Yemen: moving the revolution from the street into the halls of parliament

In 2011, as mass protests swept the Middle East, Yemen unseated its dictator of 33 years, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Since then, the country has dropped off the western news agenda, displaced by the chaos in Egypt and violence in Syria. But Yemen’s transition to democracy has been nothing if not tumultuous. The transitional government, led by President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, is trying to promote ‘national reconciliation’ – but it is a fragile institution that is struggling to battle instability and an Al-Qaeda insurgency.

This week, the UN Security Council authorized sanctions against anyone in Yemen who obstructs the country’s political transition or commits human rights violations, but stopped short of blacklisting any particular individuals. The top candidates for blacklisting are Saleh, the former president, and the former vice-president, Ali Salim Al-Beidh. The Security Council has already expressed concern about reports of interference by these two men. In November, the United Nations’ special envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, accused members of Saleh’s circle of obstructing reconciliation talks in Yemen aimed at completing the power transfer deal that removed Saleh from office.

The sanctions resolution, drafted by Britain, was unanimously passed. It will leave the imposition of asset freezes and travel bans on specific people up to a newly created UN sanctions committee for Yemen.

Tawwakol Karman, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work in Yemen’s revolution, welcomed the UN resolution, but added that in order for it to be useful, “I call upon international partners for serious action that is conducive to recovering the stolen assets… I also call for withdrawing weapons from the armed militias, enforcing law and order, and stretching the state’s control over the entire Yemeni territories”.

This is a key moment for Yemen. In January, the country completed the National Dialogue Conference – a process that took 10 months, got vehemently opposed political groups around the same table, and averted a bloody civil war. At the end of the process, Yemen has a blueprint showing what a new federal state would look like, as well as setting out the shape of democratic reform. Yet, as a recent report by the International Crisis Group warns, “this vision is aspirational at best and events on the ground are moving in a different direction”.

Yemen, a former British colony and one of the poorest Arab nations, faces a multitude of challenges. The country is home to one of the deadliest branches of Al-Qaeda. It faces the challenge of a separatist movement in the south; it was a separate state from 1967-1990 and has been marginalized ever since. In the north, the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi movement is on an offensive to extend its control over the area. A patchwork of ceasefires that have quelled the violence in the north are looking unsteady. Meanwhile, the economic and humanitarian situation remains dire across the board. More than half the population are food insecure; there are 10 million malnourished children; and more than 40 per cent youth unemployment.

In her statement, Karman said that the UN resolution showed the importance of Yemen to the world. This is true; although the main reason for international concern is anxiety about the security implications of an unstable Yemen. This was made explicit in the resolution, which condemns the growing number of attacks carried out or sponsored by Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, the group’s branch in Yemen.

The country shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, and both its neighbours in the Gulf and western powers are concerned that Saleh’s continued interference in the country could cause the fragile political transition to descend into chaos. This has a direct impact on terrorism, as the transitional government is in too weak a position to take decisive action. Moreover, several Yemeni security officials have alleged that supporters of Saleh with links to the security and intelligence agencies are quietly supporting Al-Qaeda fighters to undermine the government.

After the Arab Spring, Yemen was one of the only countries to start the process of a national dialogue to set out a road map for political transition. The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, called the success of this process “historic”. Yemen’s UN ambassador, Jamal Abdullah Al-Sallal, said that the dialogue was a “wonderful model”, adding that “we do not wish to return to square one, to confront violence and a slide toward civil war”. Yemen made significant achievements in moving the revolution from the street into the halls of parliament, but as the continued unrest shows, putting such change into action is easier said than done.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.