By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 29,
update with US
statement --
While on Yemen
the UN
Security
Council on
August 29
focused mostly
on the Houthi
rebels, adding
a condemnation
of attacks by
Al Qaida on
the Arabian
Peninsula, the
protests in
Sana'a are as
much about the
cut in fuel
subsidies and
other
austerity
measures
“recommended”
by the International
Monetary Fund.
Inner
City Press
asked outgoing
Security
Council
president Mark
Lyall Grant if
the topic had
come up in the
Council's
closed door
consultations
on August 29.
He
acknowledged
that it had,
but said that
UN envoy Jamal
Benomar had
replied that
the decision
to cut the
fuel subsidies
was the right
one. From the
UK transcript:
Inner
City Press: in
the
consultations
was there any
discussion of
the cutting of
fuel
subsidies? It
seems like a
lot of the
protest there
are actually
based on the
raising cost
of fuel
demanded by
the IMF. What
is the
relationship
between Houthi
"troublemaking"
and actual
protest of
austerity of
the rising
cost of
living, and
what can be
done?
Amb Lyall
Grant:Yes, a
number of
Council
Members raised
questions
about
that. In
response,
Jamal Benomar
gave the
background to
the Economic
Reform
Programme and
why the
government
needed to
eliminate the
fuel
subsidies. He
considered
that to be the
correct
decision, and
indeed, the
Council as a
whole
supported that
in the
Presidential
Statement when
it referred to
the importance
of economic
reform. Of
course that is
not popular
with all parts
of Yemeni
society and
that is not a
surprise. And
Houthis have
tried to take
advantage of
concerns about
the
elimination of
the fuel
subsidies for
their own
political
ends, but that
does not mean
it was not the
right decision
for the
government to
take.
Some
might see all
this as the UN
Security
Council
operating in
lockstep with
the IMF, when
the Council's
power dynamics
are more
diverse, at
least pending
the IMF quota
reform that
the UN Senate
has yet to
approve.
So
when Benomar
followed Lyall
Grant to the
Security
Council
stakeout,
Inner City
Press asked
him if it was
in fact his
and the UN's
view at the
fuel subsidy
cuts are the
right way to
go. Benomar
said that
decision had
been made, and
reforms are
needed. But he
added that
there is talk
of a
“package,”
that would
include
alleviating
the impacts on
the poor.
The
Council's
Presidential
Statement made
various calls
on the
Houthis,
including to
dismantle
their camps in
Sana'a. It
specifically
named Abdul
Malik al
Houthi and
military
commander
Abdullah Yahya
al Hakim, and
called on the
Houthis to
“withdraw
their forces
from Amran and
return Amran
to Government
of Yemen
control.”
Looking
forward
a full month,
the statement
cited “the
next Friends
of Yemen
meeting that
will take
place on
September 24
in New York.”
We'll be
there. Watch
this site.
Update:
soon after the
UN Security
Council
Presidential
Statement was
read out, the
US State
Department
issued this,
naming one of
the two
individuals in
the UNSC
Statement:
The
United States
joins the
United Nations
Security
Council and
the
international
community in
strongly
condemning the
actions taken
by the
Houthis, led
by Abdul Malik
al Houthi, and
those who
support
them.
Their actions
seek to
undermine the
Gulf
Cooperation
Council (GCC)
political
transition
process and
Yemen’s
stability.
In particular,
we condemn the
Houthi’s
provocative,
aggressive,
and
destabilizing
actions and
incitement
against the
Government of
Yemen, the
establishment
of armed camps
in and around
Sana’a, and
their
continued
illegitimate
control of
Amran.
We call on the
Houthis to
immediately
dismantle
their armed
camps and
checkpoints in
and around
Sana’a;
withdraw their
forces from
Amran, return
Amran to
Government of
Yemen control,
and return the
weapons looted
from the 310th
Brigade
compound;
implement
ceasefires in
all conflict
areas to
prevent
further
violence from
destabilizing
the transition
process; and
cooperate with
the Government
of Yemen
efforts to
achieve a
sustainable
and peaceful
political
resolution to
the current
conflict,
consistent
with the GCC
Initiative and
National
Dialogue
recommendations.
We commend
President
Hadi’s
continued
efforts as he
leads Yemen in
implementing
the GCC
Initiative and
National
Dialogue
recommendations.
We call on the
Houthis, and
all parties,
to participate
peacefully in
Yemen’s
transition
process, which
offers a
historic
opportunity to
build an
inclusive
system of
governance
that ensures a
stable and
prosperous
future for all
Yemenis.
The United
States remains
firmly
committed to
supporting
President Hadi
and all
Yemenis in
this
endeavor.
, 
