The Houthis emerged as a religious-cultural movement founded by their leader Hussein Al-Houthi in the early 1990s. They represented the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam, which is considered to be much closer to Shiites than Sunnis. Zaidis differ from Shiite Twelvers but Houthis are closer to Twelvers perhaps for political reasons. With the beginning of the 21st century, the Houthis, who are based in the northern Yemen governorate of Saada, turned into an armed political movement and entered into an armed conflict with the government of the deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Houthis launched an uprising against the Yemeni government and in the ensuing insurgency, their spiritual leader Hussein Al-Houthi was killed by the Yemeni army in 2004. Eventually, Hussein's younger brother Abdul Malik Al-Houthi became their leader. During the reign of Saleh, the Houthis felt that they were being marginalized. Saleh ruled the country with an iron fist and the economic condition of the impoverished country deteriorated. Even though Saleh waged half a dozen wars against the Houthis, he was not in a position to crush their rebellion. He sent mediators to the Houthis to agree on a ceasefire, and Qatar hosted delegations from both sides. The insurgency continued intermittently until a ceasefire agreement was reached in 2010. The Houthis participated in the 2011 Yemeni Revolution against Saleh as well as the ensuing National Dialogue Conference (NDC). However, they rejected the provisions of the November 2011 Gulf Cooperation Council deal, which included immunity for former President Saleh and the establishment of a coalition government. As the revolution went on, the Houthis gained control of more territory. The Houthis controlled of the Yemeni governorates of Saada, Al-Jawf and Hajjah which enabled them to launch a direct assault on Yemen's capital Sanaa. The Houthis gained control of parts of Sanaa, including government buildings and a radio station. They then expanded control to the rest of the capital as well as other towns. By the beginning of this year, Houthi rebels seized the presidential palace in the capital. As President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi was in the presidential palace during the takeover, he was safe. The Houthi movement officially took control of the Yemeni government on February 6, dissolved parliament and declared its Revolutionary Committee to be the acting authority in Yemen. Ansar Allah Group, commonly known as the Houthis, would not have been able to succeed in taking control of the government had they not received the backing of the deposed President Saleh in an implicit and undeclared way. When Hadi found that he was under siege and forced to implement the dictates of the rebels, he announced his resignation. However, there was no one in authority to either accept or reject his resignation. It was said that parliament alone could take a decision on it. However, under the procedures that were agreed upon on the basis of the Gulf Initiative, the functioning of parliament was not only suspended but also invalid because of the fact that the majority of the members of the house belonged to the General People's Congress of the deposed President Saleh. This situation led to the release of a constitutional declaration by the Houthis. Under the declaration, the Houthis dissolved parliament and announced the formation of a transitional presidential council and revolutionary councils to govern the country. One of the decrees mandated the establishment of a transitional national council that would replace Yemen's parliament. The rebels also set a two-year period in which the transition of power would be completed. All these measures and procedures announced by the Houthis were rejected by political groups and most of the tribes in Yemen as well as by the international community represented by the United Nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council and others. The Gulf states earlier mooted a peace initiative, which was agreed upon by all the major Yemeni parties and it was signed by Saleh in Riyadh. Hadi, who was under rebel imposed house arrest, was able to flee Sanaa and managed to reach Aden in the south of the country. He declared Aden as Yemen's temporary capital. The United Nations and the Gulf states welcomed this initiative and readily backed it by announcing the shifting of their embassies from Sanaa to Aden. They also welcomed the proposal from Hadi to hold a peace conference in Riyadh under the aegis of the Gulf Cooperation Council. People took to the streets in various cities and regions across Yemen in support of Hadi's government and of the Riyadh conference. However, the Houthis announced their unwillingness to agree to the Riyadh conference, but did not completely rule out attending the talks in view of the fact that a rejection would lead to the country sliding into civil war. The Houthis should realize that they are the minority and that it is not possible for them to rule the country by themselves. They have to reconcile themselves to the fact that they must live up to the aspirations of various sections of the Yemeni people, in addition to serving the interests of their brothers and neighbors in the GCC states, especially Saudi Arabia. They have to take into account the fact that the Kingdom has provided more financial assistance to Yemen than any other country ever has. Also, the Houthis must realize that the Kingdom will not allow the presence of any external force that threaten its borders, national security and strategic interests.
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
