Yemen: A New but Difficult Start to Conflict Resolution
BY TRANSCEND MEMBERS
<https://www.transcend.org/tms/category/by-transcend-members/>, 3 Sep 2018
*Rene Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service
<https://www.transcend.org/tms/author/?a=Rene%20Wadlow>*
*31 Aug 2018 – *The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin
Griffiths, has announced that he will try to convene talks at the U.N. in
Geneva on September 6, 2018 for a resolution of the armed conflicts in
Yemen. His call for talks may start a process to end the fighting which
began in March 2015.
Increasingly, the Saudi-led war has taken on characteristics of a wider
regional conflict with “outside powers” increasingly involved. The
appointment of Special Envoy Griffiths, an experienced former British
diplomat, was hoped to be a fresh change to end the stalemated conflict.
Previous talks on the Yemen conflict had been held in Switzerland in 2015
and in Kuwait in 2016. In June 2018 there was a French-led meeting in Paris
to discuss the Yemen conflict and possible roads to negotiations
At the 27 June 2018 meeting of United Nations Secretariat and government
experts on Yemen from a number of countries in Paris again called attention
to the deep humanitarian crisis in Yemen as Saudi coalition forces attacked
the port city of Hadeida into which normally comes over 70 per cent of food
and medical supplies of the UN and non-governmental relief agencies for the
Yemeni population. The port is currently closed due to the fighting, and
many of the humanitarian organizations have pulled out their staff for
their safety.
Although all participants were aware that a political compromise to end the
armed conflict is necessary, no advances seem to have been made on that
score. Crucial actors such as Iran and the Houthi leaders were not invited
to Paris, thus the meeting seemed to favor Saudi aggression.
The Saudi and its United Arab Emirate allies have launched on 13 June an
attack which continues on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah. Hodeidah is a city
of some 600,000 people, some of whom are recent residents displaced by
fighting in other parts of Yemen.
The population of Hodeidah faces a wide-spread wave of cholera, lack of
medical supplies, lack of food and clean water. The situation grows worse
by the day as heavy bombardments by the Saudi air force continues to
destroy what civilian infrastructure still exists.
The United Nations Security Council has been discussing the situation in
both public and private meetings without any visible impact. The new U.N.
envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffith, first suggested that an international team
or a third party could assume the administration of the city. As that
suggestion fell on “deaf ears”, he then proposed the obvious: a ceasefire
between the Saudi and United Arab Emirate forces and those of Ansar Allah,
more commonly called the Huthis. This suggestion also fell on deaf ears,
and the fighting continues.
The only people who profit from the fighting, in the literal sense, are the
mercenaries, US and Australian at the higher levels of the Saudi and United
Arab Emerite forces and Sudanese at the lower level.
There have been discussions in the United Nations since the 1960s when
European mercenaries were active in the conflicts in the former Belgium
Congo if there could be ways to stop or limit the use of mercenaries. These
discussions also fell on deaf ears. In practice, though less often called
mercenaries today, the practice has grown and is likely to continue growing.
The Saudi Arabian leadership had expected a quick victory when in March
2015 they launched their operation at the time called “Decisive Storm”.
Despite limitless weapons from the USA and Great Britain, including the use
of U.S.-made cluster weapons now banned by world law, the Saudi-led
coalition made relatively few territorial gains beyond those tribal areas
within Yemen that were already favorable to the Saudis, tribes that often
existed on both sides of the frontier.
Both Saudi Arabia and Iran have been backing separate and opposing
factions. The lack of progress as well as the costs of the military
operations may create a climate favorable to stopping the fighting.
However, Saudi Arabia and its coalition are directly involved in the
fighting while Iran only supplies some weapons and political support to its
allies. Thus, of the outside actors, most responsibility for a change lies
with the Saudi decision-makers.
There are two major issues that shape the future. The first is the
possibility or not of forming a decentralized but relatively inclusive
central government. Yemen remains largely a tribal society with political
decisions made by the tribal head. Tribes usually have a specific
geographic base. Thus a central government requires participation by
members from the major tribal groups. However, through economic
development, people from different tribes now live in the cities and larger
towns. These more urbanized populations do not depend as much on the
decisions or views of tribal chiefs.
