Houthi peace talks must be genuine

Any peace process is welcome. But the Houthis must convince that they are serious

A young member of Houthi militia mans a heavy calibre machine gun at a checkpoint, amid heightened security measures in Sanaa, Yemen. Yahya Arhab / EPA

The news that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have agreed to a UN peace plan is welcome, if surprising. According to the BBC, which says it has seen a copy of the letter, the rebel group wrote to the UN pledging to adhere to a peace deal under which it would withdraw from the cities it has occupied.

If honoured, this could pave the way for the end of the war. Yemen’s president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi has previously insisted that the rebel group accept the principle of withdrawing from Yemen’s cities before they could be part of peace negotiations.

But the crucial part is if the deal is honoured. Over the past year, the Houthis have repeatedly agreed to do something, only to fail to do so. They agreed to ceasefires, then broke them. They agreed to negotiate, then refused to take part in negotiations. The whole history of their dealings with both Yemen’s government and outside mediators has been duplicitous.

On the same day the BBC reported the Houthi letter, Al Arabiya reported that a Houthi delegation had landed in Tehran to request more arms. It is precisely this sort of double-dealing that we have witnessed in the past from the Houthi rebels.

The UAE and the Saudi-led coalition want peace, stability and security to prevail in Yemen. It is the reason why the coalition first went into Yemen. But we want a genuine peace and long-lasting stability. It cannot be simply a brief stability that fragments a few months down the road. Yemen has paid a bitter price for the Houthi insurgency. The transitional plan has been completely derailed and Yemen has been torn apart. This war has been brutal and has affected every person in the country.

The coalition has also suffered losses. Today, there are Emirati, Bahraini and Saudi families mourning for their loved ones, young men full of potential they will never have a chance to fulfil. We will not insult their memory by falling into the trap of believing the Houthis, only to face more war in a few months.

That’s why it is essential that the Houthis take genuine steps towards peace. A good first step would be to remove their troops from some cities, for example Taez. The Houthis began this war and they must instil confidence in the coalition that they genuinely want peace. The people of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have given too much for anything other than a genuine peace.