GCC initiates peace talks among Yemen factions

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-initiated comprehensive talks among various Yemeni political factions including tribal and military leaders, Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, General People’s Congress, pro-independence Southern Transitional Council, began talks in Riyadh on Tuesday. GCC Secretary-General Nayef Falah al-Hajraf, opening the conference said, “The success of the consultations is not an option but a duty that requires everyone to (bear) the national responsibility and to reject all causes of division and internal disparities.” He lauded the quick response to the GCC call for truce.

The coalition called a halt to military operations to facilitate the talks. The Houthis rejected the truce call, and refused to join the peace parleys, and they have even increased the military attacks on Marib in central Yemen taking advantage of the other groups refraining from military engagement. Abdullah bin Ali Jaber, a tribal leader from southeastern Yemeni province of Hadramout said: “The situation in Yemen is disastrous. There is a severe shortage of fuel and people are very poor. We hope Yemenis will unite their voices during the talks and the international community, mainly Saudi Arabia and GCC, help them implement the outcomes.” Referring to the boycott of the talks by the Houthis, military analyst Yahiya Abu Hatem said, “The Houthis have turned down all calls for peace and met them with an escalation. This group is Iran’s tool to undermine security in the Arab world.” He expressed the view that all Yemeni factions should unite to fight the Houthis.

The United Nations’ Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg, who has also been trying to hold the Yemen peace talks, acknowledged the efforts made by Saudi Arabia and the GCC in bringing together different Yemeni groups to talk to each other.

He said, “Riyadh has offered space for dialogue leading to important agreements such as the GCC initiative and the Riyadh Agreement. We need the region’s support as much as ever to move toward an inclusive political process under the (UN’s) auspices.” He argued that, “The longer the conflict goes on, the more severe the impact on civilians, and the more difficult to reverse the damage. The Yemeni people need to see a clear path out.” Tim Lenderking, United States’ envoy to Yemen, also expressed support to the UN and GGC peace initiatives in Yemen. He said, “On behalf of the United States, I convey our sincere hope that everyone here today will seize this important opportunity to work together to identify tangible steps that will improve the lives of all Yemenis.”

There is then a general concern in the region and in the UN and in the US that the Yemen crisis cannot be allowed to fester longer, and everyone should try to unite the divided political leadership in Yemen. But it has not been an easy task. The internecine fighting between the southern and northern Yemeni groups, and the fallout between the two north Yemen military leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh and his successor, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, had made things exceedingly complicated and the Houthi rebels have made things worse. So, Yemenis have now to achieve reconciliation between the north and the south, and between the different groups in these two regions. Yemen occupies strategic area and militant groups as well as regional and world powers have high stakes in it. A simple peace cannot be imposed in Yemen because the conflict of interest among the various groups is deep-rooted and cannot be wished away. It is the Yemenis themselves who have to make the necessary compromises to restore peace and internal political stability in the country. And it needs the efforts of both the GCC and the UN to achieve the difficult goal of political reconciliation in Yemen.