The Original Sin of Yemen (Must read!)
By Garrett Khoury,
March 28, 2015
Understanding the current crisis in Yemen means re-examining the country’s unification process.
These are not good times for Yemen. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, widely believed to be the most potent offspring of Osama bin Laden’s original organization, has taken up residence in the arid and rugged east and launches regular attacks around the country. Houthi rebels, a militant Zaydi Shi’a group from the mountainous far north of Yemen, have gone from small-time irritations a decade ago to overthrowing the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, declaring their own provisional authority from the capital of Sana’a, and now taking control of large swathes of the country. The morning of March 26th saw a Saudi Arabian-led coalition of Arab states (mainly from the Gulf Cooperation Council) launch airstrikes around Yemen, targeting Houthi positions and political figures. On top of all of this, Yemen is widely believed to be the first country that is going to run out of water.
Each issue is a crisis on its own, but combined together are making the world question Yemen’s viability as a state. When the biggest debate about a country is whether it’s a failed state or just a failing state, that means the situation is quite dire.
One issue, though, connects all of these, and indeed aggravates the entire situation in the country. It was a problem before the Houthis, before AQAP, and even before the water supply was much thought about. The issue is the North-South divide, still alive and well 25 years after the formal unification of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen). 21 years after the civil war in the newly reunified country between Northern and Southern forces ended in a victory for the former, secession of the lands formerly comprising South Yemen is still a very real issue.............................
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Berhane Habtemnariam