A Saudi Arabian plan to relieve the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen has been branded a tactic of war and a “cynical PR exercise”. It announced its $3.5bn (£2.5bn) Yemen Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations plan in January, following months of criticism over the effect of a blockade that has left an estimated 8 million people facing acute malnutrition in a country where 75% of the population of 29 million are in need of aid.
The International Rescue Committee has been prominent in condemning the Saudi aid plan, describing it as a “war tactic”.
“The name in itself is misleading: it is neither comprehensive nor particularly humanitarian,” said Amanda Catanzano, advocacy director at the IRC, who emphasised that the threat of mass starvation in Yemen was the direct result of Saudi policy." Catanzano said: “The Saudi-led coalition is offering to fund a response to address the impact of a crisis it helped to create. The acute crisis in Yemen needs more than what appears to be a logistical operations plan, with token gestures of humanitarian aid. A meaningful response to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis requires more access – not less. At best, this plan would shrink access and introduce new inefficiencies that would slow the response and keep aid from the neediest Yemenis, including the over 8 million on the brink of starvation. At worst, it would dangerously politicise humanitarian aid by placing far too much control over the response in the hands of an active party to the conflict.” Catanzano told the Guardian “While we welcome any aid, there is already a well-conceived UN humanitarian plan.
“The existence of this parallel Saudi plan is a distraction pointing to what it actually is: a disingenuous effort by the Saudis.”
Critics have highlighted the plan’s almost total failure to address the key demand that Saudi open the ports of Hodeidah and Saleef to commercial traffic and aid shipments. Agencies say this is required to relieve the threat of starvation in the large areas controlled by Houthi rebels. There are also concerns about a section of the Saudi plan suggesting further strengthening of the existing UN arms inspection regime, designed to prevent what Saudi claims are Iranian arms shipments to the Houthis. Critics say such checks would further slow traffic through ports.
“The Saudi humanitarian support package is rather like a torturer following a session of pain-inducing activity bringing his victim a cup of coffee,” said Andrew Mitchell, the Tory MP and former international development secretary. “Frankly, it has all the appearance of a cynical PR exercise. It is hard to take seriously a humanitarian relief plan which is accompanied, night after night, by major bombing attacks from the Saudi air force which are killing innocent civilians.”
Tamer Kirolos, Save the Children’s country director in Yemen, underlined another key criticism of the Saudi plan – that while it appears to promise more supplies coming into the country’s south, and over long-closed border crossings with Saudi, much of that aid would have to travel long distances – and through dozens of militia checkpoints – to reach those most in need.
“The Saudis are very clear about wanting to reduce the use of the ports of Hodeidah and Saleef, but the issue is they need to accept there is no option but to go through Hodeidah and Saleef when we are already seeing waits for ships going into Aden of three and four weeks because of congestion.”
Observers point out that the new plan only loosens a devastating blockade the Saudis themselves imposed, and that Riyadh’s previous promises to ameliorate the suffering of one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes – which its own military caused – have not been followed through. In particular, say, critics, continued restrictions on the import of fuel are still responsible for the rampant food price inflation in many areas, putting basic necessities out of the reach of millions.
A British-drafted UN security council resolution accusing Iran of violating sanctions on arms shipments to Yemen was vetoed by Russia earlier this week amid accusations that it was too pro-Saudi.
4 comments:
The situation in Yemen is dismal and the Saudi Royal Family's conduct despicable, but this article fails to mention the 'guiding hand' behind the murderous onslaught of the Saudi military. The US and the UK have armed and re-supplied and provided intelligence, refueling and other logistical support to the Saudis. Without this the Saudis could not have wreaked such havoc and the conflict would have been a much smaller internal affair requiring much less ‘humanitarian intervention.’
This article, Tim, is just one post in a number of others. Your point about the complicity of the US/UK have been made in previous messages.
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Thanks for this. I have taken the opportunity to have a look at a couple of the previous pieces you suggested which address the role of the UK. I hadn't expected that you would have overlooked this aspect of the Yemeni conflict but, if my deteriorating memory is anything to go by, it doesn't do any harm to provide a reminder.
You are right. Forgot who said it but when we are faced with overwhelming concentrated propaganda from the mainstream media and conventional academia, we have to repeat our message over and over again to get across to people that there is an alternative narrative to the one they keep hearing.
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