The United Nations were set up after World War Two to help prevent such horrors, so why have the offices of the UN not been fully utilised? Putin may have had concerns, genuine ones, over his Western border’s security so surely the place to air these worries is the UN, not by invasion or certainly not as a first strike.
On our news bulletins we hear daily of the obliteration going on in Ukraine in fact RTE dedicates, well over the top, coverage to this subject, around eighty five percent of air time goes to the Ukraine or related news. The same is very much the same on Virgin and the British news channels differ very little. In fact, all those countries in a hurry to ingratiate themselves with the USA, including the European Union bloc of countries, cover the Ukrainian situation similarly.
The question must be asked, is all this coverage genuinely about the safety of the Ukrainian population? Or more about being well in with Washington? I notice none of the same coverage or anywhere near the same is given to the poor souls of Yemen who have been pounded, as are Ukraine now, for the last seven years by Bidens mates in Saudi Arabia and their allies. Why do our media not give the same pity, false as I suspect it is, to the people of Yemen? Could it be because to criticise Saudi Arabia for doing exactly the same to Yemen as Russia are to Ukraine might upset Joe Biden? And we can’t be having that can we!
I can remember an Taoiseach, Micheal Martin’s face when in the US for the Saint Patrick's Day festivities. He was told he had Covid-19 and must isolate. The poor man was almost in tears. Could his distress have been not because he had Covid but because he had missed his chance of a little chat with the great man, the US President?
The other idiot, Boris Johnson is no better in “the how to stay well in with Joe stakes”, the difference is he has a bargaining chip, his nuclear bombs which are greatly under US control. Micheal Martin reminded me of a young kid who had missed the opportunity procuring the autograph of his favourite footballer who for some reason fails to turn up for training. Now, the same hypocrisy cannot be said of the Irish and British people, most of whom do have a genuine sympathy for the Ukrainian refugees, unlike their governments and so-called opposition parties. How many of these same people have heard of events in Yemen? Far fewer I would imagine, and why? Because they have never been told! the question again must be asked, why have they never been told, or certainly told in any great depth? I think that question has been answered, there is no political mileage in Yemen!
The Ukraine is not the only place on earth where terrible things are happening. The plight of the Palestinians has been going on for years at the hands of the Israelis but, yet again Israel are mates with the USA and therefore beyond reproach! The eleventh commandment, like the other hypocritical ten ambiguous ones, thou shalt not upset the USA or their friends, certainly applies here. Similarly Saudi Arabia and their allies the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are friends of the US, and therefore the pair of them can obliterate Yemen and its people with little worry of an international outcry, and certainly not on the scale Putin is getting hammered. Plus, of course, these countries have vast oil reserves which, if EU sanctions are applied to Russian oil, may procure a cheap deal should the Russian supply become no go areas. Do not bank on the Saudis playing this quid pro quo game of you don’t slag us, and we’ll give you some cheapo oil, if indeed this is the clandestine case.
Yemen is a Middle-Eastern country situated in western Asia which borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the north-east. It is the second largest Arab sovereign state in the peninsula occupying 555,000 square kilometres (214,000 square miles) with a population of around 31 million. Since 2011 Yemen has been in a state of political crisis which began as a street protest against poverty, unemployment and corruption as well as President Saleh’s plan to dispose of the constitutional Presidential term of office limit of seven years. In face of this opposition President Saleh stood down and Presidential powers were transferred to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was supported militarily by Saudi Arabia. Because the people, through protest, managed to force one man to stand down which he did in return for immunity from prosecution did they want him replaced by a Saudi puppet in Mansur Hadi?
The Ukraine is not the only place on earth where terrible things are happening. The plight of the Palestinians has been going on for years at the hands of the Israelis but, yet again Israel are mates with the USA and therefore beyond reproach! The eleventh commandment, like the other hypocritical ten ambiguous ones, thou shalt not upset the USA or their friends, certainly applies here. Similarly Saudi Arabia and their allies the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are friends of the US, and therefore the pair of them can obliterate Yemen and its people with little worry of an international outcry, and certainly not on the scale Putin is getting hammered. Plus, of course, these countries have vast oil reserves which, if EU sanctions are applied to Russian oil, may procure a cheap deal should the Russian supply become no go areas. Do not bank on the Saudis playing this quid pro quo game of you don’t slag us, and we’ll give you some cheapo oil, if indeed this is the clandestine case.