The relative strength of the central government has been based on patronage
strategies, offering major tribal leaders some economic advantages. Until
March 2011, most people had little say as to government policy. In March
2011, in the spirit of the “Arab Spring”, there were popular
demonstrations throughout the country demanding jobs, the end of
corruption and some respect for all citizens. By the end of 2011 Ali
Abdullah Saleh, who had been in power for 33 years, was pushed out and
replaced by his vice- president Abdu Rabbu Mansur Hadi who has the same
governing style but who was considered as a change without upsetting too
much the governing pattern.
Saleh, however, never really accepted the idea of giving up power and its
material benefits. He formed an alliance with a religious movement that
drew its members from the same geographic region. Saleh had combated this
Huthi movement, including by force of arms, when he was president. But for
a time the alliance seemed to be mutually beneficial. The alliance broke
sharply this November. 2017. Fighting among the Huthi forces and those
loyal to Saleh broke out in the capital Sana’a in November and on 4
December, 2017 Huthi troops shot Saleh in his auto as he was trying to
leave the city.
The second major issue concerns the ability of Yemen to remain as one State
or again to split into two with Sana’a as the capital of one State in the
north and Aden as the capital of another State in the south. The two
States were the political structure until 1990 when the People’s Democratic
Republic of Yemen, with its center in Aden, combined with the Yemen Arab
Republic in the north to become the Republic of Yemen. Leading up to 1990,
there was wide hope that the union of the two States would lead to
increased economic well being. In practice, there has been little
improvement. If there has been an improvement, it is because of external
economic factors and not directly linked to the union. The lack of
improvement in the south has led to resentment in the south and on the part
of some persons, a desire for southern separation. Now, some in the south
have formed militias. It is difficult to know how far they will push for
separation and the creation of an independent State. Already in 1994, there
had been armed attacks to push for a return to an Aden-based State.
The Association of World Citizens has been concerned with three issues in
the Yemen conflict:
- The violation of international humanitarian law, involving attacks on
medical facilities, medical personnel and the use of weapons banned by
international treaties, especially cluster munitions. The Association of
World Citizens had been particularly active in promoting a treaty on the
prohibition of cluster munitions.
- Humanitarian relief, especially food aid. With the Saudi-led blockage
of ports and air fields, it has been difficult for the United Nations or
relief organizations to bring in food supplies. It is estimated that some
eight million people suffer from famine-like conditions and that some 17
million others are in conditions of food insecurity. The fighting makes
certain roads unsafe, preventing the delivery of food and other relief
supplies.
- The creation of a Yemen confederation. While the form of State
structures depends on the will of the people of Yemen (if they were able to
express themselves freely), the Association of World Citizens proposes
con-federal forms of government which maintain cooperation within a
decentralized framework as an alternative to the creation of new
independent States. In 2014, a committee appointed by then president Abu
Hadi proposed a six-region federation as the political structure for
Yemen. The Association of World Citizens believes that this proposal
merits close attention and could serve as a base of a renewal for an
inclusive Yemen government.
Today, the choice–between an end to the armed conflict with negotiations
for a renewal of a Yemeni State on the basis of the con-federal system
proposed vs. continued fighting in the hope that one faction become a
“winner-take-all”–is relatively clear. The Association of World Citizens is
resolutely for an end to the armed conflict with serious negotiations on
the structure of a future State. There seems to be little willingness to
compromise and a general lack of “political imagination” to propose new
avenues of governance. There is little of what can be called “civil
society” in Yemen, but what little exists should have their voices heard in
the negotiations There may also be some role for less formal Track II
efforts. We need to keep our eyes open for possibilities.
_________________________________________
*
<https://www.transcend.org/tms/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Ren%C3%A9-Wadlow-e1486137838243.jpg>**René
Wadlow is President and a U.N. representative (Geneva) of the Association
of World Citizens, an oranization in consultative status with the UN
and **editor
of *Transnational Perspectives* and awcungeneva.com
<http://awcungeneva.com/>*
On Sat, Sep 1, 2018 at 9:28 AM, chintamani yogi <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
wrote:
*Subject:* My article- Cultivating Values in Children.
