Bringing hope to Yemen

When Saudi Arabia surprised the world by launching Operation Decisive Storm it understood that political and diplomatic overtures to bring the belligerent groups sit around the table and bringing hope to people of Yemen required decisive action. Otherwise, the rebels would continue their unpredictable adventures.

Saudi Arabia has been known for its initiatives to end conflicts through political dialogue. It is a big advocate of peace, tolerance and good neighborliness. But when solutions fail and the rebels do not listen to the voice of reason, it had to take quick action that really stunned the world.

The Saudi-led military campaign was instrumental in plucking the militia’s nails, destroying its arms depots and removing the threat the Houthis posed to its neighbors including Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh has announced the end of military operation in Yemen to start Operation Restoring Hope, while keeping the armed forces on alert to confront any attack from the Houthis. The coalition has to keep a watch on marine movement in Yemen waters and developments along the Saudi border to ensure that the militia does not carry out further attacks.

Saudi Arabia is capable of resolving many outstanding issues to reconcile belligerent groups in neighboring countries at diplomatic and political levels. Consequently, we are confident that the Kingdom would work for bringing hope, peace and stability to Yemen. Millions of Yemenis work in Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries and they receive special treatment.

Yemenis have made tremendous contributions for the development of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries since the 1960s. Yemeni expatriate workers in the Gulf support their country’s economy through their foreign remittances.

Yemen can achieve economic recovery and stability with the support of Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries, not only in terms of money but also expertise. A stable and secure Yemen can also attract foreign investment.

— By Yousuf Al-Muhaimeed

Houthis and war

Saudi Arabia and its allies had given the Houthis a lot of options to end the conflict peacefully but they did not listen and continued their destructive activities without looking behind to make sure its supporters are still behind. Ali Abdullah Saleh, one of its main allies, has fled the country with his children. Now the Houthis are alone and are digging their own graveyard.

From where have these Houthis come? They live in poverty and lack education. We have seen the militia’s spokesman talking nonsense on television and abusing opponents. We have seen their Iranian supporters, whose slogan was “Death to Israel,” forcing them to turn their guns against own people. Houthis had ruled Yemen for sometime. But the Yemenis did not allow them to continue in power as a result they were angry. Even before the Decisive Storm, they have destroyed mosques of the Sunnis, arrested students and the elderly and killed a number of influential youth who refused to accept the militia’s hegemony.

The Houthis are very angry and their leadership makes use of their sentiments to create havoc in the country. They also try to create an impression that they are targeted because of their faith, although they are close to Sunnah and reject the doctrine of Ithna Ashrari Shiites.

The Decisive Storm was launched against the Houthis not because of their religious leanings but because of their machinations with the support of Tehran. Saudi Arabia had to take a decisive stand on the issue in order to protect the Yemenis from Houthi atrocities and defend its southern borders. The ongoing Operation Restoring Hope should focus on confiscating heavy and light weapons from the Yemenis and accelerating their educational and economic progress.

— By Azza Al-Subaie

After the Storm

For me Yemen is not only an important Arab country and cradle of ancient civilizations but also the homeland of many colleagues and friends. The deterioration of security situation in Yemen has affected a large number of my Yemeni friends. Some of them were holding important positions in the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Those who believe that the situation in Yemen became worse as a result of Arab Spring revolution in 2011 are wrong. Ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who took over power in 1978 and ruled the country for 33 years, had failed to take the impoverished country on the path to progress and prosperity.

Political and economic corruption was the hallmark of the reign of Saleh who emptied the country’s coffers. As a result about 80 percent of the country’s business and industry were in the hands of just 10 families allied to the president. The former president’s craze to make quick money by swindling public funds lead to further deterioration of Yemen’s condition.

The sectarian conflict in the country encouraged Iran to exploit the situation to expand its influence in the region. About 60 percent of Yemen’s population lives on foreign aid. Of the total population of 25.8 million, 14.7 million live under extreme poverty.

