'UK's Main Goal is to Create Jobs on Blood of Yemeni & Saudi Civilians' - Journo

With Brexit Day on 29 March looming, Theresa May touched down in Egypt to take part in a summit between European countries and the Arab League. During the talks, the British prime minister addressed the Yemeni humanitarian crisis.

Sputnik discussed the current state of the Yemeni humanitarian crisis as well as the UK and US policy toward the country with journalist Hussain Albukhaiti. 

Sputnik: UK Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged £200 million to help victims of the civil war in Yemen. However, the UK has become the biggest European arms supplier to Saudi Arabia. What do you think of Britain being willing to provide humanitarian aid to Yemen, despite still selling arms to those who play an active role in the country's civil war?

Hussain Albukhaiti: This is adding insult to injury, because the United Kingdom is the backbone, one of the main reasons for this whole situation in Yemen. The UK voted for Resolution 2216 in 2015 and has actually imposed this blockade on Yemen with up to 250,000 Yemeni civilians there, most of them being children who starved to death there, [and died] from cholera, from dysentery, from malaria. All this is because of the Saudi-led coalition's war and blockade in Yemen, which is fully backed by the United Kingdom and the United States. And for them to say that they are going to give Yemen some money — I think, that's a fraction of the money of the profit that the United Kingdom has made from this war.

READ MORE: Yemeni Prime Minister Blames Houthis for Attacks in Violation of Peace Treaty

Sputnik: Theresa May called for European countries to do more. In November, Germany announced that it would not export any more arms to Saudi Arabia, partially due to Saudi Arabia's potential implication in the Khashoggi murder. But when UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt visited Berlin last week, he urged Germany to rethink the ban, as that could damage its economic credibility. Are we witnessing once more a case of double standards here?

Hussain Albukhaiti: Yes. This is exactly the foreign policy of the United States and of the United Kingdom. And you can see it crying out loud: for instance, even in human rights violations, for example in Iran and other countries. But when you look at Saudi Arabia, which has actually chopped to death a journalist in their consulate… since Saudi Arabia is actually an ally of the United Kingdom, it doesn't matter what it does to its people, it doesn't matter what it does to its neighbours, like Yemen. The main goal of the United Kingdom is to create jobs on the blood of Yemeni [and] on the blood of Saudi civilians. This is the main thing, it's the profit. So I pray that the British people will take a stand against their government to stop supplying weapons [to Saudi Arabia] — because it's not about making profit, it's about saving civilians, either in Yemen or in other countries.

READ MORE: 'Phase 1': Yemeni Conflict Parties Reach Agreement on Forces Redeployment — UN

The views and opinions expressed by the speaker do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.