It’s taken a year to get Al Houthi rebels to agree to negotiations on the future of Yemen. Over that time, there have been half-hearted commitments and less than sincere agreements to talks. And during that time, after Al Houthis overthrew the legitimate government and administration of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the people of Yemen have suffered.
It’s taken a Saudi-led international coalition of Arab nations, acting with the backing of a United Nations Security Council Resolution, to intervene militarily and to turn back the tide of lawlessness, to get Al Houthis to agree — again — to talks on ending Yemen’s nightmare, building a secure and stable future, and allowing the people of Yemen to live in a nation free of terror and thugs.
The hardest thing for any negotiation to succeed is laying the groundwork for trust; trust that the other party will talk in good faith; trust that the parties will act in a manner in accordance with the negotiations; and trust that the parties will actually carry out their commitments when any deal is struck. After the events of earlier this week, Al Houthis cannot be trusted. When all of the parties were sitting down to UN-brokered talks in Kuwait City, Al Houthi forces and its armed allies seized control of a military base north of Sana’a. This opportunist and criminal act occurred in the middle of a ceasefire.
While Al Houthi representatives talked at the table in Kuwait of wanting a better future, their rebels were acting otherwise; in contravention of the ceasefire; against the spirit of the talks; and against the best interests of the people of Yemen. It’s difficult to talk when the parties sitting opposite the table say one thing and do another. And it’s for that reason that the government had no choice but to suspend direct talks with Al Houthis. If Al Houthis think that their continued duplicity will be tolerated by the government of Yemen, its Arab brothers, and the UN itself, they are sadly mistaken — just as they were sadly mistaken in the belief that Arab nations would stand by while the legitimate government was overthrown with the assistance of the Tehran-backed rebels. Al Houthis were invited to the negotiation table because there was a belief that they needed to be part of the solution. Clearly, given their actions, they are simply a problem. They should not mistake Arab unity and resolve to build a better Yemen — with or without them.