*Cultivating Values in Children.*
Our dream is children. Dedication of our whole life is for the children.
Every parents want to see their children happy, healthy and prosperous. Even
animals are dedicated for their children. Its the system and ideals of a nice
family. We get love, blessing, care and nurture from our parents and then we
give same service to our children again without any condition. Children are
strength not only for a family but for a whole society; not a hope for only
parents but for entire humanity. Children are not only our future but our
present too. Children are not only a duty but a beauty too. In short, no
children, no family and then no society and no world!!!
But loosing family system is a great loss of this modern society. We think we
reached at top; but we lost our roots. We think we have achieved a lot but
forgot to be with our own family and with ourself. We think we have now
enormous progress but by loosing our own peacefulness. We think we are now
connected with the whole world but we lost relationship with our own family.
What a pity!!!
I remember, our father, *Buwa*, taught us "*Gyan Yoga*" the path of wisdom,
though he was uneducated; but was raised and trained by the mother nature,
the university of nature, itself. He taught us at very early age, every
single thing which made a strong foundation of our life as a human being.
When we were very young sharing food was a common practice, not only with
family but with whole village. Celebrating festival was a time of deeper
understanding and sharing and celebrating. Similarly, our mother, *Aama*,
taught us the "*Bhakti Yoga*" the path of devotion or the path of
unconditional love. Working with her in the field was not only for better
production but was a time of great learning to understand the whole nature
and being communed with nature. Singing or chanting while working was not
only reducing our emotion or stress but was a best practice to harmonize
ourselves with family, community and nature. I still feel that our mother did
not feed us only a food but a "*Prasad"* (holy food as a blessing of God)
which transformed our entire life.
But now the world is changed; everyone is running here very fast but Where?
that they don't know. Running is now like a habit but Why? Where? and How
long? That we don't want to know or we have forgotten. As we have forgotten
to be with ourselves so then how could we be with our family? So now there
are some burning issues which every family is facing now. No matter, the east
or west, our children are heading towards a dark future where they may have
everything but no peace, no joy, no hope, no faith and no childish-ness! In
this so called modern age--
- Devices have devided our children,s life.
- Artificial intelligence have destroyed their emotional and spiritual
intelligence.
- The life is disconnected from the roots but only with digitals.
- Right relationship is with soil and soul is forgotten.
- The mind and body have become very giant but not gentle.
- The mind is shouting but the heart is crying.
- Rights are followed but Duty is forgotten.
- The understanding of What I Want? and What I Need? seems now lost.
Seems that now the purpose of education is not for a well being but for a
well living or high living only. Gandhi said "Simple living, high thinking"
but now the children want "High living and high thinking". Not only that, we
have seen now "High living but very simple thinking" also. Actually its a
terrible degradation. We are heading towards a narrow path where we will have
all prosperity but no heart to feel anything. Imagine for a while; where we
will have everything for living but no any spirit of life!!! Therefore, few
questions must be addressed on time. What we hope actually for our children?
- Making them Great or Grateful?
- Making them Successful or Peaceful ?
- Making them to be Smart or Sincere?
- Making them Competetive or Cooperative?
- Making them Independent or Inter- dependent?
Well, let me share something, what we are trying to do here in Nepal? We have
not achieved yet anything very special but we have a dream beyond any borders
and we have dedication with purest intention. In spite of many problems and
and lack of resources also, we have continued our journey of Selfless Service
for last more than 3 decades as it gives us purity of mind and combined us
with every one and every being.
-- we have 3 HVP schools which are based on Human Values and follow the
principles of holistic approach of education; these schools provide modern
education but with high focus on human values, ethics, culture and spiritual
wisdom.
-- we have an organization called- 'Children's Peace Home' in Dang, a small
village of western part of Nepal; it's a sort of orphanage to provide
holistic education with life skill training and vocational training.
-- likewise, we have 'Children's Study Club; too in Kathmandu; it provides
education with holistic care to underprivileged children.
-- we have an organization called - Youth Society for Peace -too; established
by the youths which works in different schools/colleges to form ''Peace
Clubs''. And we try to empower youths by sharing true spirit of service in
their life!!!
