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| Arabia |
| Yemen president thwarting peace talks, say diplomats |
| 2015-12-03 |
| [OMANTRIBUNE] Efforts to launch peace talks to end an eight-month-old war in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... are being thwarted in part by President Abd Rabuh Mansour Hadi, who fears a negotiated settlement would drive him from power, diplomats who follow Yemen said. Hadi, driven out of the capital Sanaa earlier this year by Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to Americaâ„¢, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews... fighters that Arab neighbours say are backed by Iran, has returned to lead a government from the southern port of Aden, recaptured in July by troops from a Saudi-led Arab coalition. Like his opponents, Hadi says he is committed to UN-led talks to end the war in one of the Arab world's poorest countries. But diplomats following the grinding of the peace processor say he is increasingly an obstacle, raising pressure on his Saudi sponsors to withdraw their support or help shunt him aside. "Hadi has been trying to block any kind of talks because he knows that any settlement will be the end of this political career," said one diplomat who follows Yemen, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... "Hadi has never been popular and it's not in his interest that the war stops before complete victory. Diplomats know that Hadi is not a serious candidate, and a settlement means he's out." A second diplomat said there was now broad agreement that talks were the way forward because the war had reached a stalemate on the ground. But "a few dissenters" including in Hadi's camp were nonetheless holding out for a military victory. "And since that is seen as elusive, they are seen to back the conflict because a peaceful solution has nothing to offer for them." Hadi strongly denies he is being obstructive. "In fact, it is the opposite. The president has announced the list of participating delegates, and they are supported by an advisory team and they are ready for dialogue at any time the UN announces," said Mukhtar Al Rahbi, an official in Hadi's office. Since an inconclusive round of talks in Geneva in June, UN special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has repeatedly sought to smooth the way to talks in Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... . Britannia's UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said on Monday talks could begin in early December. |
| Posted by:Fred |