Date: Fri Nov 28 14:57:39 2014
Interview: Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh
Former Yemeni president who stepped down under pressure from a popular
revolt in 2012 speaks to Ahram Online about the current political situation
Ahmed Eleiba
<http://english.ahram.org.eg/WriterArticles/Ahmed-Eleiba/334/0.aspx> ,
Friday 28 Nov 2014
Against the backdrop of complicated and intricate developments in Yemen, and
the rush of events, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh remains a powerful
figure in the political fray. He stepped down under interim arrangements
ushered in by the Gulf initiative of March 2012 and was succeeded by
then-Vice President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi. However, he retained his post as
head of the former ruling party, the General People's Congress (GPC), which
has had representatives in subsequent governments.
Saleh was the victim of an assassination attempt in June 2011 and
transferred to a military hospital in Saudi Arabia for treatment. After his
recovery, he returned to Yemen to resume his political activities. Recently,
when the Houthis invaded and seized control over strategic locations in the
capital, Sanaa, and asserted themselves as a major political force, Saleh
came under suspicion for either actively supporting them or at least helping
to clear the way for them by drawing on the connections and allegiances that
he still controls in the armed forces.
The new balance of powers in the capital was manifested in the Peace and
Partnership Agreement signed 21 September. Soon afterwards, the UN Security
Council, invoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter, imposed sanctions against
Ali Abdullah Saleh and Houthi leaders on the grounds of obstructing the
political process. The former president has charged that the UN move has
placed Yemen under an international mandate, constituting a flagrant
impingement on its sovereignty. He argues that the divergent opinions and
positions of the Yemeni parties do not warrant placing Yemen under the
provisions of Chapter VII. In spite of this, he believes that his party, the
GPC, has responded constructively by means of its constant efforts to avert
the risks and dangers that could aggravate the crisis the Yemeni people have
been enduring for three years.
Ahram Online met with the former Yemeni president in his home, which was
abuzz with activity by the press, tribal representatives, and politicians
who had worked with him in the past, along with GPC leaders. The interview
opened by asking Saleh to speak about his role in the current political
scene, and into the future.
"I am past tense. From the past. The question about Yemen's future is one
that should be put to the current leaders in Yemen, not to me. As for me, if
you want my answer to that question it is: I wish for Yemen security, peace,
stability, progress and the preservation of everything that has been
accomplished with the addition of new accomplishments. That is my opinion."
Q: After February and March 2012 there was a general impression that Yemen
was moving, more or less, towards stability. That impression lasted until 21
September 2014. Now everything appears to have virtually ground to a halt.
What is your assessment of the current moment?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: Everyone hope things will get better. People hoped that
the change in 2011 would bring something better than what existed. Today,
they hope to preserve what was achieved in the past and before 2011.
Q: But what is your assessment of the political situation and Yemen and the
current condition of the Yemeni citizen?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: It pains me to see the country fragment, the
institutions collapse, all the accomplishments of the past being destroyed.
Okay, so they tried to keep positive points from the past and to offer
something better than the negative points, but at what a cost! It's a
disaster.
Q: Aren't you part of the solution to this crisis?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: No, the solution is in the hands of the decision-makers.
Q: You are not a decision-maker? What is your situation in the current
scene?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: I am situated in a political organisation called the
General People's Congress, which tries to help, restore calm, instil peace
of mind, promote calm with the government, and cooperation with the cabinet.
The government never asked this of us, but we want to perform our duty to
our people. This is to promote the restoration of calm and to help the
political, military and security agencies to overcome this crisis. But not
to simply land ourselves in another crisis. We need to overcome the 2011
crisis, bring it to an end and move on to make things better, rather than
creating another crisis just as we begin to emerge from a previous one.
Q: Do you have some dispute with the current government or with President
Hadi in light of recent developments pertaining to sanctions and the current
situation?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: I have no dispute with anyone. They are at odds with
themselves. They go out and tell the Americans and the UN and neighbouring
countries that Ali Abdullah Saleh is part of the problem. If a gang blocks a
road they say it's Ali Abdullah Salah. If the electricity gets cut off, they
say it's Ali Abdullah Saleh. If an oil pipeline gets blown up, they say it's
Ali Abdullah Saleh. If the economy deteriorates, they say it's Ali Abdullah
Saleh. If the Houthis move, they say it's Ali Abdullah Saleh. If Al-Qaeda
moves, they say it's Ali Abdullah Saleh. That's the current government for
you.
