posed by Al-Islah. Hadi seems set on attempting to appease the group to garner its cooperation. He even recently handed over the governorship of Taiz to Ali al-Maamari a move that was emphatically welcomed by Al-Islah supporters.
Hadi is desperate for manpower and seems more often than not to be delegating power to Al-Islah and counting on them to bolster his forces. One of Al-Islah’s leading figures Major General Ali Mohsen al Ahmar has emerged as one of Hadi’s top field commanders.
Hadi’s government has also announced this week that they will start incorporating Al-Islah fighters into their official army. This will surely give Al-Islah even further legitimacy and leverage within Hadi’s government. In addition to its growing influence within Yemen, Al-Islah’s regional support is expanding. Qatar and Turkey see the party as their ideological partner and are assisting the groups actives.
http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/25490/
24.1.2016 – Yemen News Today (A T)
From Haykel Banafa: "Al Qaeda militants blow up security HQ in Lahj province. This is UAE/Saudi-liberated Yemen."
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1091252201027270
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
Siehe unter “Am wichtigsten” / Look at “Most important”
26.1.2016 – CNBC (A P)
Malaysia attorney general: Saudi royal family gave Najib $681M 'personal donation'
Saudi Arabia's royal family gave Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak a $681 million gift, Malaysia's attorney general has revealed, ending months of speculation about the source of the huge personal donation.
"There was no reason given as to why the donation was made to PM Najib, that is between him and the Saudi family," Reuters reported the attorney general as saying.
Dow Jones reported that the AG also told the press conference that Najib returned $620 million of the cash to his Saudi donor as it "wasn't utilized."
Comment: That looks like the Saudis try to buy everybody. Well, this man’s price was a little bit higher than others. Hillary Clinton got only $ 10 billion for her Clinton Foundation (see below). Somewhat cheaper.
Comment: Who on earth would Saudi Arabia give the PM of Malaysia a personal gift of $681million with no strings attached? This seems rather fishy to me.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1091996397619517
23.1.2016 – Arab News (D)
Food wasted in Makkah enough to feed millions going hungry globally
The food wasted in Makkah could feed 17 percent of hungry children in 18 developing countries, said a press report Friday. There are an estimated 4.8 million
starving children in Africa, Asia and Latin American countries, said Ahmad Al-Matrafi, director general of a charity food project in Makkah.
Al-Matrafi said that food wasted at an average wedding was sufficient to feed at least 250 people.
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/869206
23.1.2016 – Near Eastern Outlook (** B P)
Saudi Arabia is on the Brink of Regime Change
It seems that Saudi Arabia has started to undergo the transformation various experts predicted. Those became obvious when the sitting king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud replaced his deceased elder brother Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in January 2015, and made a number of quite unusual arrangements within the ruling elite, appointing the head of the Ministry of Interior Muhammad bin Nayef from Abdullah’s clan the Crown Prince, while his 33-year-old son Mohammad bin Salman Al Saudfrom the Sudairy clan received the appointment of Deputy Crown Prince. Even back then it was clear that within a short period of time the king would try to hand over all power in the country to his own son by sidestepping Muhammad bin Nayef, while he himself would retire due to Alzheimer’s disease, becoming sort of a “king-father” with no real power, but with the right to an advisory vote on important decisions.
Now it seems that the wheels of the political machine are moving again. Last week reports from Riyadh indicated that his disease is taking a toll on the king and he wants to renounce his reign in favor of the Crown Prince.
Now the highly respected Institute for Gulf Affairs is stating that the king of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is preparing to renounce the throne in favor of his son Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, and has since brought his country to the brink of a disaster.
It means that the 80-year-old Salman is trying desperately hard to persuade his brothers on the succession board to allow him to change the principle of succession of the Saudi throne, since he’s ready to leave, but not so ready for his nephew Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud to rule the country. What the king has been doing is allegedly done “only for the sake of the stability of the kingdom.” Although the reality of the situation is clear – should Salman retain his position, the disintegration of the kingdom is imminent, with certain Shia areas breaking away, while the regions on the border with Yemen which are mostly populated by Yemeni tribes, more than happy to return home.
And the fact that there’s a growing crisis in Saudi Arabia was evident from the cuts in subsidies and bonuses that king Salman started at the beginning of this year to reduce the country’s total dependence on oil.
So we are to learn pretty soon should Riyadh choose the path of the utter and complete collapse of the kingdom, or the path of giving power to the young and pragmatic technocrats who are going to pursue a comprehensive oil policy. Either way, Saudi Arabia will be forced to put an end to the costly military adventures in Syria and Yemen as well as its confrontations with Russia and Iran – by Peter Lvov
http://journal-neo.org/2016/01/23/saudi-arabia-is-on-the-brink-of-regime-change/
22.1.2016 – Near Eastern Outlook (**B P)
The Sinking Ship of the US-Saudia Alliance
Highly notable as well as the most important change gradually taking place in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia’s gradual movement away from the US-led “constellation” of Petro-States.” The US-Iran nuke deal and the consequent partial change of heart of the US over the Syrian crisis have certainly greatly ‘flooded’ the otherwise strongly built ship of the US-Saudia alliance, putting it in a position where its sinking is not altogether impossible.
Notwithstanding various defence contracts worth millions of dollars recently agreed to between both countries, the US-Saudia relations have (negatively) transformed just as they have been transforming ever since the establishment of their alliance in 1930s.
The US-Iran nuke deal in the current context has therefore now turned out to be the end of that ‘logic’ which had been keeping the both countries together. An era of relative isolation for the House of Saud is not only on the horizon but also looking gloomy because the House may not just be able to maintain its regional as well as domestic position without the support of those who had been mentoring its ever since its creation in the mid-1920s.
The fact of the matter is that with Iran and the US reaching a deal on a decade long outstanding nuclear issue, the House of Saud has started to face the prospects of “abandonment.” While for the US, this change of heart vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia and Iran was crucial in the context of the US’ own changing policy towards the Middle East, for Saudi Arabia, it is a matter of paramount significance because it involves not only a thorough re-assessment of its own foreign policy but also reaching out to those countries it had fought against in the past. Outstanding among those are Russia and Israel.
Therefore, the best option for the House of Saud continues to be the United States of America and its alliance with domestic as well regional Sunni population. Execution of a Shia cleric was, in this context, a part of a well thought out plan. It was quite obvious that this particular execution would ignite sectarianism in the region. However, what Saudi Arabia stands to gain the most from out of this chaos is precisely this sectarian fallout. Consider this: a row with Iran is not a problem so much as an opportunity. The royals in Riyadh most likely believe that it will allow them to stop dissent at home, shore up support among the Sunni majority and bring regional as well as global allies to their side at a time when they are facing a resurgent Iran, a militarily and politically stringent Syria and an uncompromising and unbending Houthi uprising in Yemen.
By invoking a sectarian wave of sentiments across the Gulf, the House of Saud is, ironically speaking, not adding strength to the sinking ship of its alliance with the US. On the contrary, this seems to have left an exactly opposite impact. That is to say, instead of enabling the House of Saud to revamp its relations with its global allies, who also happen to include some of the biggest buyers of its oil, this ‘war of words’ with Iran has put them in a difficult position, who are trying, as far as their interests are concerned, to wean Iran as much away from Russia as possible it access to its markets.
In this context, the Saudis seem to have calculated that invocation of sectarian sentiments in the region stands to give them more power than mere assurances from the U.S. possibly can. From the Saudi point of view, these benefits outweighed the damage done to its relationship with Shia Iran and the U.S. As developments taking place inside and outside Saudia indicate, wars in Syria and Yemen and the spillover they generate have produced a general mobilization of the Middle East’s Shiites, being led as they are by Iran. And that includes the Shiites in the Saudi kingdom too. Officials in private and press reports occasionally have noted that hundreds of Saudi security service personnel have been killed and wounded in operations in the Eastern Province, the home to the vast majority of the kingdom’s Shiites.