Yemen is a Middle-Eastern country situated in western Asia which borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the north-east. It is the second largest Arab sovereign state in the peninsula occupying 555,000 square kilometres (214,000 square miles) with a population of around 31 million. Since 2011 Yemen has been in a state of political crisis which began as a street protest against poverty, unemployment and corruption as well as President Saleh’s plan to dispose of the constitutional Presidential term of office limit of seven years. In face of this opposition President Saleh stood down and Presidential powers were transferred to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was supported militarily by Saudi Arabia. Because the people, through protest, managed to force one man to stand down which he did in return for immunity from prosecution did they want him replaced by a Saudi puppet in Mansur Hadi?
Hadi had been Saleh’s deputy and it would be fair to say the situation in this impoverished land is a mess. Saudi Arabia and their allies, another eight Arab states including the UEA, have intervened militarily with the firm view of restoring the Hadi government who had been, like his predecessor, ousted, but is still recognised by other countries as Yemen’s President. It is not the purpose here to look at the rights and wrongs of the conflict between the Houthi who are loyal to deposed former President Saleh, and the Saudi backed forces of supposed official government led by Hadi in Yemen, any more than I, as a neutral, do not take sides in the Ukraine conflict. From where I am sitting the people are between a rock and a hard place. All capitalist and imperialist wars are wrong as in every single one of them it is the civilians who suffer in order a few, often from another country, can thrive.
The weekend gone of 26/27th March marked the seventh anniversary of the military onslaught on Yemen by this Saudi Arabian led coalition. The USA and UK among others are arming the Saudis thus causing more poverty and misery for an already oppressed people. Of course, this does not bother the arms dealers of the US, UK, France and other countries all of whom cry crocodile tears over the Ukraine, but don’t mind the people of Yemen being bombed by weapons they supplied. They are conspicuous by their silence over the destruction and genocide in Yemen.
The weekend gone of 26/27th March marked the seventh anniversary of the military onslaught on Yemen by this Saudi Arabian led coalition. The USA and UK among others are arming the Saudis thus causing more poverty and misery for an already oppressed people. Of course, this does not bother the arms dealers of the US, UK, France and other countries all of whom cry crocodile tears over the Ukraine, but don’t mind the people of Yemen being bombed by weapons they supplied. They are conspicuous by their silence over the destruction and genocide in Yemen.
This is a war which has exacted a very high toll on the population and continues to do so unchecked by the so-called international community. The bombardment of Yemen by the Saudi led coalition has already devastated critical infrastructure across the country leaving former hospitals as piles of rubble. Yemen is on the brink of a catastrophe of epic proportions as civilian casualties rise, hospitals – the plural of hospital – are destroyed and the sewer systems are in many instances now above ground. The bombardment began back in 2015, led by Saudi Arabia using Western and US arms, the aims of this onslaught being to put back into power the government (if that is what it was) of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. What is now happening in Ukraine has been happening in Yemen for at least seven years! Remember there are still some questions asked in a few quarters about the legitimacy of President Zelenskyy in Ukraine, just as Yemen is not certain who the President is! It is not clear cut just because the US say it is.
According to the UK Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT):
According to the UK Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT):
the most recent government statistics show that the UK has licensed at least £6.5 million worth of arms to the Saudi led coalition since the start of its ongoing bombing campaign in Yemen.
