Bishop Hinder: International
pressure needed for a peaceful resolution in Yemen
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| Humanitarian crisis in Yemen (ANSA) |
As the conflict in Yemen drags on, Bishop Paul Hinder of the
Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia says the international community needs
to apply pressure to get those involved around the negotiating table.
By Lydia O’Kane
The civil war in Yemen has been described as the world’s
forgotten conflict and shows no signs of abating five years on from the
outbreak of hostilities, when Iran backed Houthi Shiite Muslim rebels took over
the capital Sanaa.
Houthi rebels control large swathes of northern Yemen, and a
Saudi-led coalition, allied with the internationally recognized government led
by Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, continues to fight them.
Trafficking of arms
On Wednesday, the U.S Navy confirmed that one of its
warships seized, a “significant cache” of missile parts headed to rebels in
Yemen. The Pentagon suspects the weapons are linked to Iran.
This is not the first time weapons have been discovered
which were bound for Yemen. On a number of occasions between 2015 and 2016, the
U.S. seized suspected Iranian weapons during similar ship inspections.
Speaking to Vatican Radio, the Apostolic Vicar of Southern
Arabia, Bishop Paul Hinder, noted that “there are too many people profiting
from this war…by the trafficking of arms, that is a big part of the whole
problem.”
Dialogue towards conflict resolution
Another problem the Bishop pointed out, is that none of the
parties concerned in this conflict want to be seen to be losing face and that
becomes a big issue during a process of negotiation, he said.
Despite efforts to crackdown on weapons shipments on the
part of the international community, Bishop Hinder stressed that efforts must
also be made to get those involved around the negotiating table.
“We do not know who is really willing to get to an understanding
and to stop this senseless war and I think if there is not the pressure from
the international community, and the UN, as far as they can do it. If there is
not this pressure of (from) outside it will be difficult to get the people
around the table.”
Humanitarian Crisis
Apart from this being a forgotten war, it is also a conflict
that has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR the civil war has
forced more than 4.3 million people to leave their homes. An estimated 80 per
cent of the population, around 24 million people desperately require
humanitarian assistance.
Speaking about the intense suffering that the people of
Yemen have endured over the last number of years, the Bishop said that the
longer this conflict goes on, the more it has the effect that people are
becoming immune to it. “So when we speak of Yemen, the forgotten war it has
also to do with it’s too far away; it is not in the focus of the interest of
the world,” he said.
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