And, as far as the Saudi perspective is concerned, the burden of this failure lies on the U.S., which they believe has turned its back on its traditional allies in the Middle East. They also tend to believe that the U.S. is doing the least it can in Iraq, and effectively nothing in Libya and Syria, with the result that none of those conflicts is getting better for them. Hence, the question: how long will the House of Saud and the U.S continue to maintain a semblance of alliance when that alliance has, for all practical reasons, suffered some unprecedented fractures and when gloomy shadows loom large over the prospects of its recovery? It has already started to become sufficiently clear that the common interests that bind the United States and Saudi Arabia together are not getting the better of the conflicting interests pushing their ship apart piece by piece – by Salman Rafi Sheikh
http://journal-neo.org/2016/01/22/the-sinking-ship-of-the-us-saudia-alliance/ = http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2016/01/the-sinking-ship-of-the-us-saudia-alliance-3284236.html
USA
Siehe unter „Am wichtigsten“ / See at „Most important“
25.1.2016 – Telepolis (* A P)
Saudi-Arabien und USA: Beste Freunde
Trotz einiger Unstimmigkeiten arbeiten CIA und Saudi-Arabien weiter zusammen, um syrische Rebellen zu bewaffnen und auszubilden
Die Zusammenarbeit reicht bis in die 1970er Jahre zurück, als Saudi-Arabien amerikanischen Interessen in Afrika diente, beispielsweise in Angola. Auch in der Iran-Contra-Affäre spielten die Saudis eine wichtige Rolle. Im Kalten Krieg unterstützte die CIA während der Präsidentschaft Ronald Reagans die rechten Contra-Milizen gegen die linke Regierung der Sandinisten, indem 1985/1986 das Geld aus dem Kokain-Schmuggel und aus Waffenverkäufen an den eigentlich verfeindeten Iran zu deren Unterstützung verwendet wurden. Saudi-Arabien unterstützte mit Millionen die Contras, auch noch dann, als die USA bereits die Zahlung eingestellt hatte.
Seit 2013 haben die Saudis, die letztes Jahr zudem einen Krieg gegen die aufständischen Huthis im Jemen begonnen haben, Geld und Waffen für die Rebellen geliefert, die von der CIA für den Kampf ausgebildet werden. Die Kooperation zeigt erneut die engen Bande zwischen den USA und dem autoritären Regime Saudi-Arabiens, ungeachtet der saudischen Verbindungen zu Terrorgruppen und terroristischen Ideologien, der globalen Förderung des Salafismus, der im IS-Stil praktizierten Exekutionen und anderer Menschenrechtsverletzungen oder der Unterdrückung jeder Opposition. Wie stets in der Vergangenheit wird auf den Feind des Feindes gesetzt, der in diesem Fall noch über Maßen reich ist, auch wenn die Abhängigkeit der USA vom saudischen Öl zuletzt verschwunden ist und der abgestürzte Ölpreis auch die Saudis schwer getroffen hat.
Die New York Times hat versucht, in Gesprächen mit Informanten aus der US-Regierung und aus der Region das Ausmaß der Zusammenarbeit bei der Unterstützung syrischer Rebellen aufzuklären.
Nach Schätzungen haben die Saudis mehrere Milliarden US-Dollar in die Bewaffnung und Ausbildung der ihnen genehmen syrischen Rebellen gesteckt. Dazu kommen Gelder von Katar, Jordanien und der Türkei. Allerdings konnte die New York Times wenig Neues herausbekommen, die Verschwiegenheit ist groß, der Zusammenhalt der saudischen und amerikanischen Regierungen eng.
Wenn nicht direkt, so fördert die Verbindung Saudi-Arabien und CIA indirekt über die Unterstützung der islamistischen Gruppen Jaish al-Islam und Ahrar al-Sham auch die al-Qaida nahe Al Nusra, die mit beiden kooperiert. Man wird auch vermuten dürfen, dass viel Geld geflossen ist, als die Washington Post einen Kommentar von Ahrar al-Sham im Juli 2015 veröffentlichte (vgl. Salontauglicher Dschihad). Was wiederum den Filz zwischen Riad und Washington offenbart – von Florian Rötzer
http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/47/47206/1.html
25.1.2016 – Sputnik News (A P)
Citing Terrorism Concerns, John Kerry Supports Saudi Bloodbath in Yemen
US Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed his support for Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen, a conflict that has killed over 2,400 civilians. As justification, the secretary reiterated false claims that Riyadh is battling al-Qaeda
Kerry claimed that the war was necessary since it is partially aimed at targeting "al-Qaeda operatives." Those motivations are highly suspect, however, given that Riyadh failed to go after al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) during the first nine months of fighting.
In April, the Saudi government also looked the other way as AQAP seized the port city of al Mukalla. By gaining control of the central bank, the terrorist group gained over $17 billion from the city’s capture.
In addition, Kerry cited the need to combat Iranian "interference."
"The United States remains concerned about some of the activities that Iran is engaged in other countries," he told reporters.
Riyadh has provided little evidence to suggest that Tehran is providing any assistance to Houthi rebels in Yemen.
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160125/1033695021/kerry-support-saudi-yemen-campaign.html
25.1.2016 – The American Conservative (* B P)
10 Months of the U.S.-Backed War on Yemen
As if to show how meaningless the administration’s “concern” about Yemeni civilian casualties is, John Kerry was in Saudi Arabia this weekend to affirm U.S. support for the relationship with Riyadh and its Gulf allies and their unnecessary war on Yemen.
This is hardly the first time that Kerry has endorsed the Saudi-led coalition’s war, but it’s a useful reminder that the U.S. fully supports the intervention and has been assisting the Saudis and their allies in wrecking the country for the last ten months. The misleading way that Kerry framed U.S. support for the war was also telling:
In Yemen, we face the Houthi insurgency and the ongoing threat that is posed by al-Qaida, threats to the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we have made it clear that we stand with our friends in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-led coalition has not only allowed the ongoing threat posed by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to grow worse while they are preoccupied with fighting the Houthis, but there were instances earlier in the war in which the forces they supported in Yemen fought alongside AQAP. The war on Yemen has helped make the threat from AQAP greater than it was, and by supporting that war the U.S. has made the region less secure. The U.S. was never threatened by the Houthis in any way, and yet out of a misguided desire to “reassure” the Saudis the administration has made them and millions of other Yemenis our enemies. Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity was only threatened when it launched its intervention. The Saudis and their allies are absolutely not acting in self-defense, and when Kerry claims otherwise he is lying. Kerry and other U.S. officials certainly have made it clear that the U.S. is siding with the Saudis, but all their reasons for doing so are risible.
On Sunday, Kerry went even further by declaring that the U.S.-Saudi relationship was stronger than ever. Possibly the most delusional thing Kerry said in his remarks to the U.S. embassy staff in Riyadh was this:
Saudi Arabia is committed to work with us in the effort to try to stabilize Syria and calm down this hyped-up, exploited division between Sunni and Shia.
In light of the Saudis’ sectarian propaganda related to the war on Yemen, its execution of Shia dissidents, and its support for extreme Sunni groups in Syria, this is obviously nonsense. The Saudis aren’t committed to calming down sectarian divisions in the region. They are deliberately stoking them, and the U.S. is foolishly helping them to do it – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/10-months-of-the-u-s-backed-war-on-yemen/
16.1.2016 – Telesur (* B H)
The Crisis in Yemen Demands Humanitarian Non-Intervention
The United States must impose a no-fly zone to protect civilian lives.
What’s happening in Yemen today would shock the so-called world community’s conscience were that “community” of North American and Western European nations actually paying attention—and were its leaders in possession of the ability to care for people dying on land that is not on top of an ocean of oil.
Strongly worded form letters, petitions and sparsely attended candlelight vigils won’t cut it: The world, beginning and possibly ending with the United States, needs to act now to stop the bombs that are being dropped from the sky and slaughtering men, women and children with impunity. Though often wrong, in this case the policy preferred by many a liberal interventionist is more than justified and ought to be pursued without controversy: The U.S. government must ground the airforce responsible for so much destruction in Yemen by imposing a no-fly zone—and it can and should do so unilaterally.
The world community that prides itself on its commitment to humanitarian rhetoric has said barely a word, however, so now it is time we, the powerless humanitarians, make a demand of those in power: An immediate grounding of the aircraft responsible for the majority of deaths over the last 10 months.
“Ah, indeed,” says the ever alert hate-reader. “You Yankee imperialist pig-dog. I knew to what end all this performative ‘caring’ would ultimately lead: ‘Humanitarian’ war crimes on behalf of your Anglo-Zionist paymasters at the World Bank and Major League Soccer, which has been trying to infiltrate the Yemeni market for years.”
A+ rhetoric, I dare say, but the intervention for which I and others of conscience call for does not involve any U.S. aircraft in Yemen’s skies dropping bombs, but instead: the opposite of that.
In September, The New York Times reported that “the Pentagon is finalizing a US$1 billion arms agreement with Saudi Arabia that will provide weapons for the Saudi war effort against the Islamic State and Yemen.” A pedant might note that the Islamic State group is a defined, specific entity, while Yemen is a country—in this case, a reporter’s ambiguous grammar hints at a greater truth. And in this case, a humanitarian intervention can be achieved simply by not rearming a belligerent party. “Administration officials,” the Times reported, “said the sale to the Saudis primarily comprised missiles that would fit the F-15 fighter jets Saudi Arabia previously bought from the United States.”
