US bribes its way to control Yemeni military as it did in Egypt

An interview with Richard Becker of the ANSWER Coalition in San Francisco about the popular demand of Yemenis for trial of the former dictator, which appears in contradiction to the US and Saudi agenda for the despotic regime.

Those who have been given immunity under the (P)GCC-backed deal, which is also being backed by the US are not just responsible for killing the protesters, a lot of the opposition says, but also for killing or torturing thousands of others over the past three decades that the regime has been in place.

How is, do you think, Yemen going to address the issue of dealing with past crimes? Some have been saying rather than punishing the perpetrators Yemen should focus on compensation victims, but is that going to work?

Becker: What is clear is that the outgoing president is being compensated and rewarded according to reports today in the news. Huge amounts of very valuable material have been loaded up and it’s said is being shipped to Ethiopia, which is also said to be his destination.

But it’s very, very clear that what the US and the government in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia are trying to do is to manage the transition with as little disruption to their interests as possible.

Washington doesn’t really care about the people in Yemen and it doesn’t really care about the people in Syria or anywhere else in the region - you made that comparison earlier. What they care about is control. What they care about is domination. What they care about is suppressing any government or any popular movement that they perceive as running contrary to their interests.

So, we can read today in the New York Times, yesterday and today, that the US military at the same time as many of the military units remain under direct control of Saleh’s sons and other relatives that the US is stepping up its military assistance to try to crush any movements there that they feel run contrary to their interests.

We’ve seen the international efforts that have been made on the case in Yemen and now comparisons are being made. Political observers have been asking in the case of Syria we’re seeing the pressure imposed on President Assad despite the fact that he has been calling for reforms; he has been holding a referendum.

Countries like Saudi Arabia and like the US are calling for military intervention whereas in the case we are seeing a completely different attitude: We’re seeing immunity given to Saleh and calls for a power transition.

Do you think there are interests involved here form the likes of Saudi Arabia and the US that could go against the will of the Yemeni people?

Becker: Yes absolutely. I think that’s absolutely the case. I think that we can see that Washington appears to have a double standard in regards to the rebellions that have taken place that have spread throughout the region in the Arab Spring, but they really in fact have a single standard and the single standard is what they perceive to be in their interests.

And they perceive to be in their interests the crushing of independent governments and popular mass movements, which aspire to create independent governments as I think is the aspiration of the people, the majority of people the masses of people the youth who have been in the streets for more than a year in Yemen.

So, this is what is motivating the US policy and why on the one hand they support dictatorships like in Bahrain as well as in Yemen, but come out against the governments of Syria and Iran and other movements in the region.

It’s really their drive to dominate what they view is the most strategic area of the world, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region in particular.

Looking at the situation in Yemen do you think that odds are that there will be civil war there and even talks of a division now because of the secessionists movement as we mentioned in the south and the Houthis in the north?

Basically, we also have the issue of al-Qaeda, which was a major issue of cooperation between the US and the former president in Yemen, so do you think we’re going to see a rise of this kind of militancy maybe in Yemen?

Becker: Well, we certainly hope for the best for the people of Yemen. The Yemeni people have suffered a lot under the Saleh government and they have paid a big price in the revolution with many people killed and wounded so we hope really for the best.

But we have to, from our point of view, see that the US is moving to take advantage of the situation. It’s increasing its aid to military units; it’s trying to directly pay the soldiers in military units to make them loyal to the US - at least this is according to reports in the New York Times of yesterday.

And it’s clear that the aim here of Washington is to make the military there an instrument, completely an instrument of the US while at the same time the Pentagon and the US military is directly carrying out military attacks in violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and has been for some time, killing many people.

So, we hope that the revolution can move forward; that is can achieve its aims; that it can create a new and independent government for the people of Yemen.