Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The control of the story of Yemen and the spin surrounding it are scary. Our own State broadcaster, RTÉ, cannot mention the Houthis without saying "Iranian-backed Houthis" despite the fact that it has no evidence of this. I have not seen anyone else produce such evidence either. The Houthis robbed most of their ammunition and guns from former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government forces. The current trouble in Yemen began with people protesting about neoliberal adjustments introduced under Saleh. He lost control, but the US-Saudi coalition forced him out. In 2012, his vice president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, was installed as interim leader and continued the neoliberal agenda. It was all part of a process of plundering Yemen that has been going on for many years. However, Hadi could not gain control either, so he sat down with the opposition in Yemen and, in September 2014, signed the Peace and National Partnership Agreement with Ansar Allah, the main opposition, and the leaders of all the major political parties. Between them, they agreed to have elections. That was not what the Saudis wanted, however. It did not suit them. They started their airstrikes afterwards. Under the cover of UN Resolution 2216, Saudi Arabia and the US self-authorised their use of violence in Yemen.

The situation is horrific. We are at a stage where the Saudi-United Arab Emirates coalition, backed by the US, the UK, France and Germany, is bombing the people of Yemen into starvation. Only this week, the UN stated that up to 13 million people were at risk of starvation. Did the Minister raise this matter at the Foreign Affairs Council earlier in the week and did he raise it while appealing for Irish membership of the UN Security Council?

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