Stop it. Stop doing that—and achieve a cease-fire, perhaps, by depriving an arson of more firepower.
It’s not just the arming that needs to stop. Those U.S. missiles, fitted to U.S. planes, are also being launched with the political cover and on-the-ground help of U.S. officials. The administration of Barack Obama “has supported the Saudi war effort by providing intelligence and logistical support,” the New York Times reported. Though that report came right after an airstrike that killed upwards of 70 civilians—another wedding—the paper noted that the U.S. “has avoided any direct public rebuke of the Saudis.”
In the United States and Europe, “humanitarian intervention” typically entails the dropping of more ordinance, often exacerbating whatever humanitarian crisis U.S. policymakers ostensibly aim to address. Opponents are also accused, often unfairly, of proposing that nothing at all be done, the only options presented being military action or acquiescence to an ongoing horror—which, truth be told, is not all that bad a proposal when the alternative suggested is making the truly horrible absolutely horrific.
In a world dominated by amoral nation-states, it’s at least understandable, if not necessarily right, that even those on the left who purport to be better humanitarians than the bomb-dropping sort perceive calls for solidarity—or, even more dastardly, “doing something”—to be akin to a call for war crimes to be compounded by war crimes. So long as states as we know them exist, and until there’s a world where internationalist brigades of bleeding-heart socialists are willing to risk having their blood shed to beat back the forces of reaction and counter-revolution, it may at some point be the lesser evil for one of those nation-states to employ force, however cynical and self-interested the stated “humanitarian” motivation may be.
The good and awful thing about the conflict in Yemen is that this is a conflict that requires no such debate, nor a Marxist-Leninist peacekeeping force that does not exist. There’s no cause for debate nor ideological confusion among the skeptics of intervention: The U.S. can “intervene” and do something good for the world by doing less, and ideally none, of what it is doing now and ceasing to do what it has before. Before the current conflict, for instance, the U.S. and its ally Saudi Arabia backed Yemen’s dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh; when the Arab Spring broke out in 2011, Saleh’s outside backers responded to the unrest by naming his vice president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, the country’s new leader—an internationally imposed solution that pleased no one, including the Houthi rebels who decided to ally with their former enemy, and the country’s former dictator, to kick out his successor.
Unable to correct past imperial errors, the Obama administration can today act to ground the Saudi air force by refusing to restock it with weapons and spare parts. It can impose a “no-fly zone” unilaterally without even offending the world’s multilateral organizations, saving lives and its own duplicitous face by ceasing to continue what it’s done so far.
That it hasn’t already, enabling instead the Saudis to fight their disastrous little war as a way of showing the Kingdom it hasn’t been replaced in America’s heart by its de facto ally in Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, is arguably more damning than support for bombing that is the product of conviction or material interest. “The United States wants Saudi … support for the Iran nuclear deal, and the price is to back them in their war against Yemen,” Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official now at the Brookings Institution, recently told The Daily Beast.
A jury may look with some pity on the criminal who burned down the barn because they were convinced it was full of demons, perhaps, but to claim you did it to impress a friend—and the barn was full of men, women and children who were already near starvation? Should the developing world after attain its rightful place in the “world community,” U.S. officials would do well to come up with something else before their appearance at The Hague – by Charles Davies
Großbritannien / Great Britain
25.1.2016 – British Government, Department for International Development (* A P)
Greening: new aid for Yemen
UK provides essential medical supplies, food assistance and thermal blankets as humanitarian crisis worsens
A new £10 million emergency support package will provide much needed help for Yemenis caught in one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, International Development Secretary Justine Greening has announced.
The UK has more than doubled its life-saving humanitarian assistance to Yemen over the last year, with new funding bringing the total to £85 million for 2015/16.
The new aid, which will go to UN and NGO delivery partners on the ground, will include:
critical medical supplies and rehabilitation of health centres to improve the health of children – with 320,000 children suffering severe malnutrition
emergency food assistance and protection of livestock to help people facing critical food shortages, of whom there are now 7.6 million
thermal blankets to keep displaced families warm during winter – as 2.5 million people have been displaced by fighting
treatment for potentially fatal diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and malaria
facilitation of essential commercial supplies entering Yemen by sea
International Development Secretary Justine Greening said:
As the humanitarian crisis in Yemen continues to worsen, we do not have a moment to lose in tackling the shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies that threaten millions of lives.
The UK is leading the way in responding to the crisis by committing an additional £10 million. So far our support has helped more than one million people, providing vital food, water, medical supplies, healthcare and emergency shelter.
Boosting our support will save even more lives but UK support alone cannot stem this crisis. I urge the international community to step up and do their bit to prevent a worsening disaster. We also urge all parties to engage in good faith in the peace talks, which are vital to achieving the sustainable political solution that Yemen desperately needs to resolve the crisis and improve the humanitarian situation.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/greening-new-aid-for-yemen
Comment: This is just twisted looking at the close alliance of Britain – and this government in special – with Saudi Arabia, looking at the close military and political support of Britain for Saudi bombing of Yemen in this war. Britain is contributing to Saudi killing, destroying and starving out by blockade, and then afterwards giving such “help” to palliate a little bit the disaster caused by oneself – and making statements like this, ranting of “we do not have a moment to lose in tackling the shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies that threaten millions of lives” (while we blockade), of “The UK is leading the way in responding to the crisis” (by committing bombs and airplanes), “Boosting our support will save take even more lives but UK support alone cannot stem this crisis” (the Saudis are supporting us in achieving that).
25.1.2016 – Buzzfeed (* B P)
Charity Voices Anger After Coalition Supported By Britain Bombs Hospitals In Yemen
Last week the UK’s foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said the government hadn’t found any “deliberate” breaches of humanitarian law – implying the bombings of medical facilities were accidents.
His statement has provoked outrage within the charity.
Hawkins told BuzzFeed News: “The UK is assisting in the deliberate construction of a narrative that creates a climate of impunity by just dismissing these attacks as mistakes. MSF is calling on the UK government to reiterate its full support to international humanitarian law (IHL), including within any coalition that it supports. We are urging the UK government to support full and transparent investigations into any possible breaches of international humanitarian law.”
Joanne Liu, international president of MSF, said: “Is this the new normal: an MSF hospital bombed every month? How many other hospitals are being attacked in Yemen and other conflict zones, run by medical staff who do not have the platform that MSF does to speak out?”
Raquel Ayora, MSF director of operations, said: “This implies that mistakenly bombing a protected hospital would be tolerable. This logic is offensive and irresponsible.” – by Alan White
Deutschland / Germany
25.1.2016 – Spiegel Online (* A K P)
Sigmar Gabriel und Saudi-Arabien: Reden ist Silber, Waffen sind Gold
Wirtschaftminister Gabriel lässt den größten aktuellen Rüstungsdeal mit Saudi-Arabien weiterlaufen. Dabei hatte er nach der jüngsten Hinrichtungswelle öffentlichkeitswirksam strengere Regeln für Geschäfte mit den Scheichs gefordert.
In der Realität jedoch zeitigen Gabriels Ankündigung wenig Wirkung. In einer Antwort an die Grünen-Abgeordnete Agnieszka Brugger bestätigte das Wirtschaftsministerium vielmehr vor einigen Tagen, dass der wohl größte laufende Deals mit den Saudis ziemlich ungestört vorangeht. Demnach habe die Lürssen-Werft in Norddeutschland wie geplant mit der Produktion von 15 Patrouillen-Booten für die saudische Marine begonnen, für die deutschen Schnellboote wollen die Saudis rund 1,5 Milliarden Euro zahlen.
Der Schiffsdeal wäre für schärfere Restriktionen geradezu ideal gewesen. Zum einen handelt es sich bei den Patrouillen-Booten um defensive Waffensysteme, bei denen Gabriel ja genauer hinsehen wollte. Zum anderen wurde der Deal erst im Sommer 2015 genehmigt. Trotzdem ist von einem Veto in dem Papier nicht die Rede. Vielmehr beschränkt sich das Haus von Gabriel auf die Standardformulierung, man verfolge die Entwicklung in Saudi-Arabien genau und lasse sie "wie bisher" in die Genehmigungspraxis einfließen.
