Rich leader of a poor nation

According to international organizations, during his tenure as Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh had amassed wealth to the tune of around $60 billion. Even when judged by the standard of wealthy nations, this is a huge amount of money.
His actual wealth is less than a quarter of the declared amount, however, even in this case it is a huge sum for the president of such a poor country. It seems he is even richer than the richest people of the world.
Whether his fortune amounts to $1 billion or $60 billion, he should be penalized for the ugly role he is playing today in Yemen by trying to undermine the political process. His anti-Yemen activities should result in the freezing of his assets as authorized by the United Nations Security Council in 2014.
Because of Saleh’s continuous defiance of the UN resolutions, his success in hindering the transitional government as well as his alliance with rebels aiming to conquer Sanaa, all parties are expected to seek the formation of a committee to investigate his wealth and return it to the Yemeni government. Thus, they will restrain his financial and moral capabilities and his influence inside and outside the country.
Saleh has been looting the Yemeni people for over 30 years. He wants to deprive them of the possibility of overcoming his oppression and starting a new era. This is why they stay silent about him and his money; they forgave him and do not demand that he be held accountable. Yemenis treated their isolated president with a rare sense of decency when he left the country defeated and isolated and sought treatment in Saudi hospitals.
Yemeni political forces granted him immunity from being held accountable for what he did over the past three decades. They wanted to forgive him, leave the past behind, avoid feuds and build a new Yemen for everyone. However, recent events revealed that Saleh is corrupt and a key player in the sabotage of the new regime, with the help of the Houthi rebels. The situation in Yemen has become very serious. The government has been forced to move to a temporary capital, while Saleh’s supporters and the Houthis continue with the threat of dividing the country and igniting a civil war. After all this, international organizations are now expected to re-open the file of the overthrown president. He should be subject to prosecution and the confiscation of his fortune, and not just its freezing, in accordance with the Security Council resolution. All those cooperating with him should also be put on trial.