Article

2009-10-13 Arabia

Yemen's rebel leader says secession possible

[Al Arabiya Latest] Leader of Yemen's Houthi rebels warned of a possible secession if the government persists in its policy and he denied allegations his group receive funding from Iran.

In response to a set of questions Al Arabiya addressed to him via email, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the current leader of the Zaidi insurgency in the northern governorate of Saada, criticized the stance of Arab nations towards the conflict in Yemen and accused them of lacking understanding of the conflict.

"Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, who recently visited Yemen, has to intensify his efforts in order to engage both parties in dialogue and achieve peace in such an important Arab country," he told Al Arabiya.

Houthi said he is willing to be cooperative as far as local and Arab mediation is concerned, but argued that Moussa still has to exert more effort.

"Egypt and other Arab countries can play a major role if they want, but till now we haven't seen a positive mediation on the part of the Egyptian government. In fact, the statement of the Egyptian Foreign Minister seemed to support war more than peace."

Houthi noted that one of the major obstacles to reaching a peace deal is that the United States and the West are passive about the government's actions.

"This encourages the government to engage in more unjust measures towards the people and to continue committing its crimes."

Houthi said allegations that his group is hindering peace negotiations are false, but added that to start dialogue the war has to stop first.

Posted by Fred 2009-10-13 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11140 views ] Top

#1 What will you call it? Aden?

Posted by newc">newc 2009-10-13 07:12|| 2009-10-13 07:12|| Front Page Top

#2 They did that before, but couldn't keep their independence. Whether they can do better this time is a major question. I don't think the Saudis would appreciate it, and I know Yemen will object. The Iranians do NOT want to get openly involved, so the Houthis are totally screwed.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2009-10-13 18:13|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2009-10-13 18:13|| Front Page Top

#3 What was the official reason given last time, when the two Yemens united? Mr. Wife was offered a position there at the time, but was very happy to be able to turn down the opportunity because of my religion. I come in handy on occasion!

Posted by trailing wife">trailing wife 2009-10-13 21:59|| 2009-10-13 21:59|| Front Page Top

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