Die grüne Verteidigungsexpertin Brugger wirft Gabriel nach dem Erhalt der Antworten aus seinem Haus nicht weniger als ein Täuschungsmanöver vor – von Matthias Gebauer
Kommentar von JK, Nachdenkseiten: Gabriel ist der lebendige Beweis, dass der Mensch auch ohne Rückgrat existieren kann. Gabriel wechselt Meinungen und Standpunkte wie andere Leute ihre Hemden. Man fragt sich allerdings woher Gabriel die Überzeugung hernimmt, dass man ihn überhaupt noch irgendetwas glaubt? Man sollte das gesagte aber nun nicht als reine Frotzelei wegwischen. Wie die vergangenen Massenhinrichtungen gezeigt haben ist Saudi-Arabien eines der brutalsten Regime weltweit. Die Bundesregierung inklusive des sogenannten Vizekanzlers störte sich daran bisher wenig.
Man kann nicht Assad als brutalen Diktator schmähen und jede Verhandlung zur Beendigung des syrischen Bürgerkriegs mit ihm ablehnen, aber auf der anderen Seite die saudischen Herrscher mit Rüstungsgüter beliefern. Gerade dann nicht, wenn Saudi-Arabien diverse radikale Islamistenmilizen in Syrien unterstützt und so den syrischen Bürgerkrieg weiter am laufen hält, was wiederum dazu führt, dass immer mehr Menschen zur Flucht getrieben werden. Ob Gabriel solche Kausalitäten überhaupt zugänglich sind?
http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=30580#h09
25.1.2016 – Neues Deutschland (A K P)
Saudi-Arabien bekommt 15 Patrouillenboote
Bundeswirtschaftsminister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) hält einen Verkauf von 15 deutschen Patrouillenbooten an Saudi-Arabien für unproblematisch und lässt den Deal weiterlaufen. Eine Ministeriumssprecherin erklärte am Montag in Berlin, die saudische Marine benötige die Boote für den Schutz seiner Küsten und Seeanlagen sowie die Abwehr von Piraterie. Der SPD- Vorsitzende Sigmar Gabriel habe mehrfach deutlich gemacht, dass er nach Saudi-Arabien keine offensiven Waffen wie Kampfpanzer oder G36-Gewehre liefern werde. Davon unterschieden werden müssten aber defensive Waffensysteme, die nicht geeignet seien, die eigene Bevölkerung zu unterdrücken oder aggressiv gegen Nachbarstaaten vorzugehen, so die Sprecherin.
Kommentar: Das ist vollkommen irre. Sigmar Gabriel, ein Politiker, der die Prinzipienlosigkeit zu seinem Prinzip erhoben hat. Da werden die Saudis kritisiert, wenn die Stimmung in Deutschland gerade gegen sie ist, so kann man in der Öffentlichkeit Punkte machen. Dann weiter Rüstungsdeals mit den Saudis machen, das reichlich schwachsinnig mit „defensiven Waffensystemen“ begründen. Von Waffensystemen jeder Art haben die Saudis für die nächsten 100 Jahre genug. Und die angeblich „defensiven Waffensysteme“ in Form von Patrouillenbooten sind ideal dazu geeignet, die Blockade des nördlichen Jemen zu verbessern, und das Land von Lebensmitteln, medizinischem Bedarf, Treibstoff (was für viele Regionen heißt: von Trinkwasser) abzuschneiden. Gabriel, der Hungerkünstler der besonderen Art (der lässt andere hungern).
27.1.2016 - Blauer Bote (B K)
Verwundete VAE-Soldaten aus dem Jemen-Krieg werden in Deutschland versorgt
Laut Gulf News werden in Jemen verwundete Soldaten aus den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten in deutschen Kliniken versorgt. In dem Artikel mit dem Titel “UAE troops wounded in Yemen assured full support” heißt es zum Besuch eines VAE-Prinzen:
“Chief of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court visits soldiers in hospital in Germany […] Shaikh Hamed visited wounded soldiers at Vivantes, Godeshohe and BGU Murnau hospitals in Berlin, Bonn and Munich respectively.”
Bereits im Ukraine-Krieg hatte Deutschland Soldaten einer kriegsführenden Partei versorgt. Damals wurden neben regulären Soldaten der Kiewer Regierung auch Kämpfer der sogenannten “Nationalgarde” in deutschen Krankenhäusern gepflegt.
25.1.2016 – Gulf News (B K)
UAE troops wounded in Yemen assured full support
Chief of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court visits soldiers in hospital in Germany
Shaikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, has visited UAE Armed Forces’ personnel who were wounded while taking part in the Saudi-led Arab Coalition’s Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen and are receiving treatment in German hospitals.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/uae-troops-wounded-in-yemen-assured-full-support-1.1659845
Kommentar: Die jemenitischen Kinder, die durch unsere westlichen Waffen im Jemen zerstümmelt werden, kommen nicht in unsere deutschen Krankenhäuser. Stattdessen diejenigen, die dabei (am Boden) mitmachen.
Frankreich / France
8.5.2015 – Consortium News (** B P)
Saudi Cash Wins France’s Favor
Saudi Arabia wields enormous influence in the West not only because of its oil power but also its ability to lavish billions of dollars or euros on sophisticated weapons systems, a bonanza of cash that has turned the head of French President Hollande, writes Jonathan Marshall.
https://consortiumnews.com/2015/05/08/saudi-cash-wins-frances-favor/ = http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/french-francois-hollande-arms-merchant-or-why-france-embraces-saudi-slaughter-in-yemen/
Schweiz / Switzerland
26.1.2016 – TagesAnzeiger (** B P)
Mit Schweizer Panzern gegen die Demokratie
Im Nahen Osten hat sich die politische Gewalt in letzter Zeit verstärkt konfessionalisiert. Unter Führung Saudiarabiens und des Iran spitzen sich die Konflikte zwischen Sunniten und Schiiten zu. Etwa ein Viertel aller militärischen Güter, welche die Schweiz in den letzten zehn Jahren exportierte, gingen in die sunnitischen Golfstaaten. Allein Saudiarabien bezog Waffen in der Höhe von zwei Milliarden Franken. Nichts geliefert wurde in die beiden Staaten mit schiitischer Mehrheit, den Iran und den Irak, was hier keineswegs kritisiert werden soll.
Problematisch ist etwas anderes: Während die eine Seite – zu Recht – boykottiert wird, wird die Gegenseite aufgerüstet. Hochsymbolisch ist die Zerschlagung der Demokratiebewegung in Bahrain durch die saudische Armee mit schweizerischen Mowag-Panzern. Mit ihrer Intervention schützte Saudiarabien eine sunnitische Tyrannei vor ihren mehrheitlich schiitischen Untertanen. Seit letztem Sommer ist bekannt, dass die Saudis Mowag-Panzer an der Grenze zum Jemen stationiert haben, um allenfalls gegen die schiitischen Huthi vorzugehen. Die saudischen Kampfpiloten, von denen diese seit Monaten bombardiert werden, wurden und werden mit PC-21 aus Stans ausgebildet. 2012 verkauften die Pilatus-Werke der saudischen Armee 55 Trainingsflugzeuge, die zusätzlich für Einsätze gegen die schiitische Minderheit im eigenen Land geeignet sind.
Selbstverständlich hat die schweizerische Rüstungsindustrie die sunnitischen Golfstaaten nicht aus konfessionellen Gründen einseitig bevorzugt. Sie huldigt ausschliesslich dem Goldenen Kalb, und das steht über den Religionen. Es steht aber auch über der Neutralität. Deshalb sind die Waffenexporte nicht nur ein friedenspolitisches, sondern auch ein neutralitätspolitisches Problem.
Wenn die Schweiz ihren Ruf als neutrales Land behalten und die friedenspolitischen Chancen, welche die Neutralität bietet, wahren will, muss sie den Waffenexport stoppen. In einem sofortigen ersten Schritt in die Golfstaaten und den ganzen Nahen und Mittleren Osten. Der politische Preis, den die Schweiz wegen ihrer Waffengeschäfte zahlt, steht in keinem Verhältnis zum geringen wirtschaftlichen Nutzen – von Josef Lang, Historiker und Vizepräsident der Grünen Schweiz
Flüchtlinge / Refugees
26.1.2016 – Yemen News (A K)
African migrants reportedly forcibly recruited into Yemen war
Migrants from Africa are reportedly being forcibly recruited to fight for militias in Yemen; that’s according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
http://www.yemennewsgazette.com/african-migrants-reportedly-forcibly-recruited-into-yemen-war/
26.1.2016 – In Terris (** B H)
THE EXODUS EUROPE DOES NOT SEE
From the other side of the Gulf of Aden, Yemen almost looks like America. A few kilometers of blue sea separate migrants from what they imagine as their promised land, which is often a starting point to reach happier destinations, such as Saudi Arabia. Tens of thousands of people oppressed by war, poverty, hunger, violence, and death, decide travel towards the coast of Yemen on fortuitous boats, with no luggage at all, only with their heart full of dreams and hopes. Yet another exodus that has nothing to do with Europe. They do not cross Libya nor the Balkans. It is the exodus of the invisible people.
