America considers Yemen as US military base
Wed Oct 24, 2012 9:56AM GMT
0
Video-
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/24/268467/yemen-hijacked-run-by-us-amba
ssador/
Interview with Mr. Ali Masfari, Yemeni writer & researcher, London.
The role the US is playing now in Yemen - The main role... the American
ambassador in Sana'a is having the main position by holding all the
instructions given to the government and also to the current president
Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. So, I think that Yemen has turned already into an
American military base in order to protect the interests."
While countrywide popular protests cover the streets of Yemen after more
than a year of uprising, the US is busy increasing its military role,
presence and control in the country.
According to a political analyst, under the post Abdullah Saleh government
the US has installed a military base in Yemeni soil; has unleashed a major
unmanned drone program on the population; and has taken charge of Yemeni
government decisions.
Press TV has interviewed Ali Masfari, the Yemeni writer and researcher from
London, to further discuss the issue of the people versus the brutal
US-supported dictatorial government of Yemen.
Also interviewed in this news analysis is Ali al-Kamali, the head of Media
Center liberation Square from Sana'a, and Abayomi Azikiwe, the editor of Pan
African News Wire from Detroit.
What follows is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: The US has been involved in a clandestine war, it's what it has
been called in Yemen now for quite some time. To begin with, what justifies
the presence of the US on Yemeni soil?
Masfari: First of all can draw your attention to the current situation, the
role the US is playing now in Yemen ... The American ambassador in Sana'a is
having the main position by holding all the instructions given to the
government and also to the current President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
So, I think that Yemen was turned into American military base in order to
protect the interest [of the US] not only just in Yemen..
However, we find out now that nothing has been changed since the initiative
of the [Persian] Gulf States was released just by transition of power as it
was said between former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and current President
Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
We did not find, never at all, any further progress in the steps towards the
solution to all the main hot issues in the region and in particular the
issue or the cause [independence] of the south, which is still now not yet
clarified not only by the initiative of the Persian Gulf, but also from the
vision of the West in particular the United States and it still remains now
in flames that it could also explode the area as soon as possible and to
find out also its foundation to the human rights or to protect the human
rights and democracy for the people of the South.
In particular as you find out the revolution has failed also in Sana'a and
has remained until now under the tense there on the Liberation or the Change
Square in Sana'a.
So nothing now has happened since one year and a half [of demonstrations]
just only by supplying and [deploying] military and also navy soldiers and
forces to Yemen in order to maintain their existent there and their
extension towards the East. That is all.
Press TV: Tell us the role of the military here; or the divisions within the
military; how much of the remnants of Saleh still exist there?
And if you could explain to us how Mr. Hadi is playing with the US in terms
of executing different game plans that the US has all in the name, from what
some analysts say, of getting that US military aid, which is over 100
million dollars yearly?
Masfari: I think the key question for this point should be answered as
follows: that the United States is repeating its scandal or the failure of
its scandals in the area across Yemen now, which has happened already in
Afghanistan and before that in Somalia and then later on in Iraq.
I think the issue of Yemen in particular gives us many evidences. First of
all, that nothing else will remain in the future even though they can also
make a big or huge military base turning Yemen into a latter destination.
But the main issue, if they don't protect the human rights there, if they
don't also respect the rights of the people there and their existence, how
can they also cross their interests together with the international and
regional interests?
Otherwise I think that even though many of the Americans who are now
analyzing [excusing] their existence [in the country] only to fight al-Qaeda
or terrorism, but I think that first of all they have to understand one
thing that this terrorism, which is already imported from Sana'a to the
South and supported also from the United States by using the remote planes
[drones] in the South in particular as what happened for the scandals in
al-Mukalla in December 2009 and what also happened afterwards. We find that
all the victims are innocent people and they never ever had any links with
al-Qaeda or terrorism.
So, if they think that they want now to use or utilize or exploit the
current situation in Yemen and in the South in particular in order to find a
justification for their existence or extension in the region. They have to
come back to the mind and to think in depth and with facts, how they can
never ever make the same mistakes again.
As well as that, we find that the mistakes are happening still and now the
UN envoy in Yemen Mr. Jamal Bin Omar also till now he has not found any way
to get any solution for the whole issue, even the national dialogue or the
conference for dialogue as it was said [called]; they have now also delayed
it until August next year, which means that the UN and also the US . they
have failed to find a solution for getting more progress on the main issues
of the country.
Otherwise, I think that we are going now to find not only Yemen, but also
the Arabic Peninsula again [being] put into to a flame, which everyone,
every state there in the region will be seriously and fiercely affected also
by this matter.
SC/MY/PKH
Received on Wed Oct 24 2012 - 19:54:36 EDT
