It’s hard to fathom the thinking of Al Houthi rebels as they continue to defy international convention, United Nations Security Council Resolutions, anti-Gulf Cooperation Council efforts — and the will of the majority of the Yemeni people — as they and their allies form a new government in Yemen.
The move has been widely condemned by their rivals, the United States, and the international coalition of allied nations that are working on foot of those Security Council resolutions to restore the legitimate government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
For the past 20 months, this international coalition — of which the UAE is proud to be playing its part in support of our Arab brothers — has tried to bring reason and rectitude to the rebellious situation in Yemen, and it continues to work towards providing a stable and unified government that represents all of the Yemeni people — and not just the lawless and minority interests of those Al Houthis and their Iranian backers claim to represent.
This new Al Houthi regime — it is a stretch to call it a government as it fails to take into account the full make-up of the Yemeni people — is a slap in the face to the international partners who have consistently tried to bring peace to the nation, and their inclusion of former deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh merely resets the clock to a time of chaos.
The conflict has resulted in difficult times for Yemenis, with terrorist elements within its borders taking advantage of the chaos, and increasing the misery and deprivation on the civilian population. Al Houthis themselves are a threat to the legitimacy of the nation, and the existence of terrorist groups like Daesh and Al Qaida further destabilise what is already a precarious equation.
Given the segmented nature of support for Al Houthis, this regime is bound to fail. Aside from lacking international legitimacy and national credibility, it stretched credulity to think it has the resources necessary to rebuild Yemen, restore its infrastructure, provide health and education facilities, or ensure that running water and adequate power supplies are readily available to all.
As it stands now, Al Houthis have repeatedly failed to negotiate an end to this conflict, and their intransigence has merely compounded the misery endured by ordinary Yemenis. The rebels have failed to make any efforts to hand over their heavy weaponry, have attacked aid ships with missiles, and have steadfastly continued to fight despite a series of agreed ceasefires. Those crimes alone make Al Houthis unsuitable and ineligible to govern.
