‘Yemen’s problems linked to terrorism, al-Qaeda’

Karachi
The Yemen question is a problem linked to terrorism and al-Qaeda. This view was expressed by Laurent Bonnefoy, a French CNRS research fellow at Paris, while addressing a gathering at the Alliance Francaise here on Wednesday evening. The topic of his talk was, “Yemen at war: a political and strategic assessment”. He spoke of the North-South divide and said the Shias were a minority there. “Saudi Arabia just remained a sub-contractor of the West,” he said.
He said Saudi Arabia decided to intervene because it wanted to restore the legitimacy of President Saleh and there were a large number of Shias among the rebels whom the Saudis considered proxies for Iran.
He recalled the Yemen revolution of 2011. With Yemen on the brink, he said, there were some potentially constructive options: between a state dominated by the Hothis and and/or the clan of President Saleh, one in which Jihadi groups are dominant, and there is space for other political actors to gain control and steer the country in the right direction.
In events in Yemen, he said, continuing negotiations among various political parties, through the international community’s involvement, chiefly through the United Nations, was likely to be a constructive strategy that Hadi’s relocation to Aden and still be president would not be jeopardised.
True such steps will not solve all of Yemen’s problems but an institutional and inclusive process in which parties and political actors exchange views and discuss the country’s future, however much divorced from the realities on the ground, must not be discarded. It is one of the only ways to progressively rebuild mutual trust and escape the crippling polarisation.
The US, UK and France should exert pressure on Saudi Arabia, he said, because otherwise the Jihadists would emerge as the sole victors.
The main talk was followed by a discussion between Bonnefoy and journalist Maliha Diwan, and later the house was thrown open and people asked searching questions.