Chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks called on Monday for "a speedy reversal" of the outgoing administration's decision to blacklist Yemen's Houthi opposition movement as terrorists
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2021) Chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks called on Monday for "a speedy reversal" of the outgoing administration's decision to blacklist Yemen's Houthi opposition movement as terrorists.
"The designation of the Houthi organization in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization is short-sighted and endangers the lives of the Yemeni people," Meeks said in a statement. "I urge a speedy reversal of this designation and an urgent return to the negotiation table. Only a political solution will solve this conflict, prevent widespread famine, and cure this humanitarian crisis."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced earlier that the State Department intends to notify Congress of its plans to designate Houthis as a terrorist organization and brand three of its leaders - Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi and Abdullah Yahya al Hakim - as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
"No solution in Yemen will be sustainable unless the Houthis are involved. By designating the Houthi organization as a foreign terrorist organization, the Trump Administration is only pushing a political solution to the conflict further out of reach," Meeks said.
He argued that the designation could also complicate international humanitarian and environmental efforts in the war-torn country, including repairs of the FSO Safer tanker, which has been moored off the coast of Yemen since 2015 and is at risk of leaking or exploding
