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UN peace plan for Yemen, completely fraudulent: Pundit

Monday, 31 October 2016 3:29 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 31 October 2016 3:31 PM ]

Yemenis recover the bodies of people from the rubble at a detention center hit by Saudi airstrikes in al-Zaidia district of the Red Sea port city of Hudaydah, on October 30, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

A peace proposal by the United Nations special envoy for Yemen aimed at ending the 19-month war on the impoverished Arab country has drawn controversy for its fundamental flaws.

The plan shrinks the president’s powers in exchange for the Houthis’ withdrawal from several major cities, including the capital, and the handover of their heavy weapons to a third party.

The president must also transfer power to the vice president, who in return appoints a new premier to form a new government, in which the Houthi-controlled north and the pro-Hadi south would have equal representation.

James Fetzer, professor at University of Minnesota Duluth, has described the newly-proposed UN peace plan as “unreasonable” and “completely fraudulent”, adding that it does not deserve respect.

“This is not a reasonable proposal. It is appropriate to be rejected. The United Nations ought to be paying attention to Saudi Arabia’s illegal attacks in Yemen,” Fetzer told Press TV in an interview on Monday.

The academic also stated the Saudis are at fault for slaughtering massive numbers of civilians with their continued airstrikes not the Houthis who are doing their best to regain control of democracy and freedom for the people of Yemen.

He also noted the United Nations has toned down its rhetoric against Saudi Arabia’s war crimes in Yemen because of United States’ covert influence.

“This is outrageous. Once again we find the United States on the wrong side of history supporting the forces of totalitarianism and authoritarianism not those of democracy and freedom,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has been pounding Yemen since March 2015. The military aggression was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to restore power to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has resigned as Yemen’s president and crush the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

More than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Riyadh’s deadly campaign, according to the UN.

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