This article appears in the April 9, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.
[Print version of this article]
Hisham Sharaf
Our Goal: Peace in Yemen, and Joining the New Silk Road
Hisham Sharaf is the Foreign Minister of Yemen. He delivered this presentation to the Schiller Institute’s international conference, “The World at a Crossroad: Two Months into the New Administration,” during the third panel, “Southwest Asia: Pivot for War, or Peaceful Development with the New Silk Road,” on March 21.
It’s a good opportunity that we send our best regards to our good friend Helga LaRouche, the head of the Schiller International Institute. At the same time, it is also my pleasure, from Sana’a, to welcome all the participants of the “World at a Crossroad” conference, which is now ongoing.
And it will be my pleasure, also, to participate through those days, in your conference, which comes by the way, close to the sixth anniversary of the aggression against our country, on the 26th of March 2015. I would like to recall that, on that day, we thought that this aggression would be over as soon as they realized—the Saudis and the Emiratis, and all of those who joined them—they would realize that the people of Yemen do not really obey such kind of an aggression or try to yield.
Nowadays, you hear a lot about Ma’rib. What’s happening in Ma’rib? It is a land of Yemen; it is our land, where we have our gas and we have our oil, and it’s our right to have our influence and our control on our land. We are not crossing any other lands, and we are free to move in any of our land’s borders.
It goes, also, to the issue the things that we are passing through. Corona, the COVID-19—we tried our best to manage handling this issue, regardless of the fact that the world did not stand by us. Maybe some countries are trying to help us, but because of the blockade, we cannot really get any help. We are trying our best through some UN assistance to do something for our population.
Presenting the issue of the donors conference for Yemen: We knew that the UN had organized that meeting, with some kind of a proposal for $3.7 billion to try to help in alleviating the miseries of our people, which were caused by the Saudis and their allies. But the reality of the subject is politics. Because of politics, we only got about $1.7 or $1.65 billion and this is not really enough to do many things. But why not? Let’s try to handle what we have in our hands. We are trying to end this aggression as soon as possible by calling for peace.
A Sustainable and Justified Peace
The Yemenis and the National Salvation Government are calling for peace. We need peace for our people; we don’t need it for the conflicting parties. And we are not ready to be proxies of anyone, as sometimes they mention. Yemenis are peace lovers. Yemenis want to live within the international community, build their country, build their people, and try to manage our own problems. So. let’s hope that we will get out of this aggression. The blockade will be lifted; Sana’a airport will be opened. And we will receive as many as we can from our friends all over the world.
And when it comes to peace, [there’s] lots of talk about peace nowadays. The new U.S. administration has delegated an envoy, Timothy Lenderking. And we in Yemen, really do welcome anyone; we do welcome anyone who is trying to help us to reach peace. But everyone in the world should know, we want real peace—sustainable and justified. We will not accept peace on conditions of aggressor countries, like Saudi Arabia. or the Emirates, or whatsoever, of those people.
And we do support the envoy of the UN and will try our best to help him. And again, we say it: a justified, a just and sustainable peace, not a peace that really conforms to the wishes of the aggressors. No way will we accept it. And we know that we will prevail.
When it comes to the issue of the reconstruction of Yemen: Yemen, at the end of this aggression will be reconstructed. Those who destroyed our towns, those who killed our people will pay the price. And they will put the required funds for this. And we will try our best that, within the Silk Road Initiative and activities, we will try to get the help of those countries under the umbrella of the Silk Road Initiative, and Silk Road projects, and other activities. And we will do our best that we become, really, a good factor and a successful input for the Silk Road Initiative.
Last word, concerning the youth, and the young people of the world, including the Silk Road project: I do encourage everyone, really, to put their best efforts for a successful implementation of the project of the Silk Road. And we in Yemen, when the guns are silent; we will be a good factor, we will have a good input in that project.
And my best regards, my best wishes to all of our friends, all over the world. Peace for Yemen, and peace for the world!
Thank you.
