Asharq Al-Awsat interview: US Envoy to Yemen Gerald M. Feierstein
08/07/2012
By Mohammed Jumeh
London, Asharq Al-Awsat- US Ambassador to Yemen, Gerald Feierstein, has
stated that the United States is satisfied with the accomplishments made on
the political and security levels in Yemen and that the level of cooperation
between the two countries has never been better than at present. He admitted
that the United States has used unmanned aerial drones, but denied that
there are American troops on the ground in Yemen. In a telephone interview
with Asharq Al-Awsat, Ambassador Feierstein said that Yemen is marching in
the right direction and that the US stand in support of Yemen's unity will
not change.
The following is the full test of the interview:
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Where do we stand now in Yemen regarding what the Gulf
initiative has accomplished? As sponsors of this initiative, are you
satisfied with its progress?
[Feierstein] We are now in the second phase of the Gulf initiative and its
implementation mechanism that started with the presidential elections in
February. This initiative requires taking several steps and the most
important of which is the national dialogue for which the president formed
an eight-member communications committee. The committee met with
representatives from the various sides inside Yemen, like the Huthists and
the southerners, in Aden and in Cairo. The committee also met with the
youths, the women's sector, and the civic society. The committee has ended
this work and it met with the president yesterday (Sunday). We have learned
from the press that the committee will submit its final report to the
president this week. We hope that the president would form the higher
dialogue committee before Ramadan so it would be able to make the necessary
arrangements for the dialogue, the venue, date, and agenda which were set to
a certain extent in the Gulf initiative. We hope that the dialogue would
begin after the feast of Ramadan. The second point is to prepare for the
national referendum and the elections. This consists of several steps. The
Gulf initiative authorized the government to form a higher committee for the
elections and the referendum. We are in contact with the government to
encourage it to do so. We are also learning about the opinions of the
political leaders on this subject. After that, we review and update the
voters' register. The international group is ready to work closely with the
higher elections and referendum committee to offer assistance in this
regard. I hope we will begin this process in September so we would have
enough time to prepare a credible voters' register. The constitutional
amendments or drawing up a draft of the new constitution is another aspect
of the second transitional phase. This will be the result of the national
dialogue. I hope that the draft of the new constitution would be ready at
the beginning of next year so it could be ratified in the general
referendum. We also mention the work related to the restructuring of the
armed forces and the security forces. We are working to finalize this with a
number of institutions in the defense ministry and the interior ministry,
and we are satisfied with what has been accomplished. Our impression
regarding the articles of the Gulf initiative that have been accomplished is
extremely positive. We are on the right road to accomplish many more of the
resolutions of the initiative within the set deadlines until the end of the
transitional phase by the beginning of February 2014.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are there any penalties that can be imposed on individuals
or groups to encourage them to attend? Media outlets have reported that some
leaders of the Southern Mobility movement have set conditions to attend the
conference.
[Feierstein] I think that attendance and participation in the national
dialogue is voluntary. No one will be forced to attend although we believe
that everyone should attend. We believe that the national dialogue is the
way that can solve many important issues, such as the relationship between
the north and the south, the issue of the Huthists, the form of the state
and the government, whether the system will be a federal one or based on a
merged union, and whether it will be a presidential system or a
parliamentary system. These are the issues that will be debated during the
national dialogue conference. If some people do not wish to attend the
dialogue, that is their choice. However, we affirm that the national
dialogue will decide the future of the country. Therefore, the sides that do
not wish to participate are hurting themselves. That is why we hope all will
attend. We have heard from the members of the communications committee that
their assessment of the responses of the various sides is positive. They
believe that the dialogue will be broadly attended. I wish to point out here
that the government and the communications committee have made clear that
attendance of the dialogue should be without preconditions.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Some leaders of the Southern Mobility insist on regaining
their former state. What is the position of the United States in this
regard?
[Feierstein] Our position on this issue is that we support Yemeni unity. If
you review the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the resolutions of
the Gulf initiative, you will see that they clearly stipulate that the
issues should be solved within the framework of a united Yemen. This has
been our position for many years in the past and we will continue to have
this position in the future.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] In your opinion, what are the most important obstacles
impeding the implementation of the Gulf initiative?