Q: What do you have to say about the Gulf initiative that is being
spearheaded by Oman?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: I believe that the first Gulf initiative was good. But
it was circumvented and politicised in a way that produced results that were
not good. Therefore, as our brothers in Oman announced, they have proposed a
new Gulf initiative. I don't know whether or not all the GCC (Gulf
Cooperation Council) countries are agreed on it or whether it is an Omani
proposal to improve the first Gulf initiative. In all events, I welcome it.
Q: No one contacted you with regard to that subject?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: No. But our neighbouring countries - Oman, Abu Dhabi and
the other Gulf countries - have a duty to stand by Yemen and help it. This
is not about money. It's about political assistance towards an end to this
crisis in Yemen. It is an asphyxiating crisis. There is no mutual trust
between all the shades of the political spectrum and this breeds conflict.
We are looking forward to a strong and effective Gulf role. It would have
been better if they had asserted pressure to force the parties to implement
and abide by the first Gulf initiative.
Q: Are differences arising between you and Saudi Arabia at present?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: I have no dispute with Saudi Arabia or any other party.
What they write in the newspapers belonging to our brothers in the kingdom
is based on domestic demand there. And that demand says, "Let's surround
him. Let's surround Ali Abdullah Saleh from the US. Let's surround him from
the UN. Let's surround him from the Gulf. Let's surround him from here and
from there ... I had never imagined I would be such an important figure.
Q: But aren't you an important figure?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: I used to be, I think, at the time when I was a ruler.
But afterwards do I still have such importance? Who knows?
Q: What do you have to say about other regional interventions in Yemen?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: I have nothing to do with that subject. I do not know
the details. However, as I see it, when situations get out of control in the
country and the performance of government weakens, it is very likely that
lions, snakes and all sorts of beasts begin to intervene.
Q: So the state is at a moment of weakness?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: I do not think so. It is stronger than ever in the past.
Q: The Yemeni state is strong today.
Ali Abdullah Saleh: Yes. In my assessment, that is the case.
Q: Do you mean that the military and security establishment is strong? What
about the scenes and the manifestations of Houthi control in the streets?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: Yes. I am not analysing the current scene. I was a
ruler. They'll say that I'm angry and thirsty for power so I suit my
analysis accordingly. But other politicians can express their opinion on
this matter.
Q: But some say that you are a factor in the current scene. Some blame you
and some support you. Is this not the case?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: I can't make others stay quiet. They are free to say
what they want.
Q: With regard to Egypt, how do you assess the situation? Is there a
relationship between you and Egypt?
Ali Abdullah Saleh: That is the crux of the issue - Egypt. I believe that
the Arab Spring is bad and that it was backed by the Zionists. But there is
a bright candle now with the presence of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi at
the top of the pyramid of power in Egypt, and with the elimination of the
Muslim Brotherhood, because the Muslim Brothers were a fascist and
reactionary force.
Q: But you didn't exclude them. You worked with them, here in Yemen, and
included them in every branch and agency of government.
Ali Abdullah Saleh: I not only worked with them, I was allied with them. But
after they conspired to assassinate me I left them. But as I said, the first
candle of hope from 2011 to today is the presence of President Field Marshal
Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in power. Now there is a breakthrough in Egypt. Egypt
is important to us and to the Arab nation. Egypt is culture. It is an army.
It is security. It is tourism. It is economy. Egypt is important to us. Our
culture here in Yemen is an entirely Egyptian culture. Our whole education
is Egyptian.
Q: Does this still apply? Some people say that Egypt is absent from Yemen.
Ali Abdullah Saleh: No, Egypt is not absent. Egypt has duties and
commitments. Right now it's in the process of rectifying the conditions
bequeathed by the nine months of Muslim Brotherhood rule and, before that,
by the interim period that followed Hosni Mubarak when Tantawi was in
charge. Egypt is in the process of setting its house in order. No one can
blame it. But Egypt is there in the hearts and minds of every Arab, because
to us it is the bastion, the citadel for all Arabs. Egypt is indispensable.
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh (Photo: Reuters)
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