Saudi Arabia wants chaos in Yemen: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Naseer al-Omari, author and political commentator from New York, about continuing Saudi airstrikes against the Yemeni people during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Saudi Arabia continues to step up its attacks during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan; we should also mention during ongoing peace talks in Kuwait. How does this contribute to peace?

Omari: It doesn’t and they don’t care about Ramadan or human rights or anything else. This regime is an outlaw. We have heard the international calls from human rights groups asking for the United Nations to expel the Saudis from the Human Rights Council.

They have violated the Yemenis’ right to live and to have access to food. Twenty million Yemenis are on the verge of humanitarian crisis and in need of food. This country has suffered tremendously and you ask yourself what for and there is no answer.

This regime wants to create chaos, because it survives on chaos both internally in Saudi Arabia as well as externally in Iraq, in Syria and Yemen. And so, they don’t care about peace, they care about remaining in power and they care about the Wahhabi agenda, which is their foreign policy basically.

Press TV: There has been few condemnations for the number of civilian deaths out of the total number of deaths, but for the most part, Saudi atrocities in Yemen have been barely covered by Western media, and Riyadh blackmailing the UN to retract its blacklisting of Saudi Arabia for child deaths in Yemen seems to have all been brushed under the carpet. Why has Riyadh been able to get away with murder for so long in Yemen?

Omari: Because they’re bribing the international community, they’re bribing major democracies and they’re the United Nations and basically Mr. Ban Ki-moon came out and said it outright. He didn’t want to lose the money that the Saudis pay for the Yemenis, but the irony is they are allowing the Saudis to kill the Yemenis and they have targeted civilians. We know that they have targeted civilians. We know that a few days ago when 40 Yemenis were killed, half of them were civilians. So, this regime is targeting civilians. It aims to inflict as much psychological damage on the Yemenis so that they submit to their agenda and they have no plan for the country.

Press TV: OK, short of Saudi Arabia being able to totally control Yemen and make all the decisions politically for Yemen, is there any other option you think the Saudis would accept for peace in Yemen?

Omari: I don’t believe that they have a plan for peace. I believe that they believe that they have succeeded. They have turned Yemen into a chaotic place. Chaos is OK with the Saudis. Chaos in Yemen is fine, because it will guarantee that no power will ever threaten the royal family. So, I believe that they are happy with these results and they will probably continue to destroy Yemen for many many years to come unfortunately.

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