The Operation Restoring Hope launched by Saudi Arabia has come at the right time. I believe that there are lots of facts and reasons that make the initiative a big success. Different Yemeni groups have learned a lesson from the deteriorating situation since 2011 and they are now ready for dialogue to rectify the country’s situation and accelerate its economic recovery.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has commended the faith and wisdom of Yemenis and the Yemenis need those qualities now more than any time before.

— By Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Faraj

Militias inside states

Militias inside states are an Arab phenomenon as there are many people in Arab countries who are ready to sell themselves and their nations to foreigner powers. They form a party, adopt a different ideology, engage in subversive acts and destroy the country. You can see many examples for such militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, Asaeb Al-Haq in Iraq and IS in Syria.

You can find that the ideology of these militias is either Shiism or Sunnah, which does not make any difference. Extremism is the main feature of all these militias and they try to undermine the country’s security and stability through their unpatriotic activities. They also give the same type of speeches accusing others of cheating the nation and projecting themselves as saviors.

These militias also claim that they fight the US and Israel but in fact they pave the way for these foreign powers to stay and interfere in their countries. On the other hand, they wage a war on ordinary citizens by carrying out suicide bombings, killing hundreds of innocent people without any reason. Experts have conducted a lot of studies on how people are attracted to these militias to realize their selfish interests and practice their adventurous desires. Studies have found that the militias make use of mafia groups who are violent and heartless to carry out their terrorist operations.

We can see that most of these militias are found in poor countries facing economic and political instability and are controlled by agencies in foreign countries. Militias inside a country weaken its military and security systems and support enemy machinations and strategies.

This parallel military force inside a country came to existence as a result of unpatriotic people. Efforts must be made to destroy such militias for strengthening security and stability of any country, including Yemen and Lebanon.

— By Mohammed Al-Othaim

Stand in queue

The overcrowding of people in public places including markets and recreation centers makes it difficult to get the necessary services quickly. The absence of a culture of standing in queue makes the situation more complicated. I am sorry to say that we lack the culture of standing in queue compared to western societies.

You can find yourself in three different situations at crowded places. A group of people will be standing in queue and some others will be trying to get into the queue either in the beginning or middle saying they have an emergency. The second scenario is that there will not be any queue at all. In the third group you can a see person coming to stand just before you giving the reason that he was standing there before and had to leave because of some emergency.

You will witness such scenes in different places in the Kingdom. Actually, when people stand in queue in front of service firms it will help them to get the necessary service easily. On the other hand, if people do not stand in queue it would create a mess and delay the delivery of service.

I don’t know why people hate to stand in queue. Some people think standing in queue does not cope with their social status and prestige. But when these people go abroad we can see them standing in queue like an obedient child. People who try to jump queue should understand that time is valuable for everybody and that they have to respect others to receive respect.

— By Ebtehaj Minyawi

Saher in East and West

Last December a colleague in Britain received a traffic ticket for using the track allocated for public transport. He received a message from the municipal council asking him to pay 80 pounds in fine within 28 days. If the amount is paid within 14 days, the amount could be reduced to half. Three months after paying 50 percent fine, the man received another message from the municipal council saying the camera installed on that road had recorded a large number of violations, as drivers were not informed about the presence of the camera. The council then told my colleague that the ticket would be considered as a warning.

I remembered this incident when religious and media leaders criticized the Kingdom’s Saher traffic monitoring system, demanding an immediate review of the system, which has become a tool for making money. We all know that the system was introduced to reduce the number of accidents on our roads. My question is why the traffic department is not installing such cameras at dangerous spots where people need caution while driving. We don’t see warning boards before the cameras at many places, encouraging the drivers to reduce speed. In many places cameras are hidden to trap drivers . Why don’t they introduce the system of offering 50 percent discount to those who pay their traffic fines early like in Britain.

—By Mohammed Al-Aufi