While Britain focused on Brexit this week, Jeremy Corbyn spoke out about another unfolding disaster – a new Saudi-led assault on Yemen threatening to kill up to 250,000 people.
The Labour leader tweeted on 13 June:
Today’s Saudi-led attack on a Yemeni port city could cost thousands of lives and leave millions of Yemenis without food, medicine and fuel.
The Government must halt its support for this terrible conflict and act to bring the humanitarian disaster in Yemen to an end.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 13, 2018
Unsurprisingly, the UK government’s response was not to halt its support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen. Instead, foreign secretary Boris Johnson focused his words on “all parties in Yemen”, rather than the foreign forces doing the bombing:
It is imperative that all parties in Yemen respect international humanitarian law and prioritise the protection of civilians. UK will continue to work with the @OSE_Yemen on a political settlement for the people of Yemen. https://t.co/QmzWGhp4AT
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 13, 2018
So no government call for the escalation of the conflict to stop, then.
“The world's worst humanitarian crisis” is about to get worse as the Saudi-Emirati coalition launched an attack on Yemen's Hudaida. pic.twitter.com/QN3r7ZmC8h
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 13, 2018
The potential for “catastrophic” devastation
In the run-up to the attack – which came just days after a Saudi-led airstrike hit a newly built Doctors Without Borders cholera treatment centre elsewhere in Yemen – UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said:
Seven million people are completely reliant every month on food and other assistance from humanitarian organizations so Hodeidah is absolutely central to the preserving of life…
If for any period, Hodeidah were not to operate effectively, the consequences in humanitarian terms would be catastrophic.
Oxfam also highlighted the dangers of escalation in Yemen, calling on UK citizens to demand action from Boris Johnson:
Yemen is facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than 22 million people urgently need help. Now attacks have been launched on #Hodeidah port, cutting off the main entry point for aid. Ask Boris Johnson to demand a ceasefire. Lives depend on it. https://t.co/x2lREHaz53 pic.twitter.com/6FpNsWYYcO
— Oxfam (@oxfamgb) June 13, 2018
Who will speak out about Yemen? Not our government, that’s for sure.
As the Guardian‘s Andrew Mitchell wrote on 13 June, Boris Johnson and co are on the wrong side of this conflict:
The British government finds itself not on the side of innocent families who fear the fire that falls from above, but on the side of the perpetrator who has launched a huge military gamble to take Hodeidah…
Where is Britain’s voice of sanity in the looming humanitarian catastrophe in Hodeidah?
The UK has sold over £3.3bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since it started bombing Yemen in 2015. And it’s actually seeking to expand its arms trade with the Saudi dictatorship. So it’s no surprise that Britain turns a blind eye to alleged Saudi war crimes in Yemen.
Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, is not the only politician to slam ongoing Western support. US politicians have also spoken out:
Saudi Arabia’s assault on #Yemen port of Hodeidah could kill 250,000 (UN est). Most food, fuel, & medicine civilians rely on comes thru Hodeidah. This assault is the latest war crime supported by the U.S. – we must end U.S. support of Saudi Arabia now. https://t.co/KHOsEKk1Cu
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) June 13, 2018
The Saudi and Emirati assault on Yemen's major port, with US logistical aid, could threaten 250,000 lives and force millions more to starve to death.
Democrats AND Republicans are demanding the Pentagon to stop the operation and disclose unauthorized US participation this war. pic.twitter.com/8m17mC7qgC
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) June 13, 2018
Saudi Arabia says…
Saudi ambassador to the US Khalid bin Salman said the offensive was to “support the people of Yemen”:
The Coalition’s operations to liberate Hodiedah is part of the Coalition’s unwavering commitment to support the people of Yemen against the tyranny imposed by Iranian-backed militias that are spreading chaos and destruction in Yemen.
— Khalid bin Salman خالد بن سلمان (@kbsalsaud) June 13, 2018
He also insisted his country was “at the forefront of humanitarian efforts”:
The Kingdom has been and will continue to be at the forefront of humanitarian efforts to support the brotherly people of Yemen.
— Khalid bin Salman خالد بن سلمان (@kbsalsaud) June 13, 2018
He must have a different definition of ‘humanitarian’, though. Because Saudi Arabia recently murdered at least 45 civilians in Yemen in less than a week. And since 2015, Al-Jazeera says, its war has killed “at least 10,000 people”, displaced two million people, and sparked a cholera epidemic.
According to one Yemeni lawyer, the Saudi aim in Hodeidah is simple: to end the war once and for all – whatever the humanitarian cost. Comparing the offensive to Saudi attacks on Yemen back in 1934, he said:
In other words, the strategy is to land-lock the Houthis in the already air-blockaded capital Sanaa. In 1934, food scarcity in Sanaa ended the war. Same plan today: Starve the Houthi-controlled areas into military surrender. Ergo: Hodeidah will end the Yemen war.
— Haykal Bafana (@BaFana3) June 13, 2018
No matter how much you all hate the Houthis, to starve #Yemen's civilians is a war crime. Starvation of Yemenis as a war strategy is illegal.
— Haykal Bafana (@BaFana3) June 13, 2018
Action necessary
Civilians are suffering and dying in their masses in Yemen. And Western governments are supporting the main perpetrator, even as it apparently pushes for victory via starvation tactics.
Jeremy Corbyn is right. We need to demand action from our politicians – not weasel words about ‘both sides’. Our government must stop giving a green light to Saudi crimes. And we must push for a peaceful end to Yemen’s conflict.
Get Involved!
– Write to Theresa May and your MP. Ask them to push for peace talks in Yemen. Until that happens, ask them to cancel and stop approving arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
– You can also support Campaign Against Arms Trade to help make that happen.
Featured image via Sophie Brown – Wikimedia
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