Sweden Talks a Step Forward towards Peace for Yemen

UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths greets Yemeni delegates at the opening press conference on UN-sponsored peace talks for Yemen in Rimbo, Sweden, December 2018. Photo: Stina Stjernkvist /TT News Agency/via Reuters

Manish Rai | iKurd.net

The recent talks in Rimbo on the outskirts of Swedish capital Stockholm were the first in two years in a conflict which has pushed impoverished Yemen to the brink of mass starvation. At the start of the talks Yemen’s government and rebels, locked in a devastating war for years traded mutual accusations. Even the United Nations described as these talks as “difficult” but “critical”. While the days leading up to the talks looked promising because of the confidence building measures as the evacuation of wounded insurgents for medical treatment in Oman but the atmosphere between the two sides was tense as the talks opened.

United Nations officials involved in coordinating with both the sides tried to downplay expectations from the talks in Sweden. Saying they don’t foresee rapid progress toward a political settlement but hope for at least some minor steps that would help to address Yemen’s worsening humanitarian crisis and prepare a framework for further negotiations. The UN has tried to mediate discussions between the Yemeni Government and the Ansar Allah (Official name of Houthi movement) in the past, hosting a meeting between the two parties back in 2016 in Kuwait. However, the meeting ended with both parties rejecting the UN’s proposals.

Fortunately, this time the discussions in Rimbo were more successful. After days of consultations both the Yemeni Government and the Houthi’s managed to reach some common ground and some sort of mutual understanding. Both parties have agreed to a mass prisoner swap which would see both sides exchange thousands of people they have detained over the last four years. Both the Yemeni government and the Houthi’s are preparing lists of people to be released. If this prisoner exchange is successful it will see as many as 15,000 people walk free. The warring sides have also agreed to cease fighting and opening of humanitarian corridors in the city of Taiz, which has been a major battleground during this civil war.

Taiz is one of Yemen’s most populated cities and due to the constant fighting has witnessed a high number of civilian casualties. But the most important achievement of these peace talks is that both the warring sides have agreed to withdraw forces from the port city of Hodeidah and to implement a ceasefire in the governorate. Hodeidah port, is a key gateway for aid and food imports in the country feeding millions of severely hungry Yemenis. It should be noted that Yemen imports nearly all its food and about 70 percent of that goes through Hodeidah port. Hence this development will be a big relief for starving Yemeni people.

These measures will establish a framework for further peace negotiations expected to take place next year. Whatever progress have been made in Sweden will act as an entry point to the political solution of the conflict. Even the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said that these talks are not intended to reach a political solution to the conflict, but to introduce a set of confidence-building measures that could pave the way for more comprehensive peace talks in near future.

The next round of talks will need to include a wider range of factions, as called for by Yemenis across the political spectrum. At this point in time UN envoy Mr Griffiths appears to have successfully gained the trust of the main players which is very important in making sure that no major party becomes a spoiler. In addition to the Hadi government and the Houthis, he has also met with women’s groups, Southern separatist movement Southern Transitional Council (STC), Al-Islah an important Islamist party and both factions of the General People’s Congress. Mr Griffiths should try to get all these groups involved in coming future negotiations.

Yemen is a small and simple country. It is culturally homogenous and there are not much ethnic or cultural divisions. Yemenis are victims of decades of bad governance and hold a wide range of grievances that have led to an entrenched sense of marginalization across the country. The current conflict is direct result of these long-standing grievances. Providing basic services and meeting the most basic needs of the population is key to future legitimacy. Moreover, the civil war in Yemen is a multipolar conflict (with regional and local components) rather than a clear-cut fight between two sides. Above all this situation has also resulted because of an increasingly corrupt central state that became incapable of enforcing the rule of law and unwilling to incorporate various actors.

This can be corrected by introducing federalism in the governance so that it can overcome one centre of power and the country’s wealth can be distributed fairly among everyone. The global community and regional states should use their influence to facilitate a negotiated settlement, rather than fan the flames of war. It is in the benefit of everyone that Yemen remain stable and peaceful as unstable and war-torn Yemen will remain a haven for terrorist groups like Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). But at the end of the day it may sound trite, only a Yemeni-led, Yemeni-owned solution can work other outside actors can only be the facilitators.

Manish Rai, is a columnist for Middle-East and Af-Pak region and Editor of geo-political news agency, Views Around and a contributing writer for iKurd.net, see below.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.