Thorny road ahead for Yemen

Yemen’s new technocratic government was sworn in on Sunday, two days after the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh and two leaders of the Houthi group.
According to the UN announcement, the sanctions were approved on the grounds that Saleh and the two Houthi leaders have been involved in efforts to undermine the transition process. The new government is facing severe security and economic challenges and on top of which is the control of Houthi group of the capital Sanaa and other main cities, as well as seemingly endless disagreements among parties.
Observers said the new government has been formed in a very complicated reality with which its success remains uncertain. The boycott of Houthis and Saleh cast shadow on the efforts of the new government, observers said, while warning that the key problem in Yemen at the moment lies in the absence of real reconciliation among factions.
Fuad Alsalahi, a political sociology professor at Sanaa University, said the attitude of Saleh’s ruling GPC party and Houthi group was biggest challenge for the government. “Going ahead with an incomplete government after all groups authorized president and prime minister to form the Cabinet means one thing: Yemen is exercising politics arbitrarily and without comprehension that it needs a successfully capable government at the first place,” Alsalahi said.
Najeeb Ghalab, a professor of politics at Sanaa University, said negative interactions of the Houhti group could lead to chaos and cause power vacuum in the country for indefinite period. “The new government will collide with Houthis who have spread all over Yemen. The question is if such a scenario happens, what should we do then?” Ghalab said.
In addition, the recent UN sanctions, which apparently were behind the Houthi and GPC boycott, add to uncertainty as Saleh and Houthis will defend their ambitions even though such a move may cause more chaos, observers said.
At a news conference after the ceremony on Sunday, Prime Minister Khaled Bahah affirmed that resolving national issues requires cooperation and engagement of all factions. “It is not logical to say a single person or faction can do something to Yemen issues, but all can,” he told reporters. Despite the public frustration due to the current situation, Bahah said he is optimistic that “the situation can return to normal.”
In this context, observers said international guarantees and support come on top of factors to keep a small room for the success of the new government. Nabil Albukiri, head of the Arab center for political studies and development, said the UN support to salvage the political process mainly through putting further pressure on obstructers of the transition is a key guarantee for Yemen’s success. “Locally, only if the government keeps itself away from influence of parties,” he said.
Abdul Salam Muhammad, head of ABAAD studies and research center, said the success of the new government also depends on clear, strict actions against militias and groups that never contribute to tend political process properly.
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Courtesy: Xinhua