Saleh paid with his life for defying Iran
Like Hariri and countless other Arab politicians, the former Yemen president was killed for standing up to Iran’s meddling in Arab affairs — and his murder could lead to a dangerous new phase of civil war.
FORMER Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Monday paid with his life for defying the Iranian-backed Houthi militias. Many Yemenis have met similar fates when they dared to stand in the way of the Houthi project. Assassinating key figures has been a favored modus operandi deployed by the Houthi militias and other pro-Iranian groups, such as Hezbollah of Lebanon and the Syrian regime. Former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafik Hariri met a similar fate in 2005, as did many prominent Lebanese political figures, journalists, writers and religious leaders.
Saleh rode a wave of popular anti-Houthi protests in Sanaa in recent days, which were reminiscent of early 2011, when the city witnessed its first Arab Spring rallies that led to the ouster of President Saleh himself.
This week, armed conflict between the two coup partners — Saleh and Houthis — deepened. For the first time since 2011, ordinary Yemenis in the capital and elsewhere expressed publicly their pent up anger and distrust of the Houthi militias. The fear barrier was broken, at least temporarily, and citizens went out on the streets to protest against their unwelcome occupiers.
Assassinations, kidnappings and disappearances have marked the Houthi reign of terror since they overran Sanaa on Sept. 21, 2014. Their paramilitaries have occupied ministries and Houthi representatives run the day-to-day work at military and civilian government institutions. Journalists, human rights workers and civil society activists have been attacked and arbitrarily detained.
Regardless of what happened between the two former coup partners, Sanaa will probably never be the same again. When the media blackout was broken this week, the world got a glimpse of what its citizens have gone through.
Houthis have been able to maintain their grip on power by controlling all aspects of daily life with the use of sheer force and intimidation. Not only did they exercise military and security control, but they also controlled the media and the economy. They looted homes and shops, commandeered vehicles and appropriated fuel and supplies, imposing onerous levies on businesses. They attacked humanitarian convoys and diverted them to their supporters.
Saleh made a gamble three years ago by throwing his lot in with Houthis, hoping to use their ruthless zeal to his advantage. His goal was quite clear: To return to power either directly or through his relatives. Instead, Houthis used him to rally support for their cause in Sanaa and its environs, where he still held considerable support, garnered during his 33 years in the presidency. Just as importantly, they used Saleh’s military arsenal and still-loyal army units and presidential guards to bolster their fighting power against the legitimate government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
In August, Saleh realized he was at the losing end of the bargain he struck with Houthis three years earlier. Houthis prevented him from holding a large-scale commemoration in Sanaa for his party, the General People’s Congress. Repeated clashes between his loyalists and Houthi militias deepened the rift. Houthis gradually took over effective control of government institutions they previously allowed Saleh to run, and they also stopped sharing the revenues they collected from various sources, especially from Hodeida port. What finally convinced Saleh to break his alliance with them were the violent attacks against his supporters, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.
On Saturday, Saleh gave a fiery speech against Houthis, enumerating their transgressions against him and against Yemen. He attacked their foreign policy and war tactics, which he described as random, futile and nihilistic. He announced a break of his alliance with them but, in his usual roundabout way, allowed for a return to the alliance should he see it being in his interest in the future. Saleh was clearly attempting to regain some trust and respect from the international community, especially the coalition in support of the legitimate government.
The Saudi-led coalition responded in kind. In a statement issued on Saturday, the coalition said it recognized that the “honorable people of the General People’s Congress and its leaders” had been traumatized, together with the rest of the Yemeni people under the tyranny of the Houthi militias, supported by Iran. It called on all Yemenis, regardless of their creed, region, tribe or political affiliation, to unite in one front to rid Yemen of Houthis and end their reign of violence and corruption.
The statement expressed the coalition’s faith in the ability of the GPC to seize the initiative and align itself with the majority of the Yemeni people to join the “blessed intifada” of ordinary Yemenis to end the sectarian and violent rule of the Houthi militias, armed and trained by Iran. It called on them to rejoin their “Arab neighborhood” to contribute positively to Arab, regional and international security, instead of being in the rogue camp of Iran and Hezbollah, bent on destroying peace in Yemen and the region.
The two coup partners have been battling each other throughout much of the rebel-controlled territory. Pitched battles have left hundreds dead and wounded, with no clear winner yet. In the meantime, the humanitarian situation has reached catastrophic proportions in those areas, with supplies and workers unable to reach parts witnessing clashes between the two camps.
With the two coup partners at war with each other and government structures crumbling, the time has never been riper for the U.N. to take an active role in the areas under rebel control, in providing both humanitarian assistance and public services. Most Yemenis suffering under rebel control would welcome such steps.
Saleh’s murder is an ominous escalation between the two former allies and could plunge the country into a new dangerous phase of civil war within the rebels’ camp.
QAbdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is an Arab News columnist. He can be reached at: aluwaisheg@gmail.com. Twitter: @abuhamad1