Yemeni Affairs: Houthi Interview in al Nahar on Sa’ada War

[M.T. Al-Mansouri, Ph.D.]

Jane Novak : Abdelmalik al Houthi gives a two part interview in the Lebanese paper al Nahar, Tuesday and and Wednesday. He is still maintaining the Sa’ada war is a defensive war on the rebels’ part, the Yemeni government failed to live up to every requirement of the Dahoa agreement (true) and all their weapons are from local sources, and the war is a Yemen/US/ Saudi conspiracy. Al Houthi welcomes dialog but rejects Sana’a’s six points because the framework includes the six kidnapped foreigners which he says they have no part of. He welcomes but is not hopeful for UN intervention because the body is politicized, says they do not seek to restore the Imamate or reject the republican system, and finally that they are not proxy’s for Iran but the Saudis are clearly a part of the war. All in all, its nothing new, but it is a succinct summary of the rebels positions and outlook.