[Feierstein] As you know, we are following developments closely. President
Obama issued an executive order permitting us to penalize individuals or
groups that we believe are impeding the implementation of the Gulf
initiative. The Security Council also confirmed that by saying that
individuals or groups that obstruct the enforcement of the agreement can be
penalized. We have not yet used the executive order and we have not yet
specified who is obstructing the political process. Nevertheless, we believe
that there are elements on both sides that did not accept the Gulf
initiative. However, we have not yet reached the point where we feel that we
should enforce the executive order.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Some observers believe that the Americans are interested
in supporting Yemen militarily in order to defeat the Al-Qaeda. They say
that American support for development issues is not on the same level as
"the war on terror". What do you say?
[Feierstein] This is a misunderstanding. The fact is that we provide the
Yemeni government with all the support we can to defeat Al-Qaeda and other
radical organizations to stop them from turning Yemen into a safe haven or a
launching pad for their operations. We are very pleased with the efforts
that the government and the military establishment exerted in the past few
weeks to evict Al-Qaeda from the towns it had entered. This is a good and
positive development. However, I wish to clarify that we understand the
nature of the challenge in this regard. We understand that in addition to
supporting the government militarily in its efforts to confront Al-Qaeda, we
also understand that there are other parallel requirements in confronting
the social, economic, and political challenges. The important factor to
defeat Al-Qaeda comes from the state's ability to provide social services,
education, job opportunities, and building a prosperous economy. Our
commitment focuses on these issues as much as it focuses on the military and
security aspects. Last week, Rajiv Shah, the director of the United States
Agency for International Development [USAID], made a successful visit to
Yemen where he mentioned that in addition to the $52 million that he
announced during his visit there, there is other economic and humanitarian
aid to Yemen that raises the amount of aid to $175 million. This amount is
equal if not higher than the military assistance that we give to Yemen this
year. This new assistance is for reconstruction in the south, in addition to
$20 million allocated for the displaced in the north and more aid to hold
the dialogue and the elections. In other words, out of the total of $175
million, $100 million are aid in the humanitarian field to provide food and
help Yemen confront the serious humanitarian challenges. The sum of $175
million is provided to bolster the economy and for other programs that help
Yemen build a prosperous economy in the future and construct strong
democratic institutions in the country. Thus, we follow a comprehensive
approach to confront these challenges for the sake of a stable and
prosperous Yemen in the future.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] how would you compare the level of cooperation of
President Hadi and President Saleh regarding the war on terror in Yemen?
[Feierstein] I will not make a comparison. However, I can say that the
relationship that we have established with President Hadi in the past few
months has been special. The level of cooperation between our two
governments has not been better than it is at present.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] You mean to say that the level of cooperation with
President Hadi is better?
[Feierstein] I said that the level of cooperation between our two
governments has not been better than it is at present.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] How do you view your relationship with the Yemeni Reform
Grouping [YRG]? Do you have concerns that there may be radicals within the
YRG?
[Feierstein] We have a good relationship with the YRG and we hold regular
dialogues with YRG leaders Abdul-Wahab al-Ansi and Muhammad al-Yadumi. We
worked closely with the YRG during the political crisis when they
participated in leading the opposition parties. They have also signed the
Gulf initiative and are participating in the reconciliation government.
Therefore, our relationship with the YRG is normal just as it is with the
other political parties in Yemen. We try to coordinate to confront the
radical groups. We have also heard from the YRG leaders that they share our
viewpoint regarding the confrontation of extremism and violence. Therefore,
I can say that our relationship with them is excellent.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] The YRG and supporters of President Saleh are exchanging
accusations regarding support for Al-Qaeda in Yemen. Do you think that
Al-Qaeda is receiving some form of facilitations officially in the country?
[Feierstein] As you said, these are exchanged claims and accusations. Each
side is accusing the other of providing support for Al-Qaeda. We do not have
any evidence to corroborate the accusations made by the two sides. We view
Al-Qaeda as an organization that develops itself; we do not believe that
Al-Qaeda is receiving support from any political entity in the country.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Several members of Al-Qaeda managed to escape from prisons
several times. Do you view this as a kind of support that Al-Qaeda may have
received or a kind of laxity with it in the country?
[Feierstein] A few days ago, several Al-Qaeda elements escaped from a prison
in Al-Hudaydah and there was another escape from a prison in Aden. I think
the inclination is to conduct an investigation. Such escapes reflect the
inability of the government institutions to maintain a level of security. I
believe that the problem lies in the government's level of ability to
shoulder its basic responsibilities. We as part of the international donors
hope to help Yemen overcome this dilemma in the coming few years.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] recently, did US troops participate in the war on Al-Qaeda
in the south?
