Yemen has been on my mind for quite awhile so I just wanted to start a thread to keep Yemen represented as a country on the forum. I will start with a few posts that can be added to as the events continue to unfold. Mostly Yemen is just an afterthought when mentioning Saudi Arabia, Iran or other Middle Eastern countries. Their suffering is not noticed by the MSM which goes for so many other countries too but if anyone else wants to add more posts about Yemen that would be good I think.
Many countries are perpetuating the suffering in Yemen so I think they should be noted and held accountable even if only in our awareness. Without the knowledge and awareness I don't know how can anything ever change or be better.
These are some events of the past along with some newer events:
Neonix 2018 post:
The Yemen Option - Yemen (ABC Australia 2004)
March 30 ,2018:
Three years of hell: Inside Yemen's civil war
September 2018:
United States and France jointly responsible for famine in Yemen
angelburst29 May 10, 2019:
Amid outcry over Yemen war, Saudi ship leaves France without arms cargo
May 14, 2019:
Arabic press review: Saudi Arabia stops Yemeni minister from leaving Riyadh
Many countries are perpetuating the suffering in Yemen so I think they should be noted and held accountable even if only in our awareness. Without the knowledge and awareness I don't know how can anything ever change or be better.
These are some events of the past along with some newer events:
Neonix 2018 post:
The Yemen Option - Yemen (ABC Australia 2004)
March 30 ,2018:
Three years of hell: Inside Yemen's civil war
September 2018:
United States and France jointly responsible for famine in Yemen
French military intelligence note dated September 2018 shows that Saudi Arabia is making extensive use of French armaments in its war against Yemen, specifically "Leclerc tanks, Archer artillery howitzers, Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets, Cobra radars, Aravis armoured vehicles, Cougar and Dauphin helicopters, Caesar cannons ...».
The maps included in the classified military report were presented to President Emmanuel Macron on October 3, 2018 during a “restricted” Defence Council meeting in the French Presidential office.
The leaked document, released on March 15, 2019 by the investigative media outlet Disclose, complements the revelations already published on June 16, 2018 by the newspaper Le Figaro, which confirmed the presence of French special forces fighting alongside the Saudi Arabian army during the battle in the Yemeni city of Hodeida [also known as al-Hudayda].
Despite the disclosures, the French government continues to deny that French armaments and French special forces are involved in offensive operations against Yemen, insisting that they are only deployed in defensive positions on the Yemeni border.
In the United States, a bill sponsored by Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders prohibiting any form of US participation in the war against Yemen was passed by both the Senate, in March, and the House of Representatives, in April. Earlier this week, on April 17th, President Donald Trump vetoed the bill.
The strategy of the Israeli-Saudi Joint Chiefs of Staff, supported by the United States, France and the United Arab Emirates, now envisages seeking victory in Yemen by starving the population.
At least one third of the targets attacked by the warring coalition in Yemen are not military but civilian targets. At least 50,000 Yemeni children have already died as a result of the famine caused by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition attacks.
Translation
Artemis Pittas
angelburst29 May 10, 2019:
Amid outcry over Yemen war, Saudi ship leaves France without arms cargo
PARIS/LE HAVRE (Reuters) - A Saudi vessel that had been due to load weapons at a northern French port on Friday set sail without them and headed for Spain, a day after a rights group tried to block the cargo on humanitarian grounds.
French rights group ACAT argued in a legal challenge on Thursday that the consignment contravened a U.N. treaty because the arms might be used against civilians in Yemen.
A French judge threw out that legal challenge but the Bahri-Yanbu set course for Santander shortly after minus the weapons, officials said and ship-tracking data showed.
The saga is an embarrassment for President Emmanuel Macron, who on Thursday defended arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh leads the pro-government military coalition in the four-year civil war that has devastated Yemen, killed tens of thousands and left much of the population on the brink of famine.
Macron said on Thursday Riyadh, which he called a key ally in the fight against terrorism, had assured him the weapons the ship was to load were not to be used against civilians.
An official working for Jean-Paul Lecoq, the opposition Communist member of parliament for port city Le Havre, confirmed the vessel had left without the consignment.