Those who depart do not know that Yemen is a country plagued by civil war. This country has become similar to the territories from where the unaware migrants come, only to realize soon that the “journey of hope” is actually an endless nightmare.
One hundred thousand Ethiopians and Somali embarked on the “boats of death” last year, sailing from the ports of Obock (Djibouti) or Bosaso (Somalia).
“People who decide to make this journey do not know what is really happening in Yemen. They are unaware of what they are going to find once they reach their destination, after having faced the dangers of the journey” – explains the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN organization that, together with its international partners, assist migrants both in their countries of origin and in those of destination. Yet, these words fall on deaf ears, because facts show that, despite all efforts to dissuade people from departing, they keep getting on boats and keep dying. A slap in the face of hope.
The crossing is short – 20 km from the closest point of departure and 350 km away from the farthest – but it is the beginning of a true ordeal for the migrants crammed on disintegrating rafts or boats. Packed like animals, they have no water to drink, nor food to eat, and there is no shelter from the sun or the wind. Those who are “lucky” enough reach the other side, arrive exhausted, malnourished, dehydrated, and in a state of shock. It is very likely that women have been abused, deprived of their last shred of dignity.
Once they land in Yemen, those who manage to obtain refugee status find themselves trapped in a burning country, with no possibility to escape or go back. Whereas those who decide to continue their journey towards Saudi Arabia have to cross the desert. During the crossing, the refugees are abused, robbed, and beaten again by the traffickers, whom they entrust their last savings for the chance of a lifetime, the chance to live a life worthy the name.
The journey of other migrants ends much earlier, at sea. – by Edith Driscoll
http://www.interris.it/en/2016/01/26/83919/slap-en/the-exodus-europe-does-not-sea.html
Journalismus / Journalism
25.1.2016 – Middle East Eye (* A K)
Journalists covering Yemen war targeted by all sides
The abduction of an Al Jazeera reporting team in the centre of Taiz has spread fear among journalists
Three Al Jazeera Arabic crew members went missing on 18 January while they were on their way back to their house in the al-Masbah area in the centre of Taiz city, which is completely under the control of the Popular Resistance
Al Jazeera correspondent Hamdi al-Bokari and his crew, photographer Abdulaziz al-Sabri and driver Moneer al-Sabai, are believed to have been kidnapped by a group of Popular Resistance fighters.
A friend of Bokari, who worked with him as a photographer, told Middle East Eye on the condition of anonymity that Bokari and his colleagues were kidnapped around 10pm after having dinner at the house of Abdulstar al-Shamiri, a leader in the Resistance.
"All of us know that the al-Masbah area is far from the Houthis and this area is completely under the control of the Resistance, so the Houthis are innocent of this abduction. The Resistance is the only group responsible for this abduction," Bokari's friend added.
He said that there are more than 10 groups fighting with the Resistance in Taiz, including Salafi fighters and alleged members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The leadership of the Resistance cannot control all of these groups, he added.
"There are disputes starting to emerge among the different groups of the Resistance in Taiz, and this threatens the future of Taiz in general and the journalists in particular, as the different groups will resort to kidnapping journalists and activists, who are under the protection of the leadership of the Resistance," Bokari's friend told MEE.
The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) said that the leadership of the Popular Resistance of Taiz is responsible for the abduction of Bokari and his colleagues given that they were abducted from an area under its control – by Nasser Al-Sakkaf
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/journalists-target-all-warring-sides-yemen-1383506352
25.1.2016 – Reporters without borders (A K)
MOUNTING DANGERS FOR JOURNALISTS IN YEMEN
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the growing dangers for media personnel in Yemen, where a second journalist has been killed in the space of a week as a result of the Saudi-led coalition’s air-strikes and an Al Jazeera reporter has been abducted together with his crew.
Hashem Mohamed Homrane, a reporter for the pro-Houthi TV station Al Masira, died on 22 January from the injuries he received in an air strike the day before in Dhahiane, a town in northern province of Saada. He was only 17.
Al Jazeera said it lost contact with its correspondent in Taiz, Hamdi Al Bokari, on 18 January while he was covering the fighting between rebel and pro-government forces. The TV channel said it feared that Bokari was kidnapped along with Abdelaziz al-Sabri, a reporter for the newspaper Al Masdar, and their driver, Mounir al-Soubai
http://en.rsf.org/yemen-mounting-dangers-for-journalists-25-01-2016,48766.html
Propaganda
25.1.2016 – Asharq Al Awsat (A P)
Officers in Republican Guard Run Network for Smuggling Weapons, Oil
Comment: That there is smuggling of rare goods and that corrupt officers want to take profit from that, will not be a surprise. The connections of Al Kaida to Houthis and Saleh forces are rather doubtful. Off course, Saudi propaganda wants to assert this, even if it is rather impossible. There is extremely sectarian hatred between Al Qaida and Huthis, while Saudis and Al Kaida share ideology and the Saudis in Yemen did no harm to them.
25.1.2016 – Khaleej Tomes (A P)
Saleh has no role in Yemen's future, says minister
Yemen's foreign minister Abdul Malik Al Mikhlafi says Houthi rebels can return and set up a political party after surrendering their arms.
The Yemeni government is ready to hold talks at any place, any time to find out a political solution to the ongoing conflict, country's Foreign Minister Abdul Malik Al Mikhlafi said while addressing media in Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the Arab foreign ministers meeting on Monday.
"The United Nations special envoy to Yemen, Ould Sheikh Ahmed, will leave the capital Sanaa to convince the rebels for talks to boost the process of confidence building," he added.
Al Mikhlafi said the rebels are on the retreat and they will be pushed back to their stronghold Sada.
"Time is not in favour of the rebels as they have been cornered, they have no plan for dialogue following Geneva negotiations. They have no principles for political dialogue," he said. Al Mikhlafi said the ousted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has no future, after the sanctions imposed by United Nations, while the Houthi rebels can return and set up a political party after surrendering their arms.
"The government is ready to provide food and medical supplies and send aid to all areas in the country, and we have noticed that the rebels have taken advantage of the people's need and started selling these supplies in the black market", he added.
"The Yemeni people are well aware that Saleh and the Houthis did not turn against the government in a military coup, but turned against Yemen", he said.
"Houthis arrest all the activists and throw them in jails illegally, and whereabouts of some of those detainees are unknown", he said noting the rebels arrest any activist who expresses his opinion in any means of social network will be held by them, and they arrest thousands of people .
Al Mikhlafi said arms are smuggled to them by Iran and some other groups and figures showed that Al Hudaida seaport works over its capacity, more than before the occupation – by Mustaf Al Zarooni
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/general/saleh-has-no-role-in-yemens-future-says-minister
Comment: The same odd propaganda as always. We want peace negotiations (the last ones, we exploited to make a great offensive). The other side does not want negotiations. The other side must lay down arms (we don’t, then we could smash them). That this is a silly precondition for peace negotiations – doesn’t matter. We want the whole cake. He himself confesses that: Houthis will be “pushed back to their stronghold Sada.” Yes, we are so peaceful and willing to negotiate wherever. The government is “ready to provide food and medical supplies and send aid to all areas in the country”. Don’t be such a stupid liar, as long as there is a Saudi blockade of the whole North of Yemen that not even is hot air what you say. Even the phantom arms smuggled from Iran cannot be omitted. That there is nothing, has been revealed quite often. And so on. This stupid propaganda really is disgusting.
Comment: Personally I think Saleh is yesterday's man - he is a very divisive figure and although his popularity has increased in the old North Yemen except Taiz in this war, there are still so many who really hate him. But in the end it is a decision by Yemeni people I guess. And not just one Yemeni minister. The usual blurb is here about hadi's lot winning and the Houthis losing ground. In truth this is a statemate because just like the Palestinians all the Houthis have to do is breathe to be winning - the other 'side' have used tactics that put the Houthi- Saleh alliance into a strong position. But the Saudis are paying the world to join in their attacks on Yemen - but no- one is benefitting. If only they had put all the money spent on war into Yemen's development and Saudi diversification so that the low oil price would matter less to their economy.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1091645354321288
Another part of this statement is given here:
25.1.2016 – Middle East Monitor (A P)
Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdel Malek Al-Mekhlafi said on Sunday that Houthi rebels have refused to attend a third round of negotiations with a government delegation.
The Yemeni official explained that the Houthi rebels and militias loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh have resorted to military action and escalated the situation. He said this comes at a time when the “legitimate authorities continue to reach out for peace, and had agreed to go to Geneva twice in order to relieve Yemen from darkness”.
