Member of Yemeni government at Kuwait peace talks and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Shura Council Othman Majli revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that progress has been achieved regarding the detainees, especially the children recruited by the forces. He voiced government fears that militias will pressure children into joining the battles again after they have been released.
Majli said the U.N. didn’t set a time limit for the peace talks in Kuwait. The government provided the U.N. Special Envoy with a list of names of the detainees with the insurgents, he explained.
When asked about peace talks in Kuwait, Majli said that since the beginning, insurgency delegation was trying to delay the talks, while U.N. Special Envoy Ould Sheikh Ahmed and sponsoring countries were trying to find solutions.
Minister Majli admitted that the government’s delegation will continue to attend the talks in order to achieve peace in Yemen through U.N. resolutions.
Majli said that Houthi militias and Saleh loyalists are the reason peace is still not achieved in Yemen.
Majli believes that the reason no resolution has been reached is because the insurgents haven’t applied any of the U.N. resolutions, saying that they came to Kuwait to procrastinate.
Minister Majli also said that the insurgency delegation has its authority in Lebanon and Iran; as Iran aims to destabilize security in Yemen.
When asked about the deal to release prisoners before the month of Ramadan, Majli said that the other party is required to implement the U.N. resolutions and has been provided with the list of names of people to be released. He also said that government delegation told U.N. envoy that the government will expedite the release of the prisoners. Also, he explained that the government will not deal with children recruited by insurgents as detainees.
According to Majli, insurgents are trying to impose their own agenda on the Yemeni people.
In his response to the Yemeni government’s options in Kuwait talks, Majli said that the talks were still going on and the government delegation came for peace. He added that they will proceed with the negotiations despite having to deal with a delegation that doesn’t allow humanitarian aid be sent to civilians.
Majli acknowledged the efforts spent, as Kuwait and U.N. have been doing their best to execute U.N. resolutions. But the insurgency forces are acting irresponsibly and do not care about the suffering of the Yemeni people. He then described the role of the United Nations as “vague”.
The minister then went on to explain that the government’s delegation came to Kuwait after an invitation from the U.N. to achieve peace in Yemen and based on U.N. resolution 2216. Majli also said that the government is not required to do more than it had already done and the delegation will continue to cooperate.
When asked about a time limit for the Kuwait talks, Majli declared there is none, but he expressed his concerns regarding the continuous breaches and targeting of children and women in Yemen.
Majli also spoke about the escalations in Taiz saying that the reality is far worse than described in the media. In addition, and according to Majli, this is an attempt to abolish any political solution.
Majli addressed the Yemeni people asking them to trust the government and be patient in the face of the insurgents until they comply with the U.N. resolutions.