The present status quo, however, after a suppression of the constitutional system in four stages, is the result of a putsch of the restorative powers, endeavouring to re-establish the authoritarian state with centralistic execution of power, depletion of resources by a privileged
minority, and the repression of the population by military force.
The Houthis allied themselves with the former authoritarian regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh, dissolved in 2011, and, in an international conspiracy,
were assisted by stakeholders in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Iran in attempting to topple the revolution and reverse the achievements enjoyed by the population.
This meets with the growing resistance of the population, now massively suppressed.
This putsch is interpreted by some media as an expression of a sectarian conflict between the Zeidies, a side branch of the Shiite religious orientation, the dominant creed in the North and the for hundreds of years
annexed areas in the South of Saudi Arabia, and the Sunnites of various religious orientations in the South, West and East of the country. The media misinterpret the erupting conflict, which is primarily a political
one and in which sectarian arguments are rather used to camouflage the suppression of the democratic development.
The violence of the new military regime is demonstrated by kidnapping, torturing, arresting, threatening and intimidating members of the former government. In the short time after taking over ,the Houthis have acquired
the designation of ”Qat and Kalaschnikow Party” and are increasingly being compared with the Taliban because of their regressive postulations.
As Nadia AlSakkaf, Minister for information and former editor of “Yemen Times”, stated to the author, this putsch has a drastic influence on the situation of
Yemen and the Yemeni population in three fields:
*The external relations of Yemen:
Following the revolution the previously disastrous reputation of the country as a hotbed of terror and kidnapping could be discarded, and the international community started to recognize the striving for a peaceful
political transfer by means of the political dialogue and multiple assistance during this process.
The brutal handling of diplomats by the Houthies in Sana´a and the violent dismissal of the legitimate government has resulted in the closure of embassies of western governments and Arab states, and the isolation of Yemen for as long as the Houthies will reign.
The UNO, the GCC and other international bodies request the reinstitution of president Hadi and the annulment of the “constitutional announcement” by the Houthies, abrogating all constitutional bases.
*The status quo of Human Rights:
A drastic deterioration rapidly ensued in this field too. The complete repeal of the constitutional bases since entering Sana´a on 21st September, 2014, and the replacement by edicts of a 17-headed military junta on 8th February, 2015, permitted the Houthis´ regime to clamp down on all civil rights. It is certainly not exaggerated to refer to state
terror:
• Kidnapping and arresting Ahmed Aswad bin Mubarrak, the head of the presidential office, many weeks of detention in a prison cell and mistreatment
• Besieging the domicile of President Abdrubbah Mansur Hadi, enforcing his resignation, isolation and house arrest until 21st February, 2015. The seriously ill president suffered from heart problems, was not permitted to be hospitalised
• House arrest for, and mistreatment of, various other government members including the prime minister Khaled Bahah
• Coercion of two former ministers to cooperate with the “military council”
• Threatening and coercing political representatives of other parties in general if they do not unconditionally submit to Houthi requests
• Exclusion of women from responsible positions, threatening women in public life. A concept of female rights in social life comparable to Taliban philosophy
• Massive pressure, not excluding physical coercion, on the communication and media sectors. All public media were by force taken over by Houthis under pretext of fighting corruption, and misused for propaganda purposes.
Other media ( with the exception of A.A. Saleh´s media imperium) were disconnected, hacked, massively hassled, and decommissioned if not operating from abroad
• Restriction of freedom of assembly by a decree rendering demonstrations subject to approval by the military council. During peaceful demonstrations in Sana´a and other towns against the Houthi occupation
dozens of participants were arrested, kidnapped and abducted. Many were subjected to torture and severe mistreatment and confronted with death threats should they ever again participate in demonstrations
• Revision of the demands for a life with dignity as requested in the revolution, drafted in the NDK, and included in the blueprint of the Constitution
• Life with dignity is already undermined by the further impoverishment of the population as a result of the accession to power of the Houthis. The numerous foreign government organizations and NGO´s active in combating
food insecurity, malnutrition of children, insufficient supply of water,mbasic foodstuffs, and the lack of primary health care, will have to leave the country in the light of the harassment they are exposed to and the insufficient diplomatic backing, if the situation doel not change
substantially
*Security situation:
The Houthis command a well-equipped army with modern weapons of war. No exact headcount figures are known, nor details regarding the equipment.
Since their triumphal march from Saada via Amran to Sana´a last year appears to have been unstoppable (and the same holds true for the six wars from 2004 to 2010, where they defeated the Yemeni army) they are considered invincible. In the meantime it has transpired, however, that they were supported in their advance by various military units, providing war equipment from arsenals and barracks of the army and ceding barracks without resistance.
For quite some time the Houthies have also possessed modern means of communication for supervision and military logistics for capturing terrain and, finally, the capital Sana´a. According to well-informed sources the respective equipment and instruction in the relevant
technology were obtained from Iranian experts in Lebanon.
The capture of the capital Sana´a and the overthrow of the government are the result of the military deployment of the Houthi militia. When the political wing of the Houthis “Ansar Allah” did not succeed in jeopardising the federalisation vis-à-vis the majorities in the decision
bodies a fait accompli was brutally achieved by war.
Upon assumption of power the Houthis declared their military unit to be the state army. This also implies that the Yemeni army, already weak because of the lack of loyalty to the state and a fractionalization by particular partisans, has now been subordinated to a militia. This implies furthermore that whatever army, armed units such as tribal bodies, home guard, AlQaida, Dasch or similar armed bodies can take over power by force of arms and usurp state power.
All requests of the international community and the political representatives of the country have so far been met with the Houthis´unbending refusal to cede power. Abdelmalik alHouthi, the leader of the Houthis, dug in on his mountain fortress in Saada, directs his “noble Yemeni
people” via television without any contact to the population, and insinuates to “complete the revolution”.
Further displacements are to be expected in the political scenery prior to the next newsletter.