Saudis war on Yemen unjustifiable: Academic

Press TV has conducted an interview with Daoud Khairallah, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, to discuss Saudi Arabia’s ongoing military aggression against Yemen.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Looking at the targets that Saudi Arabia is basically using in Yemen, we are seeing military installations, telecommunication centers, refugee camps, civilian infrastructure, a dam was even targeted, what is the military strategy here in your opinion?

Khairallah: I have no clue what the military strategy is. The objectives that the Saudi coalition declared are totally unrelated to the atrocities and the crimes of war and crimes against humanity that are inflicted on the people of Yemen, on the institutions of Yemen, on the historic edifices in Yemen. It is absolutely unconscionable, unjustifiable neither legally nor morally the continuation of this war on Yemen. And the international community, the Security Council in particular, takes direct responsibility for the atrocities that are taking place in Yemen.

Press TV: Well now that you bring up the issue of the Security Council, we have seen the UN Security Council pass a resolution about putting an arms embargo on the Ansarullah movement; however there has been no call for Saudi Arabia to stop its aggression. Why do you think that is so?

Khairallah: Well this is the oddity and the inconsistency of the Security Council position. The Security Council reflects the attitude of member countries, in particular those who have a lot of clout in the US in the first instance. Their attitude is enabling the Saudi coalition from continuing to commit crimes against humanity, against the Yemeni people without any justification, moral or legal as I said, and this is really odd.

The Security Council was created to find peaceful solution to disagreement, to conflict among nations. We see the Security Council now, while calling on the Yemeni to meet and find a peaceful solution in Geneva, it does not take the trouble of stopping the atrocities, stopping the crimes that are being inflicted on the Yemeni people and Yemeni institution and building and historic monuments.

Press TV: Of course all eyes are on this soon-to-be Geneva conference that will bring about Yemeni parties to the negotiating table. Do you have any hopes that it might resolve some of the key underlying issues and bring a halt to Saudi aggression against Yemen?  

Khairallah: I hope it will come to some definitive conclusion. The settlement of the Yemeni problem is first and foremost a Yemeni responsibility. Yemeni people should act very seriously and should know that is their country, their life, their future, their presence that is at stake and they should come to a solution.

But irrespective of that, the continuation of aggression, the bombing of Yemen, the destruction of Yemen is totally unjustified and it is being done not by Yemeni people. The United Nations has decided that the solution has to come from Yemenis only because the Yemenis are the people involved and they have the exclusive right of choosing the form of government, choosing their government, choosing how they would want to be ruled.

No outside power has such a right or can claim such right. Why are they allowing an outside power to destroy Yemen? This is a challenge to any reasonable man.

AHK/NN

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