Hope and Fear about Peace in Yemen
A bright and beautiful moon was sighted in the skies of Yemen, following consultations held under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh. It is different in the formation and substance. It is establishment of a new leadership in Yemen.
Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi announced a decision to form a presidential council to which he will transfer all his powers. The presidential statement said that the new presidential leadership council in Yemen will take over the political, military and security management of the country throughout the transitional phase.
The council is chaired by Rashad Muhammad Al-Alimi, with 7 members: Sultan Al-Arada, Tariq Saleh, Abdul-Rahman Abu Zara’a, Abdullah Al-Alimi, Othman Majali, Aidarous Al-Zubaidi and Faraj Al-Bahsani. Each member of the Presidential Council has the rank of deputy chairman of the council, while the president of the council “directly” will have the supreme command of the armed forces, and will have powers to ratify agreements and declare a state of emergency, etc. The term of the Presidential Council will end when general elections will be held in accordance with the new constitution and the inauguration of the new president of the republic.
Nearly 7 years after the beginning of the military, political and security confrontation with the Houthi militias affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, there were triumphs and setbacks, not only at the military level, but at the political level as well.
Would the Yemenis seize this rare opportunity or lose it? We have both hope and fear about it.
[by Moshari Althaidi in Asharq Al Awsat]
The absurd war in Yemen, eight years after its outbreak, has entered a new phase, features of which have not yet been revealed. Hans Grundberg, the United Nations envoy, has announced that all warring parties have agreed to a humanitarian armistice for two months which could be extended. This ceasefire started on the first day of Ramadan. The majority of Yemenis are hopeful that this truce would lead to the end of the war in their country.
The implementation of the truce is a success of the efforts of the UN envoy to Yemen. For several months, he has been trying to make some movement in the stalemate which has afflicted the Yemeni peace process nearly four years ago. He got the commitment from all parties in the war that they would stop air, land and sea attacks inside Yemen and across its borders. He also got assurance that the fuel ships would enter the port of Hodeidah, and commercial flights would resume from Sana Airport to predetermined destinations.
Previous such truces had failed. But the circumstances this time are different inside or outside Yemen. These circumstances can provide a suitable environment for ending the war in Yemen. If there is will, peace can be reached by giving priority to the interests of Yemen and its oppressed people who want to get salvation from the catastrophe which was forced on them for many years. All of them are aware that a political solution in Yemen can be reached through dialogue and consultation.
[by Omar Kouch in Al Araby Al Jadeed]
Compiled and Translated by Faizul Haque