-- and similarly, we have 'Peace Service Center' (Shanti Sewa Ashram) in
Kathmandu; it's our biggest project of integrated service for disadvantaged
children, young girls, women, senior citizens and marginalized community.
im happy to state that i have been in the filed of selfless service, the path
of Karma yoga, for last nearly 35 years; started my journey of *Sewa* at the
age of 21 as a founding principal of HVP school and now we have around 10
organizations working in different areas to serve community and humanity.
In my opinion, no one should give any pressure to children for obtaining only
high marks but high morals. Also, no one should give pressure to be the Best
but only Better. We should tell our children that just becoming a doctor,
engineer, IT expert or any high paid job is not enough now but its the time
our children should know from the very beginning that--
- How happy I'm?
- How positive im?
- How well behaved Im?
- How visionary Im?
- How faithful Im?
Humanity should be the central point of our every teaching or curricular of
our schools; and in temples, churches, mosques etc too. And I think
spirituality helps us to understand humanity. We have created doctors,
engineers, experts and so on but still not a Whole Human!!! What a terrible
paradox!!! Our intelligence have become now artificial, so we are also
becoming artificial day by day. But now the time has come or its already
late, we all should go further--
- Religion to Realization.
- Ritual to Spiritual.
- Dualism to Non- dualism.
- Knowing to Being.
- Emotion to Devotion.
Scriptures are good but still the question is- number of attendees is
increasing in every church, temple, mosque etc but the part of transformation
is still neglected. People are following the crowd from the childhood but not
questioning themselves- Who Am I???
Sometimes I feel that in the name of educating our children we are destroying
their life, their future. We try to make them a doctor or engineer but Why?
We force them to be a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim or Hindu! but Why? We
decide their choices, their path, their future! Why? I believe that every
child can transform her\his life; if--
- no negativity is inculcated in their tender mind.
- no any violence is shown to them at very early age.
- his natural freedom is not suppressed .
- his basic needs are not destroyed.
- they are given heart centered education heartily.
The eastern world has one kind of problem and the western world has other
type. But if we go into the depth, we will find that the heart is crying
everywhere in this modern world. We read few words in books nowadays- truth,
love, peace etc. But is there any true feeling of these words? The west is
suffering by extremism; and every extremism brings finally materialism and
militarism. And the countries like Nepal suffering by terrible poverty. But
Nepal also has some beautiful messages which are neglected. A tiny country,
like Nepal also can play a vital role to make this world a peaceful place
because it has most ancient ageless wisdom; such as--
- Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. (the whole world is our family)
- Aatma Khalu Viswa- mulam. (consciousness or soul is the root of the world)
- Sarve Bhavantu Sukhin. (may all be happy)
- Gyanat Shanti Anantaram. (Peace through wisdom)
- Bal Devo Bhav. (children are like God)
No matter, where we come from? But let's think where we should go now? No
matter, what my identity is? But how can I recognize my inner identity? No
matter, what position and profession I have? But how I practice and preserve
humanity? No matter, what my past was? But how can I make my future more
meaningful and peaceful by being together with all? No matter, what I have
learned till now? But how aware I am?
Therefore, now we need a new education system which should be value based,
culture based, heart based, nature based and spirituality based. We need now
very ideal, committed and dynamic family which can raise their children as
praying God!!!
Thank you so much.
Dr. Chinta Mani Yogi (www.cmyogi.com)Address : Po.Box: 6807, Kathmandu, Nepal; Ph. +977- 98510-92805.
Founding Principal- Hindu VidyaPeeth-Nepal (HVP- www.hvpnepal.org)
Founding Chairperson- Shanti Sewa Ashram (SSA- *www.peaceserviceusa.org
<http://www.peaceserviceusa.org>)*
Patron - Children's Peace Home (CPH- *http://www.childrenspeacehome.org.np ;
<http://www.childrenspeacehome.org/>)*
Patron- Youth Society for Peace (YSP- http://www.peaceservicenepal.org.np)
Patron- Naimisharanya Gurukul, Banepa.
Coordinator- Global Network of Religions for Children-Nepal (GNRC)
Coordinator- United Religions Initiative-Nepal (URI)
