The power of money surpasses the power of justice in the imperial west: Analyst

"UK's weapons sales to the monarchs of Al Saud is a serious violation of humanitarian law and the government knows it but as usual the power of money surpasses the power of justice in the imperial west. This isn’t just about Yemen, it’s about the very nature of western foreign policy,” Marwa Osman said in an interview with the Basirat.

"The Saudi government continues to block any kind of diplomatic resolution in Yemen. Riyadh even threatened to cut funding to the UN over its inclusion on a list of children’s rights offenders, effectively weaponing humanitarian aid,” she noted.

Ms. Marwa Osman is a PhD candidate located in Beirut, Lebanon. She is a university lecturer at the Lebanese International University and Maaref University. Osman also is a political writer and commentator on Middle East issues with many international and regional media outlets.

The following is the full text of the interview:

Basirat: Yemeni officials have warned that the health situation in the country is deteriorating due to Saudi Arabia’s deadly war. They say Riyadh's blockade on Yemen has left hospitals and medical facilities understaffed and without enough medicine to deal with the health crisis. How do you describe the humanitarian situation in Yemen?

Osman: Yemen simply has become the world's most impoverished, war torn country. The worst cholera outbreak is unfolding amid the world's largest humanitarian crisis, crippling health, water and sanitation facilities in the country, and creating ideal conditions for diseases to spread. Yemeni children are malnourished, making them vulnerable to cholera.

According to UN nearly 80 percent of Yemeni children need immediate humanitarian assistance amid the collapse of the country's health system in the face of the two-year-long Saudi aggression. The country is on the brink of famine, with a huge percentage of the population not knowing where their next meal will come from. No more calls are being heard, the mainstream media is living on another planet and the UN is a farce that has no shame in its wrong doings and neglect towards Yemen.

Basirat: Why are the international organizations, especially the United Nation, and other human rights defenders silent? Kindly explain.

Osman: Simply because the Saudi government continues to block any kind of diplomatic resolution in Yemen. Riyadh even threatened to cut funding to the UN over its inclusion on a list of children’s rights offenders, effectively weaponizing humanitarian aid. The crisis in Yemen goes routinely under-reported in mainstream media and hard-hitting coverage is kept to a minimum by those controlling the narrative namely, outlets loyal to the U.S. and its allies which are enabling these atrocities. As this smear campaign against Yemen continues, no doubt the world will remain silent.

Question: In addition to world silence, countries like the United Kingdom and the United States are helping Saudi Arabia by signing huge arms sales. How do they justify their supports?

Osman: UK's weapons sales to the monarchs of AL Saud is a serious violation of humanitarian law and the UK government knows it but as usual the power of money surpasses the power of justice in the imperial west. This isn’t just about Yemen, it’s about the very nature of western foreign policy. Saudi Arabia is Britain's biggest arms client. The UK foreign policy even helped crush protests for democracy in neighboring Bahrain since 2011. Both regimes are lucrative customers for UK arms. When the UK government officials are asked how they justify this horrible act of condoning war crimes by selling arms to these monsters they simply reply by saying that the monarchs of Al Saud are their allied partners in the ME. Go over Cameron's speeches and May's speeches and you can find those horrific answers.

Question: Experts believe that decisions should be taken as soon as possible, otherwise there will be a humanitarian disaster. What is your opinion? Will the beneficiaries allow to do this?

Osman: As long as the west is benefiting and making money out of the arms sales to KSA we will not see any vital progress. The only viable option is the resistance and I believe the Yemeni resistance is by doing a great job by inflicting losses against Al Saud. However the Saudi and UAE smear air bombardment campaign is making the situation worse in Yemen by the minute.

Question: How do you describe the unparalleled resistance of people and Ansarullah against the problems and the perpetrators?

Osman: Ansarullah are full of honor and dignity and willing to sacrifice all that is dear and precious for them to retain their land and their decision making process in their own country which was stolen by the puppets of Al Saud. What the Yemeni resistance is doing is equivalent to a miracle since with all this atrocious Saudi war machine they still were able to take land within Jizan and Najran and defeat the mercenaries of Al Saud.

The missile launching campaigns which have increased lately have been a tremendous victorious job done by the Ansarullah resistance and I think this will push the Saudis faster to find a solution to the Yemeni quagmire, but the only obstacle might be the insane plans that Mohammad Bin Salman might reside to since he won't accept defeat by the Yemenis whom he perceives as beneath him. If he escalates though he will pay a heavy price as I don’t see the Yemen resistance backing down anytime soon.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.