Comment: “have resorted to military action and escalated the situation” … who? Saudi air raids? Off course not for Hadi government propaganda. Hadi government “to relieve Yemen from darkness” – that is odd, really.
Saudischer Luftkrieg / Saudi aerial war
25.1.2015 – Der Standard (A K)
Jemen: Saudischer Luftangriff tötet Richter und seine Familie
Bei einem Luftangriff im Jemen sind ein ranghoher Richter und sieben seiner Angehörigen getötet worden. "Richter Jahia Mohammed Rabia, sein Sohn sowie drei Frauen und drei Kinder wurden getötet, als eine Rakete ihr Haus traf", sagte dessen Neffe Ahmed Mohammed Mohammed am Montag vor den Trümmern des Wohngebäudes in Sanaa, das in der Nacht bei einem Angriff der von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Militärkoalition zerstört worden ist. Sein Onkel sei Präsident eines auf "Terrorfälle" spezialisierten Gerichts gewesen. Zahlreiche mutmaßliche Mitglieder der Terrororganisation Al-Kaida seien von den Richtern verurteilt worden.
http://derstandard.at/2000029741176/Jemen-Saudi-Luftangriff-toetet-Richter-und-seine-Familie
Kommentar: Dieser Richter saß einem Gerichtshof vor, der (in Abwesenheit) gegen Präsident Hadi verhandelte. Sicher ein politischer Prozess und ein Mittel der Propaganda der Huthis, wobei Hadi ohne Zweifel auch genug Dreck am Stecken hatte. Somit war dieser Angriff klar ein politischer Mord – mit den üblichen Kollateralschäden. Richter zu sein, macht einen nicht zu einem legitimen Ziel. Die saudischen Auslassungen zu diesem Fall sind absolut lächerlich (s. unten)
25.1.2016 – Middle East Eye (A K)
Saudi-led coalition strike kills Yemen judge and 7 family members
A senior judge in Yemen has been killed along with several members of his family by a Saudi-led coalition air strike in the capital Sanaa
A Saudi-led coalition strike killed a senior Yemeni judge and seven members of his family at their home in the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa, one of his relatives said on Monday.
"Judge Yehia Mohammed Rubaid, his son, three women, and three children where killed when a missile hit their home," his nephew Ahmed Mohammed told reporters.
Speaking in front of the debris of the destroyed house in central Sanaa, Mohammed said the attack was carried out overnight by coalition jets, which have been pounding rebels almost daily since March last year.
He said his uncle had presided over a court specialising in "terrorism cases" which tries suspects accused of links to Al-Qaeda.
Comment: This judge was head of a court leading a process against “president” Hadi who off course isabsent from Sanaa. Whatever one might think of such a process under Huthi rule – it is clear that this attack just was made because of Rubaids function in this process. Being a judge does not make you a legitimate target. This judge is a very strange military target. The Saudi coalition once more is protecting a “legitimate” president by an illegitimate war crime.
25.1.2016 – Alalam (A K PH)
VIDEO: Saudis Massacred a Yemeni Judge and 7 Members of His Family
Saudi Arabia’s warplanes have killed a Yemeni judge and six members of his family in the Yemeni capital Sana’a while bombarding various regions across the impoverished country.
Saudi fighter jets attacked the judge’s house in Hay al-Nahzah in Sanna district on Sunday, Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah news website reported, adding that several others sustained injuries.
The warplanes carried out at least seven airstrikes on the central province of Marib, two strikes on the southwestern province of Taizz and five strikes on the northwestern Hajjah province.
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1782761 see also http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160125/1033658032/saudi-led-coalitions-airstrike.html
Comment: The video does not show the massacre at the judge and his family. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXxRF3-tRHc (Graphic!)
Comment by Judith Brown: The home of a prominent judge, Judge Yehiya Rubaid was struck by air to ground missiles as Saudi led coalition jets were fired on the house which is located in a civilian neighborhood in the capital, Sanaa. The judge who was presiding over the proceedings against deposed president Hadi was killed with his wife, his son, his daughter-in-law and three of his grandchildren. Another one of his sons seen here and his pregnant wife are reported to be in critical condition. This is clearly a political assassination, and the targeting of his family is a collective punishment.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154058013698641
25.1.2016 – CNN (A K)
Yemen judge killed in airstrike by Saudi-led coalition
Saudi coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asseri denied claims that the airstrike targeted the home and civilians.
"We do not target homes. We are looking for Scud missiles. We always confirm, we do not attack residential sites. We attack storage," Asseri told CNN by telephone.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/25/world/yemen-judge-killed-airstrike/index.html
Comment: The Saudi statements on their attack are rather absurd lies – odd, but a sort of bloody oddness.
Comment: Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Assiri, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition spins more lies by saying 'we do not attack residential areas'. Footage coming out of Sanaa and many other towns and villages in the north of the country confirm beyond a doubt, that the coalition has been bombing indiscriminately with no regard what-so-ever to civilian lives!
Twenty-eight Adeni officials killed by militants in the so-called 'liberated' southern port city and temporary capital Aden. How legitimate can Hadi's presidency be when his government with the backing of the coalition forces in Aden are not able to secure one city...... let alone the whole country!
https://www.facebook.com/yemen.crisis/posts/556327214533519
21.1.2016 – Oil Price (A K)
Saudi Air Strikes on Yemeni Oil Port; ISIS Attacks Libyan Oil Port
Comment: The attack at Hodeida already had been reported. The headline makes it: What really is the difference between Saudis and ISIS? Try to find out. You will not find much.
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of war
26.1.2016 – Fars News (A K PH)
Saudi Officer, 5 Soldiers Killed in Yemeni Forces' Ambush in Najran
The Saudi officer and five of his companions were killed in Al-Sharfa region in Najran province when they came under the Yemeni forces' ambush on Monday.
In a relevant development on Monday, the Yemeni army and popular forces thwarted an attempt by the Saudi-led coalition forces to prevail over the al-Rabou'a region in Asir province.
The Saudi troops launched an attack to take control of al-Rabou'a region which is under the control of the Yemeni forces, but they were pushed back by the army and popular forces.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941106000443
25.1.2016 – Albawaba (A K PH)
Yemen: Eight Saudi soldiers killed by Houthis
http://www.albawaba.com/news/yemen-eight-saudi-soldiers-killed-houthis-797168
25.1.2016 – Islam Invitation Turkey (A K PH)
Yemen: Saudi-Led Attack on Strategic Region in Asir Province Repelled
The Yemeni army and popular forces thwarted an attempt by the Saudi-led coalition forces to prevail over the al-Rabou’a region in Asir province on Monday.
The Saudi troops launched an attack to take control of al-Rabou’a region which is under the control of the Yemeni forces, but they were pushed back by the army and popular forces.
The Yemeni forces also set fire to several military vehicles of the Saudi army.
Comment: Asir province is in Saudi Arabia!
Saudi Arabia – “Dirty Deads in the Middle East” in full
24.1.2016 – We Are Anonymous (** B P)
Dirty Deeds of The Middle East
It has only been a handful of days in the new year and the Middle East, or Mideast, has taken an immense kick for the worse. The area’s biggest competition or war—amongst Saudi Arabia and Iran—has grown to be considerably dangerous, and it may possibly have consequences throughout the Middle East.
On the 2nd of January 2016, demonstrators in the capital of Iran assaulted the Saudi diplomatic building, plundering and destroying it as Iran overlooked or rejected Saudi demands to safeguard the property. Saudi Arabia officially chipped off diplomatic dealings with Iran on the 4th of this month, stating it was going to remove economic associations and bar Saudi from travelling to Iran. In addition, Bahrain and Republic of the Sudan, both friends of the Saudi government, also cut off ties.
In a number of ways, this kind of diplomatic dispute ended up being unavoidable: Saudi Arabia and Iran read each other as foes and, therefore, are “caged” in a rising struggle for control and prominence in the Middle East. This power struggle stretches far beyond statements, with both the nations supporting militant organizations and tailoring proxy wars across the region, specifically in Syria. Their challenge is a serious operator of dispute in the Mideast.
However, according to a recent observation, there have been indicators that both nations have been drained by their struggle and are prepared to demilitarize this year, even perhaps choosing peace opportunities for the hostilities in both their neighboring countries – Yemen and Syria.
Then again, past incidents have put an end to those expectations, and have indicated that issues may possibly worsen. This is not only damaging for Saudi Arabia and Iran, but also detrimental to the whole Mideast, as both territorial disputes will probably multiply. Although we are still in the first month of the year, 2016 is a year that will undoubtedly witness the troublesome development of issue(s) in the Mideast.
