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Yemeni Speaker to Asharq Al-Awsat: Betting on Houthis Changing is False Hope

A general view of the southern port city of Aden, Yemen January 22, 2018. (Reuters)
A general view of the southern port city of Aden, Yemen January 22, 2018. (Reuters)
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Yemeni Speaker to Asharq Al-Awsat: Betting on Houthis Changing is False Hope

A general view of the southern port city of Aden, Yemen January 22, 2018. (Reuters)
A general view of the southern port city of Aden, Yemen January 22, 2018. (Reuters)

Yemeni parliament Speaker Sultan al-Burkani voiced his fears of the conflict ailing his country being removed from the international community’s memory as the threat of an Iran-US war occupies the highest political echelons worldwide.

“Certainly, any tension in the region affects the future of Yemen, and we are afraid to reach a stage of forgetting the issue of Yemen in light of the international community's concern for what is to come,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Burkani reaffirmed national resolve in Yemen towards defeating Iran-backed Houthi coupists and reinstating power to the freely-elected authorities.

He also blamed the United Nations special envoy Martin Griffiths for the ongoing stalemate in Yemeni peace talks and called on all involved parties to undertake decisive measures to hold the Houthis accountable for their violations of the UN-brokered deal signed in Sweden last December.

“We must not forget that the political solution led by the UN through its envoy has not achieved anything significant. We hope for the crisis to remain present and strong at international forums, because our people need to end this war and reach peace and restore the state to security and stability and overthrow of the coup,” Burkani stressed.

Popularly known as the Hodeidah agreement, the deal was signed in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, and represents a first step towards brokering a comprehensive political solution.

Speaking about Iranian efforts to destabilize Yemen by funding and arming Houthi insurgents, Burkani remarked: “Iran has outlined a personal agenda and we regret that our friends in the international community who know the truth choose to ignore it and stand idle.”

Iranian ambitions in the region, according to the speaker, do not only target Yemen, but also seek to undermine the national security of Arab countries in the region.

As for what role Houthis will play in war-torn country’s future, Burkani said: “First, we do not reject or deny the fact that Houthis are a component of the Yemeni society, and we have already invited them to establish a political party with a role and functions, but they want to act as an arm for Iran, to control Yemen, and harm neighboring countries instead.”

Pointing out several counts of Houthi noncompliance with peace efforts, he added: “We (the Yemeni internationally-recognized government) emphasize that those who count on changing the group's approach are making a losing bet. Griffith, has done so for a year and a half, yet with no avail.”

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Lebanon’s President to Asharq Al-Awsat: Decision of War and Peace Lies Solely with the State

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat's editor-in-chief Ghassan Charbel. Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat's editor-in-chief Ghassan Charbel. Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat
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Lebanon’s President to Asharq Al-Awsat: Decision of War and Peace Lies Solely with the State

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat's editor-in-chief Ghassan Charbel. Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat's editor-in-chief Ghassan Charbel. Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says he wants to build a state that has the decision of war and peace and stressed he is committed to implementing Security Council Resolution 1701.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, his first since his election in January, Aoun said: “Our objective is to build the state, so nothing is difficult. And if we want to talk about the concept of sovereignty, its concept is to place the decisions of war and peace in the hands of the state, and to monopolize or restrict weapons to the state.”

“When will it be achieved? Surely, the circumstances will allow it,” he told the newspaper.

Asked whether the state will be able to impose control over all Lebanese territories with its own forces and without any military or security partnership, he said: "It is no longer allowed for anyone other than the state to fulfill its national duty in protecting the land and the people ... When there is an aggression against the Lebanese state, the state makes the decision, and it determines how to mobilize forces to defend the country."

He also stressed his full commitment to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701. “The state and all its institutions are committed to implementing the Resolution” on the “entire Lebanese territories,” Aoun said.

On the possible adoption of a defense strategy, Aoun insisted that even if a state does not have enemies on its borders, it should agree on a national security strategy that not only deals with military goals but also economic and fiscal objectives.

“We are tired of war,” he said in response to a question. “We hope to end military conflicts and resolve our problems through diplomatic efforts,” he said.

Asked whether he was surprised that the Israeli army has stayed at five points in south Lebanon, Aoun said that Israel should have committed to the ceasefire agreement that was sponsored by the US and France and should have withdrawn from all areas it had entered during the war with Hezbollah.

“We are in contact with France and the US to pressure Israel to withdraw from the five points because they don’t have any military value,” he said.

“With the emergence of technologies, drones and satellites,” an army does not need a hill for surveillance, Aoun added.

"Saudi Arabia has become a gateway for the region and for the whole world. It has become a platform for global peace,” he said when asked why he has chosen to visit the Kingdom on his first official trip abroad.

“I hope and expect from Saudi Arabia, especially Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that we correct the relationship for the benefit of both countries and remove all the obstacles ... so that we can build economic and natural relations between us.”

He said that during his visit he plans to ask Saudi Arabia to revive a grant of military aid to Lebanon.

On relations with the Syrian authorities, Aoun said he intends to have friendly ties the new Syrian administration and that one of the pressing issues is to resolve the problem of the porous border between the two countries.

“There are problems on the border (with Syria) with smugglers. Most importantly, the land and sea border with Syria should be demarcated,” he said.

Aoun also called for resolving the problem of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. “The Syrian state cannot give up on 2 million citizens who have been displaced to Lebanon.”

The refugees should return because “the Syrian war ended and the regime that was persecuting them collapsed,” he said.