[Feierstein] No, not at all; the operations there were conducted by the
Yemeni army and security forces. There was no American presence in any of
these operations.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] But you have said in the past that American unmanned
aircraft (drones) did not participate in hitting Al-Qaeda there but later
the US secretary of defence affirmed it a few weeks ago.
[Feierstein] Well, I think if you look at John Brennan's speech at the
Woodrow Wilson Center in May and the report of the "international forces"
submitted to the Congress two weeks ago, you will find that under special
and specific circumstances, the United States used UAV's in the past to
monitor the movements of specific individuals accused of planning and
carrying out acts against US and international interests.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Yemeni media outlets close to the former president have
reported that Sheikh Abdal-Majid al-Zindani has contacted the Americans to
have his name removed from the list of those supporting terrorism against
the United States. Has there been an attempt Sheikh Al-Zindani to contact
you?
[Feierstein] No, I do not have any information that he was in contact with
any official from the US side.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Do you still have suspicions concerning relations between
some individuals in Yemen, like Sheikh Al-Zindani, with Al-Qaeda?
[Feierstein] Yes; the United Nations said that Sheikh Al-Zindani supports
terrorism. We have no reason to change our viewpoint on this subject.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] But do you have evidence that the Al-Iman University
supports terrorism?
[Feierstein] Well, we have concerns in this regard. Sheikh Al-Zindani is, of
course, the president of this university. We have some concerns that those
who attend this institution have been in one way or another mobilized or
encouraged to support extremism and violence.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] In the north, the Huthists are raising the slogan of
"Death to America, Death to Israel". Do you think they are serious about
this?
[Feierstein] (Laughing) Are they serious in wanting to kill us? I do not
think so.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] You do not think so?
[Feierstein] No, I do not think so.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Do you consider the Huthists your enemies because they say
that you are their enemies?
[Feierstein] No, and we say that for reasons of their own, the Huthists want
to appear as or want to take the position of being hostile to the United
States. We were never against the Huthists; we never agreed that they
support terrorism. We did not participate in any military actions against
them in the past few years. Our opinion is that the solution of this problem
lies in national dialogue, negotiations, and reconciliation. In this
practical way, the Huthists can come to the table, put forward their vision,
and reach a solution. Thus, the United States was never against the Huthists
and they know very well the reason why they are conducting this campaign
against the United States. Nevertheless, we are worried about the growing
cooperation between the Huthists and the Iranian government. If this
continues, the Huthists would become Iranian agents in Yemen.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] In your opinion, why do they keep repeating the chant of
"Death to America, Death to Israel" while they are not serious in
implementing this slogan?
[Feierstein] I think that for one reason or another, they believe that the
slogan helps in obtaining support. As you know, however, it is not bringing
them any support I believe that they are doing so in view of their contacts
with Iran.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are you worried about Iran's increasing interference in
Yemen?
[Feierstein] We are extremely worried about this. Iran is increasingly
trying to intensify its presence here. It is spending huge amounts of money
and is trying to buy support not only among the Huthists but also in the
south to the extent of building a relationship with Al-Qaeda. They support
some terrorism dens that spread Iranian propaganda. They are not satisfied
only to find political allies to them. However, we strongly believe that
they are providing military support and training to radical elements in
diverse groups, especially the Huthists. We believe that the Iranians are
trying to obstruct the political transformation here because their goal is
to spread chaos and radicalism in Yemen in order to foment turmoil not only
in Yemen but also in the region.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] My last question is: Some in Yemen say that you are the
actual president of Yemen. What do you say?
[Feierstein] (Laughs) I do not know whether I would like this job and, of
course, it is not my job. We have warm relations with President Hadi and we
cooperate with him intensely. I believe that the relationship is a very
strong one. Our commitment to help Yemen in these difficult political,
economic, and security circumstances is very strong. When we cooperate and
coordinate closely, we can help the government accomplish its goals which
are ultimately goals that we share. This is something positive. I am very
pleased that we were able to play this role. However, at the end of the day,
the Yemenis are proud of their independence. Colonialism has never managed
to stay in this country and I think that the Yemenis are aware of their
history. We are also aware of this history and we will not deviate from it
toward another road.
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Received on Sun Jul 08 2012 - 16:29:18 EDT
