Geneva peace talks the only way to save Yemenis from war

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After almost four years of devastating war in Yemen, the UN has proposed a first-stage, trust-building round of talks for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Geneva this week. However, the meeting was postponed due to the absence of representatives from the Houthis.

It’s hard for the Yemenis to find their own way out with foreign military forces backing the two warring sides. The Houthi rebels are backed by Iran, while the Hadi government is supported by Saudi Arabia, behind which is the US.

Sama'a Al-Hamdani, a Yemeni political affairs commentator, suggested that little is expected of the peace talks under current circumstances.

"This talk is just trying to get everybody in the same room in the hope of future talks," said Hamdani. "Even that is difficult, since no one shows the sign of backing down."

One of the factors defining the war as the "biggest humanitarian crisis in history" is the massive number of civilian casualties. Facing criticism from the international community, opinions from the Saudi side are sometimes surprising.

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Fahad Nazer, a columnist for Arab News and an adviser for the Saudi government in Washington DC, regarded the recent Saudi-led airstrike on a bus in Yemen, which killed 40 children, as a "mistake," and the Houthis' attacks on civilians as "a matter of policy."

"The Houthis showed a complete disregard of safety and well-being of the Yemenis," he said. "They broke almost every norm and law pertaining to international relations." Therefore, it’s "up to the Houthis to stop the war."

Mohammad Marandi, a professor of North American Studies at the University of Tehran, showed contempt to that view. From his perspective, the Saudi and UAE governments have "committed an enormous amount of crimes" by starving the nation, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

The chances of getting compromises from the Saudi side are rare, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is in control of the nation’s military force, is said to be keen on an "absolute victory."

Marandi backed such prediction by listing the actions of the prince in several cases, including imposing a "siege on Qatar and kidnapping the Lebanese prime minister."

The only reason the Saudis could stop their military action is the increasing cost of the war.

The published number of casualties, which is around 10,000, according to Marandi, is artificially kept low and does not reflect the truth.

"If you look at the old news two or three years ago, you see the same number," he said. "This is intentionally kept low to help sustain the thousands of billions of arm sales."

The blame on the US for supporting Saudi Arabia through its weapon sales, military training and attack planes fueling is increasing, and thus damaging its international image. Feeling the ripple effects, the US Congress is considering a pullback from the region by restricting arm sales.

However, all these developments seldom made headlines in the mainstream Western media, according to Richard Becker, a coordinator with ANSWER, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.

"The Yemen War is receiving far little attention here in the mainstream media in the US," he said. "The media will choose to 'toe the line,' but actually the US bears responsibility to this terrible disaster."

But the official voice from the Trump administration is going the opposite way. According to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the US "fully stands behind Saudi and will continue to carry on that support."

"It’s the biggest obstacle," said Richard.

The only silver lining to the case is the Geneva peace talks, and the only party that refused to come to the negotiating table is the Houthis. In many experts' opinion, this is their best bet.

The majority of the Yemenis are under the age of 25, which is why the consultation is even more important.

"If we don’t save Yemen for the younger generation that’s already scarred and going to suffer from the tremendous post-traumatic stress disorder, the problem is going to explode into its neighboring countries," said Sama’a.

The Heat with Anand Naidoo is a 30-minute political talk show on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 7:00 a.m. BJT and 7:00 p.m. Eastern in the United States.