The Execution
On the 2nd of January, Saudi Arabia announced that they had issued a large number of death penalties in a single day. The county gave the execution order of forty-seven people, in various regions across the land. Many were sentenced to death by beheading, and the rest were sentenced to death by firing squad. However, despite the size of the mass execution, the thing that makes it a pivotal moment is the name of a single man. Out of those forty-seven men, several of whom were Sunni (the majority sect in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) jihadists and many others, Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr is the name that stands out – a notable Shia Imam (i.e. like a Priest or a Rabbi) who was a Saudi national.
Baqir’s execution aggravated the Mideastern Shia groups and many other nations that follow the Shi’ism. Haider al-Abadi, the prime minister of Iraq, raised questions about the execution, alerting of the consequences for territorial protection. The Islamic Republic of Iran threatened obscure repercussions, shedding light on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and indicating that Saudi Arabia should expect severe revenge. Objections smashed out in Pakistan and Bahrain. The protester in Mashhad, Iran torched the Saudi consulate building, and then the same thing happened to the embassy in Tehran.
The country’s decision to eliminate Baqir was not about this specific spiritual leader; for Saudi Arabia, Baqir portrayed the possibility of inner Shia disagreement, at the rear of which it observed Iran’s dubious control – and possibly, in addition, a chance to obtain more assistance in its troubled conflict in the borders of Yemen.
Why Did Saudi Arab Kill Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr?
Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr was from the Kingdom’s east province, where you can find numerous Shia groups. Shia groups make up fifteen percent of Saudi Arabia’s population. Baqir was not a popular Shia scholar. Nevertheless, his counter-government speeches gained him a loyal following. Whereas remaining Saudi Shia leadership made an effort to develop Shia situations by operating inside of the governmental model, Baqir went against this method and made no formula that recognized Iran as his friend.
Although he didn’t demand a fierce Shia revolt, he did nothing to stop it either. In addition, he also gave signs that he may support Iran interceding in Saudi Arabia to safeguard Shias in Saudi Arab. Also, according to WikiLeaks, in 2008, Baqir met with the United States authorities in the American diplomatic building. One of the representatives, according to WikiLeaks, states that Baqir had not supported force, but indicated assistance for it.
Baqir’s personal opinions were in line with his preceding open claims. In these claims, he showed disregard for his home government and Saudi Arabia’s assistance in foreign interference – many analysts believe that he would not have been hesitant to become an Iranian agent and might have supported the uprising as well.
Furthermore, Baqir started to become more well known in 2011, when he severely slammed the Saudi leadership for the death of Prince Nayef. He also supported many Shia protests in his homeland. Even though the Arab Spring had originally motivated the Shia objections, these people wanted improved treatment for the Shia minority. This was primarily a differentiation with a very minimal distinction, and yet Saudi protective forces broke down the protests. The protest saw many casualties; more than twenty people, mainly young Shia men, were shot.
As a result, in 2012, Saudi forces charged Baqir with provoking the ferocity and arrested him for shooting at the police officers who caught him. However, Sheikh Baqir’s relatives deny that. Furthermore, they charged him with supporting international interference.
The Big Picture
The Kingdom of Saudi Arab views Baqir as an individual who is responsible for two primary criminal acts – rousing up Shia discrimination, and stimulating Saudi Shias to be adverse in opposition to their very own nation along with Iran. This is a grievous concern for Saudi Arabia; on the grounds involving Baqir’s arrest four years prior, Saudi’s relationship with Iran has deteriorated — they’re assisting opposing aspects in the Syrian civil conflict, plus the Saudi government blames the Islamic Republic of Iran for the fight in Yemen.
Borzou Daragahi, a Mideast reporter for BuzzFeed, stated that an authoritative retired Saudi officer had explained the Saudi Government’s views on Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr. “He was directly accountable for having stimulated speeches and displays that resulted in many deaths amongst the Saudi police officers from a period from 2012 till 2014. In addition, he motivated a young people’s team to strike the short (meaning police in Arabic) in Al-Qatif with rifles.” Essentially, Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr was targeted because he was motivating people to tear up the Kingdom from within, and was also receiving funds from the Iranian government.
However, there is genuine cause to be doubtful – If you think the Kingdom was actually motivated by a want to tamper down discrimination, that it should not have targeted Baqir, that it failed to understand that its actions will trigger a serious worldwide disturbance and a worldwide Shia repercussion, particularly amongst its very own Shia community. In fact, this indicates that this unique execution was created to highlight discrimination throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ahmed Shihab Eldin, a journalist and a former host of Huffington Post Live, said in a tweet: “Saudi executed Nimr Al-Nimr knowing that the sectarian narrative helps them rally Sunnis at home & in the region against Shia challenge.“
“Saudi spinning like mad over the execution of Nimr Al-Nimr & Iran. All designed for external consumption!” says Jon Williams, managing editor and foreign editor at The American Broadcasting Company and a former world editor at The British Broadcasting Corporation.
Furthermore, the Saudi war in Yemen—where the Kingdom and its allies are dropping bombs on a Shia uprising that has absorbed the authorities—is occurring because the Kingdom is confident the rebels are people being paid by Iran. It is not a mystery that this battle is heading in a “certain” direction, falling oil rates have damaged the economic climate. A great way to deviate the attention is to discover the means to uphold cerebral dedication in “this” strategy.
Toby C. Jones, an associate professor of history and the director of the Global and Comparative History master’s degree program at Rutgers University, labeled Baqir execution as “red meat to the sectarian radicals,” including the Saudi clerical establishment, hard-line religious scholars, and the judiciary.
However, Saudi Arabia is likely to showcase its official story of the Yemen conflict and “assist” in stopping the warfare.
Saudi leadership has, over the years, fluctuated between safeguarding the nation’s Shia community and its anti-Shiism indulgence amongst its clerical and other Sunni religious establishment. By executing Baqir, the Kingdom is apparently engaging anti-Shiism, in terms of rallying that favored clerical institution to the country’s intention. On the day Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr was executed, Saudi Arabia announced it was officially finishing the present armistice in Yemen. To be clear, the Kingdom’s foreign policy concerns eventually line up with sectarianism, and from now on, their main priority is Yemen.
The Sunni & Shia Faith Lies In The Saudi – Iran Cold War
Primarily, the conflict in the Mideast is being driven by the anxiety and turbulence between Sunni and Shia sects. The disputes in Syria, as well as in Yemen, are primarily segregated amongst Sunni and Shia. In Iraq, the nation and its national politics are split between Sunni and Shia. The divide between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia, is also drawn down with Sunni-Shia lines too, beginning with Saudi Arabia’s execution of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr.
However, that dispute is not really about faith, even if it is conveyed with the religious sermon. Instead, it is motivated by the cold war battle for power between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mainly because they are both ruled by the religiously guided officials in one form or another – Islamic Republic of Iran states portray our planet’s Shia population living collectively and Saudi Arabia says to signify its Sunni population, they’ve wanted to attack each other on the grounds of ‘we are right and you are wrong’ — therefore making that religious sect “correct”.
There is certainly a religious separation amongst Sunni and Shia Islam, rediscovering the beginning ages of the institution’s establishment in the 7th century. One can learn about these early religious variations, and the ways in which they unsealed, here. Sunni and Shia did fine in the Mideastern historical past, and the Sunni-Shia disagreement was hardly essential to the area’s political relation. In the eighties, the largest dispute in the Mideast involved two Shia representative nations – The Republic of Iraq versus the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Sunni nations were supporting Iraq.
All of that started to change when the United States of America deployed its troops in Iraq and attempted to sweep away Saddam Hussein. Hussein was dangerous to both the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (regardless of the Kingdom’s attempts to aid his 1980s conflict on Iran), and these two nations viewed him as a possible menace, Saddam retained the Mideast using a precarious form of equilibrium.
After the United States had tackled Saddam, it eliminated that stability and exposed a void – Saudis and Iranians targeted to occupy. Due to the fact the Republic of Iraq largely consists of a Shia population, the Islamic Republic of Iran attempted to take advantage of sectarianism, supporting the orthodox Shias that would be supportive of Irans interest and become an opposition for the Sunni dominance, like its enemy the Saudis.
Additionally, they pressured the emerging Iraqi administration to Iranian function concerns, which naturally emerged with the Shia. As a result, governmental manipulation before the times of Saddam were not “mainly” about faith; however, after Saddam, the Sunni-Shia partition hit so gravely that the separation right now describes the Republic of Iraq.
If Not Religion, Then What About It?