“This is a lesson for the executive,” he told Reuters. “It can no longer give bland statements saying ‘do not worry, we have guarantees’. That no longer works.”
European powers are split over arms sales to Saudi Arabia, with France and Britain lobbying against German efforts to toughen the way they are regulated.
The Bahri-Yanbu had been at anchor 25 kilometers (15 miles) off Le Havre since Wednesday evening, already carrying a separate consignment of arms loaded in Antwerp.
WAR CRIMES ALLEGATIONS
France’s defense ministry referred questions about the consignment to the foreign ministry, which referred Reuters back to the defense ministry. Neither the prime minister’s office, which approves arms’ sales, nor the presidency responded.
A Saudi embassy spokesman could not immediately comment.
The move by ACAT came after online investigative site Disclose published leaked military intelligence showing weapons sold by France to Saudi Arabia, including tanks and laser-guided missile systems, were being used against civilians in Yemen.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday that Paris adhered to rules related to arms sales,
France is one of Saudi Arabia’s main arms’ suppliers, but has also faced increasing domestic pressure to review that trade relationship as the human cost of Yemen’s war has risen.
ACAT had argued that the transfer contravened the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, which says one country cannot authorize the transfer of weapons if it knows at the time that those weapons could be used to commit war crimes or target civilians.
U.N. officials have said all sides in the Yemeni conflict may have committed war crimes.
The government declined to give details of the arms order, which Disclose had said included eight Caesar howitzer cannons.
May 14, 2019:
Arabic press review: Saudi Arabia stops Yemeni minister from leaving Riyadh
Meanwhile, Israeli paper towels sold in Tunisian causes controversy, and Algeria's economic situation may push the country towards an IMF loan
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in March 2018 (AFP)
By
Mohammad Ayesh
Published date: 14 May 2019 12:02 UTC | Last update: 2 hours 19 min ago
Saudi Arabia bans Yemeni minister from travel
Saudi officials have banned Yemen's minister of state in its internationally recognised government from leaving Riyadh, Arabi21 reported, citing a senior Yemeni security official.
Mohammed Abdullah Keda, a former governor of Al-Mahrah province where popular protests are currently taking place against the Saudi presence in Yemen, has been residing in the kingdom for nearly three months and was told he cannot leave, according to Arabi21.
The travel ban has continued despite Keda’s regular communication with Yemeni officials who have told him to wait, the Yemeni official said.
"The motives behind the Saudi ban are still unclear and ambiguous," the source told Arabi21.
Israeli paper towels stirs outcry in Tunisia
Controversy in Tunisia over normalisation with Israel has resurfaced after Israeli products emerged in local markets, amid leaks that a senior government official may be involved in importing the goods, according to London-based al-Quds al-Arabi.
A popular market in Tunisia was reportedly selling paper towels imported from Israel with pictures of scented handkerchiefs, bearing the words "Made in Israel", circulated on social media.
Media reports have accused a member of Tahya Tounes, the party launched earlier this year by leaders formerly associated with Tunisia's ruling party Nidaa Tounes, of importing the towels.
But he has denied the allegations, claiming there was a mistake in the procurement process, according to al-Quds al-Arabi.
Tunisian General Labour Union called on the government to recall the product and clarify the sources of imported products and how they are distributed.
It also called on Tunisians to "be vigilant and alerted towards such goods and reveal the parties selling them, in addition to refraining from buying these products and boycotting all those who import and promote them".
Recently, a group against Israeli normalisation revealed that Tunisian tourist agencies have been selling trips to Israel.
Algeria's financial crisis
Economic experts have warned of an economic downturn in part sparked by the current political crisis in Algeria, according to the Algerian newspaper Echourouk El-Yawmi.
The impending economic crisis may eventually push Algeria to borrow money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the experts have said.
They predict that the crisis will cause economic growth to drop by 1 percent and inflation to increase drastically in 2021, unless a political consensus is achieved soon.
Economist Abdul Rahman Mataboul told the news outlet that the deteriorating economic situation in Algeria was the outcome of the protests that started in February, but also triggered by liquidity issues that pushed the government to print money late last year which caused inflation.
* Arabic press review is a digest of reports that are not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.
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