Yemenis distrust Houthis, adopt wait-and-see approach to peace talks

UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed during a press conference at Kuwait's information ministry in Kuwait City on April 22, 2016. UN-brokered peace talks between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels began on April 21 in an attempt to end a year-long war in Yemen. Raed Qutena/EPAShow less

ADEN // Yemenis remain cautious about the prospects for peace despite UN-mediated negotiations between the government and rebels entering their fourth day on Sunday.

The UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, acknowledged that there were difficulties but expressed hopes for progress after the talks ended on Saturday.

“The atmosphere of the talks is promising and there is common ground to build on in order to reconcile differences,” he said.

Ekhlas Al Kasadi, a political activist who is also a journalist with the Aden Time news website in the sourthern port city of Aden, said she did not trust the Houthi rebels because they did not honour earlier agreements, but hoped the outcome of the latest talks will be different.

"The Houthis violated the agreements more than once," Al Kasadi told The National. "But Saudi Arabia is still trying to negotiate with them and this is a clear indication that the Saudi-led coalition wants a peace solution that will not cost the Yemenis a lot."

Nawar Abkar, a human rights activist in Aden, is even more pessimistic than Al Kasadi, saying people should wait to see if the Houthis accept a peace deal or not.

“The Houthi rebels and [former president Ali Abdullah] Saleh’s forces did not abide by the ceasefire yet, and they still target civilians in various provinces, so I hope the peace talks in Kuwait will discuss the southern issue and then we can regain our country,” Mr Abkar said referring to demands by southern Yemenis who are calling for the secession of their formerly independent region.

Mr Cheikh Ahmed said delegates had agreed to appoint two officials, one from each side, to make recommendations on the ceasefire, which went into effect on April 11.

However, there are differences in priorities for the ceasefire.

The government delegation said after Saturday’s talks that the ceasefire should include opening safe passages to all besieged areas and releasing political prisoners as well as those abducted, as part of confidence-building measures.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who are allied to forces loyal to Mr Saleh, are demanding an immediate halt to air strikes that a Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out since March 2015 in support of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

The coalition has said it is carrying out strikes only in response to ceasefire violations.

The two sides also differ on how to tackle other central issues.

The government wants the discussions to start with the issue of a Houthi pullout from areas including the capital Sanaa and relinquishing heavy arms and missiles, as required under UN security council resolution 2216.

The rebels want the political process and the establishment of a national unity government to be first, sources close to the talks said.

Hussam Majd, a student at Aden university, said the only way towards a better future for Yemen was a peace reached through negotiations and not military victory, but he did not believe the rebels would allow this to happen.

“I think the Houthis will try to equivocate as they did in the last negotiations in Geneva and not implement any agreement, and then the coalition forces will have to use the force against them,” he said.

Mr Majd, like many southern Yemenis, would prefer that the south becomes independent, as it was before 1990. However, he is waiting to see if the Kuwait talks can arrive at a new formula for peace.

Despite the ceasefire, the Houthis have continued to target the city of Taez, and residents are pessimistic about the latest round of negotiations.

"I do not believe in any peace talks, because the warring sides did not abide by the ceasefire, which was supposed to be the first step of the talks," Ameen Mamoon, 30, told The National.

He said the fighting was continuing in Taez city, which is under siege by the rebels.

Residents of the rebel-held capital are also desperate for an end to the conflict. “One year of war is enough, we need to resume our regular life and work in Yemen,” said Basem Qubati, who works in the marketing department of a local firm. “I hope the warring sides respect the outcome of the Kuwait talks, as both are tired of the war.”

According to the UN, nearly 9,000 people – a third of them civilians – have been killed in the war and about 2.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes.

Previous UN-sponsored peace efforts failed to make any headway, and the last ceasefire in December was repeatedly violated and eventually abandoned by the Saudi-led coalition on January 2.

* With reporting from Agence France-Presse