Four years ago, the Arab Spring started to turn down governments across the Mideast, both the Saudis and the Iranians once more attempted to occupy the spaces and promoted violence. In order to suffice their needs, the Kingdom wanted to intentionally boost up the sect division. In Yemen, for instance, the Kingdom saw the Houthis (Zaidi Shias from Northern Yemen) revolt as a form of Iranian propaganda. Yes, the Islamic Republic of Iran did assist the uprising.
As a result, in order to segregate Iran’s impact in the Republic Of Yemen, and to feud up assistance for the Kingdom’s interference there, it attempted to cause physical conflict – Sunnis against the Shias. This is one reason why the Mideast is indeed so segregated nowadays, especially when it comes to the Sunnis and Shias.
In an attempt to maintain influence in their fragile states, both the nations have attempted to place themselves as the gérants of their own Islamic group, and they’ve influenced discrimination to build up tensions with the opposite side.
During 2003, people lived in harmony in the capital of Iraq. The Shias and Sunnis lived in the same neighborhoods, shared the same streets – they all lived in peace. However, they gradually started splitting into Sunni communities and Shia communities. Shia segments established Shia private armies, vice versa, initially to protect themselves from the other side, next to chase away the other party, and eventually, to murder each other.
It is clear the exact same thing has happened in Syria, just on a nationwide scale. Initially, the brutality had almost nothing to do with the faith – In fact, in reality, it was all about a common Syrian citizen against their oppressive state. However, the Syrian nation is allied with the Islamic Republic of Iran, meaning it has been inhospitable to the Kingdom. As a result, the Saudis consider it to be their adversary. Naturally, the Saudis, along with other Sunni Gulf countries, assisted Syrian rebels. In addition, they were aware that their anti-Shiism perspective made them more dangerous to the Iranians and more devoted to Saudi Arabian interests.
Iran used a very similar approach, portraying the Syrian battle as a “major killing spree type” strategy against the Shias. It is vital that you are aware that the Mideast is largely Sunni, so for The Kingdom, it may appear to be a successful tactic to market sectarianism, side with Sunnis, and consequently force Shias to side with Iran. By pushing the Sunni-Shia partition, the Saudis can feel confident that they to have the upper hand in this game. This can be seen in how the Kingdom financed Sunni soldiers in Syria, assisting in changing a denominational civil war into a sectarian dispute.
Syrian commander Bashar al-Assad, even though he is Shia, did the same too, darkly aiming to make the party poisonous and push the Iranians to support him. But Iran has utilized discrimination as a device too. Although one may disagree that Iran was, in some cases, reinforced towards this tactic by Saudi Arabia. In the event that the Saudis supported Sunnis to separate the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran backed the Shias to contain influence — what’s more, the Iranians pursued it vigorously.
Why The Hatred?
Following the 1979 Islamic transformation that collapsed the west friendly Shāhanshāh of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the emerging Islamic Republic built an intense foreign policy to convey the Iranian change, planning to agitate uprisings within the Mideast. This became a warning of the Kingdom’s significant impact in the Mideast, and possibly of the Saudi Arabian kingship as well.
The removal of Iran’s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (though he was a Shia himself), and setting of the government by hardcore Shia Ruhollah Mostafavi Moosavi Khomeini, came as a shock to the Saudi government. It led to power a person who clearly quarreled the fact that Islamism and the ancestral monarchy were contradictory, a frightening message, to put it mildly, for the ruling class of the Saudi Arab. As a result, the Kingdom and remaining super-conservative Gulf kings created the Gulf Cooperation Council, a group originally made to undo and hold the Iranian effect.
It is relevant to realize that the Saudi kingship is seriously troubled – It recognizes that its grip on power is weak. The current Iran, purely by its establishment, tests this authenticity — not since it’s Shia, but due to the fact its theocratic wave was prevalent and showed promise to serve Muslims greater than the Saudi royals.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, within the beginning years, tried to cultivate such radical changes offshore, particularly in the Kingdom. The Saudis noticed this as being a decree of dispute towards their “real kingship,” and critical danger over their law. But be aware that, in the beginning, this dispute had no connection with the Sunni-Shia disunity. In reality, it was a struggle between the Islamic Republic of Iran and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because both nations believed that they stood for all Muslims.
Iran is not aiming to spread its Islamic Revolution overseas any longer. However, both nations continue to see one another as illicit in their claims of representing all Muslims today. The Kingdom’s administration has hypothesized its spiritual influence over the Muslim world, due to the fact that it has the majority of Islam’s holiest sites. The Islamic Republic of Iran says that its 1979 transformation essentially achieved the Islamic freedom in opposition to a non-Islamic kingship. Even so, they both can’t function as the true delegates of Muslims around the world.
As a result, Saudi Arabia aided Saddam Hussein’s 1980s battle in opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which wiped out more than a million people and triggered damaging effects on the Persian society. The Iran & Iraq war is still vividly remembered, and Saudi Arabia is often blamed for it. One can still see this divide come to life anytime there’s a life-threatening mishap during the time of Hajj (the yearly spiritual pilgrimage to Makkah and Madina, the two Holy Muslim locations in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). These mishaps attract strong criticism from Iran.
Over the years, the radical origins of these nations have tattered slightly. Both of them still see one another as a daunting danger. Both nations identify their own activities as protective, and the opposite side’s as violative. Both states look at the greater Mideast as the battlefield for this struggle, and have combated each other by recruiting teams in the Lebanese Republic in the 1980s, in the Republic of Iraq in the 2000s, and most recently, in the Syrian Arab Republic. Since these types of proxy battles have commonly been played on the sectarian basis, factors such as these have contributed towards the denominational anxiety, mistrust, and brutality that, at present, propels a great deal of the Mideastern chaos.
The Last Few Events Pose a Massive Risk to The Mideast
During the last six months, the Russians, Americans and other European nations have made an effort to bring the Saudis and the Iranians together to negotiate a peace bargain for the people of Syria. However, until both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran back off from assisting their proxy capabilities in Syria, the order of peace cannot be achieved.
The West knows that they are unable to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq & Levant and bring an end to the refugee situation, which is currently damaging the European Unity. Furthermore, for Yemen, the peace negotiations are set to be reserved for the end of January, a ray of hope for the bloody situation present on their soil. So, essentially, it all comes down to both these nations wanting to be the center of Islam. They were, at least, willing to sit down and talk about it – better late than never, right.
Then again, last weeks intensification between Iran and Saudi Arabia has most likely reversed that progression. In the Republic Of Yemen, for instance, Farea al-Muslimi, a writer and activist from Yemen, alerts that discrimination is dragging the nation. Over the years, sect synchronicity and blending was overlooked by the majority of people living in Yemen, and was viewed as an ordinary function of daily life. Sadly, the battle that spread like wildfire in 2011, along with the prominent revolt, has since led the people to favor their sect. This not only makes serenity less likely in today’s dispute, it also this makes Yemen less workable in the long run.
There is No Such Thing as Free Lunch
Although this week’s situation started off with Saudis executing Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr—which was likely done to intentionally highlight discrimination—this is a situation that places Saudi Arabia alone in danger. Sectarianism against Shias can assist Saudi-driven militias, but additionally, it nourishes the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, which presents a great risk to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
ISIL often preys on Shias; in the May of 2015, it announced a Shia mosque assault inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—as many as twenty-one people were slaughtered during this assault. Soon after the strike, Toby Matthiesen, former employee of the International Crisis Group and a Senior Oxford Research Fellow, published that Saudi Arabia was actually dealing with a possibility. If it proceeded to agitate anti-Shia discrimination, it might encourage additional ferocity inside of the Kingdom itself.
Saudis might have to make a choice between making use of anti-Shiism as an effective political means in the country that gave them what they have today, and the genuine threat that orthodox Sunnis view Shias as not being a part of Islam and may bring the fight home to clean the Holy Land – a serious problem for the Saudi leaders. Daesh clearly aims to eliminate the Saudi authorities, especially after many of Imams and Sheikhs of the Saudi Arabia have called Daesh not a part of Islam
The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant can prey on years of anti-Shiism provocation in Saudi institutions. In fact, a great number of people joint the revolts in Syria. In addition, uprisings in the Republic of Iraq have been built from a motivation to circumvent the Shia and the Iranian effect, along with the foreign policy objectives that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other Gulf countries, function upon.
Saudi Arabia’s execution of Sheikh Baqir demonstrates an intensification of its current calamitous approach of using discrimination for political purposes. It is an approach that is not only negative, but is also seen as a short term solution. This war, like any other war, is heedless, badly designed, detrimental and pushing everyone to a costly end – by Anon.Dos
http://anonhq.com/dirty-deeds-middle-east-investigative/
This is the article in full. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
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