The figure quoted covers the period 26th March 2015 to 26th March 2020. Reports tell us 2.2 million children are acutely malnourished as are 1.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding women. If this continues it is estimated 161,000 Yemini people will face starvation by the second half of this year. That is only a few months away and is five times higher than the current figure, so devastating and rapid is the rate of destruction. According to the United Nations, Yemen is the worlds “most urgent humanitarian crisis and could well become the worst famine the world has seen in decades”. The USA, UK, and several EU countries who cry crocodile tears over the Ukraine are complicit in this slaughter in Yemen. The 26-county government are no better as they continue to chant the tune of the USA and their President, Joe Biden, over Ukraine but say nothing of the people in Yemen under attack from Biden's mates. Not a word, the hypocrisy is sickening.
Daily we hear of the demand for more sanctions against Russia, usually by people who can afford to pay through the roof for goods and services, but never do we hear a murmur about sanctions against Saudi Arabia and their allies. Never does an utterance of condemnation towards the USA and UK who supply the Saudis and their gang with weapons come from either the government or opposition benches in the Dail. Not much opposing going on over this issue Mary Lou, and you Ivana Bacik, the new Irish Labour Party leader or, for that matter, the Social Democrats and/or Independents, not a fucking word!
The Irish people have been brilliant, so far, over refugees and offering accommodation, no argument there, as, I understand, have the peoples of England, Scotland and Wales and across the EU. Yet, I have heard nothing about the plight of the Yemini people in the streets or the pubs, why could this be? Probably because events in Yemen receive little or no news coverage to tell them. Perhaps the 26-county government, and that shower in Westminster, do not feel the same sympathy for the people of Yemen. After all they are darker skinned, whereas Ukrainians are of a similar pigmentation to ourselves. Or could it be the Yemini people have a different religion to any of the denominations within so-called Christianity? Could these reasons be why so little is heard on the news about the slaughter in Yemen? Or could it be more to do with the fact that the aggressors in Yemen have the backing of the USA, the EU, and Britain? After all it would not do to upset President Biden, especially as the 26-county government appear hell bent on us joining his gang as our military neutrality is eroded more and more! If Micheal Martin and his cronies have their way would, or could, we become NATO members? If so, is this the reason nobody wants to verbally attack the barbarism and slaughter inflicted on Yemen by Saudi Arabia using US and UK supplied weapons? Will people of Yemen be offered free medical cards and hospitality in Ireland? They are, after all, refugees just the same as the unfortunate people of Ukraine. Will places of education be reserved for the people fleeing barbarism in Yemen? I have doubts over this happening, not the political millage for our government in Yemen as there is in Ukraine and anti-Putin rhetoric.
To my knowledge there are no Nazi organisations in Yemen, unlike Ukraine where the Azov regiment (formerly battalion) who are pro-Nazi are present, and the US and EU along with Britain are arming the aggressors in Yemen and the Nazis, supposed defenders in Ukraine. This gang, Azov, have just been awarded the highest possible Ukrainian military honour by President Zelenskyy, who must be either blind or a fool. If my history is correct the General who awarded Hitler his Iron Cross second-class during the First World War was also Jewish, as is President Zelenskyy. Twenty years later I bet that General in the German Army was full of regrets over this award given to his people’s murderer. Let us hope Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not regret his actions when all this is over.
The above is not an argument against giving Ukrainian refugees all the hospitality at our disposal, without over stretching our already struggling services. To push the services, like health to breaking point will cause our refugees more problems in the future, which, believe me nobody wants. My argument is why has Yemen been forgotten either by design or otherwise? Do these people not count? Do they not feel the same pain as do Ukrainian people, the same as do all people?
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Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist |
Caoimhin - good stuff. Always important to raise these matters. Having previously protested at the Saudi embassy in Dublin, it is scurrilous that the Western backed attack on Yemen is not given the exposure it deserves. Your war crimes are bad but ours are good - isn't that right Bibi?
ReplyDeleteThats how it appears, Anthony. Any friend of the US can do as they please pretty much unhindered. However, if a country not known as being matey with Washington carries out excactly the same criminal act it is worong. The reality is, both are criminal and both are wrong and being a mate of the US President should offer no immunity. Alas, it would appear, it does.
ReplyDeleteCaoimhin O'Muraile