Interview with Sarah Marusek, journalist and political analyst in Beirut
Yemeni anti-government protesters hold an upside-down picture of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh reading 'Leave' during a demonstration calling for his ouster in Sanaa on April 1, 2011.
Yemen’s main opposition group has ruled out holding any talks with the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, as the death toll from the regime’s crackdown on anti-regime protesters hikes.
The refusal came in response to an invitation by the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council which called on the Yemeni government and opposition representatives to talks in Saudi Arabia, at a date yet to be set.
Press TV talks with journalist and political analyst Sarah Marusek to get a deeper understanding of the very difficult situation for the Yemenis who have been protesting for the removal of the brutal regime now for several weeks.
Press TV: If Saudi Arabia and the US believe there is no chance left for Saleh, with US officials already saying he must leave, why are they supporting talks?
Sarah Marusek: I think that the status quo is just not tenable. Obviously thirty years of promised reforms have failed and have continued to oppress Yemenis and not giving them political rights, social rights, economic rights that they deserve. It is not going to happen now if it has not happened over the last thirty years. I welcome the fact that the United States is changing its stance on Yemen; they have been silent for too long basically not speaking out against the atrocities that have been happening over the last several weeks.
The diplomatic suggestion at this point is just not possible. I think that perhaps many people in Washington have an ill-conceived concept of this so-called war on terror and there has been a lot of discussion about the supposed vacuum that would potentially occur if Saleh steps down and I think that this is just based on again ignorance and an ill-conceived concept of terrorism of the Yemeni people and of American strategic interest because certainly terrorism is going to be much less of a threat if people are actually given rights and are able to determine their own futures. I think that terrorism will be much less appealing to anybody in the region or throughout the world. So I do think that yes this may be an attempt to somehow secure some kind of status quo or to make sure that somebody comes to power whom the United States knows and trusts but at this point it is quite a pointless task to push for a diplomatic solution, do something that has been nothing but violent over the last several weeks and really an oppressive government over the last few decades.
Press TV: Do you think the stance that the West has taken on Yemen, specifically the United States, will put them in a difficult position with any post-Saleh government there?
Sarah Marusek: I think that no matter what Washington does at this point it puts them in a difficult position and I do think that in some ways this is a face saving measure to also allies like Saudi Arabia because there have been many reports of how the Saudi king and other leaders in the region have been very angry with the United States, how quickly they were willing to allow an ally like Mubarak to fall. I think there is pressure. I do not think that the Saudis are just necessarily puppets of the Americans. I think that the Americans also really often listen to the Saudis and bow to their interests as well. I think it is a two way relationship.
So I think that this is a contradictory position that the United States is now in because if they keep on pushing for Saleh to have some negotiated exit, the opponents in Yemen and Yemenis people may get frustrated and angry at the continued lack of support for their rights and for their self determination. So this is going to be a very tricky time for the United States because it shifts to the rebels too quickly then allies like Saudi Arabia will get even angrier. It is almost an impossible position for Washington. Our thinker, our scholars, our policy makers have not really thought out carefully the different options in the current scenario and I think that we have been looking way to inwards and towards our own concerns and doing whatever it takes to secure our own “ national security” and I think that this has created a very problematic situation now that things are shifting in the region and that we no longer know how to even look at them, how to treat people, how to talk to people and what it will mean to our interests. So I think this is a huge dilemma for the United States.
Press TV: Do you think that Yemen will see a smooth transition to diplomacy, to the demands of the people or would you say that it does not have the leadership or the organization?
Sarah Marusek: I am not sure I can actually quite speak about the capabilities of the current opposition we have met in Yemen. I think that everything is going to be a struggle even if it seems an easy turnover. At first there is going to be some sort of contestation and violence afterwards which is what we are seeing in Tunisia now. Changes have not happened as quickly as the people have wanted them to. So there are continued protests and I think the same thing will happen in Egypt. Things are going to be messy no matter what the hope is that Saleh will be out of the picture sooner rather than later.
I also just wanted to briefly comment on Bahrain, just mainly about this being one of the worst policy decisions that America has made over the last several months and if not years deciding not to support the democratic protest movement in Bahrain. I hope that Bahrain will see some sort of change in the near future and will not have to wait for other countries to fall before they are able to secure their own state and their own government for the people.
MN/PKH
Loading ...
0 comments:
Post a Comment