British PM Misleads Britons on Saudi Invasion

Date: 09 March 2018 - 22:08

News ID: ۵۰۹۳۹

LONDON (Middle East Eye) -- Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused Theresa May of misleading parliament over the legal basis for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, threatening to reignite a bitter political row over UK support for the conflict.
The fresh political row, which comes after the prime minister said the war in Yemen had United Nations backing, threatens to overshadow the last day of the visit to the UK by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
It also came as the UK signed a preliminary deal with Saudi Arabia on Friday for the sale of 48 Typhoon fighter jets, to the dismay of rights campaigners.
In a full-throated defense of the UK’s relationship with Riyadh on Wednesday, which came hours before she met with the powerful crown prince in Downing Street, May told parliament that Saudi-led intervention is "backed” by the United Nations Security Council, and "as such” is supported by the UK.
Corbyn responded that UK forces were effectively "colluding" in war crimes by supporting Saudi forces.
Now, Corbyn has gone further and attacked May's comments in parliament, saying that she got her facts wrong, amid claims that the UN has not explicitly authorized the use of military force by the Saudi-led coalition under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the document which regulates when states are authorized to use "all military means” to enforce UN resolutions.
Critics of the Saudi-led bombing campaign say the resolution did not authorize the use of force by the Saudi-led coalition. It merely noted a letter from the former president of Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, calling for military intervention.
This remains the Saudi-led coalition’s legal justification for the war, but has been questioned by legal experts because Hadi had overstayed his term, resigned once and fled the country, placing the Saudi military action in a "murky legal” position.
Speaking at the Scottish Labor Party conference in Dundee on Friday, Corbyn, said: "It cannot be right, as I told the prime minister on Wednesday, that her government is colluding in what the UN and others say is evidence of war crimes. Germany has suspended arms supplies to Saudi Arabia, and so must the British government. This outrage must end.
"Nor is it true, as the prime minister claimed, that the Saudi-led war in Yemen has been authorized by the United Nations Security Council.
"What’s needed now is both a ceasefire and a concerted international effort to achieve a negotiated political settlement.”
Corbyn's intervention came after his shadow minister for peace told MEE earlier on Friday that the prime minister had got her facts wrong over the legal status of the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen.
Fabian Hamilton MP said: "Theresa May has got it all wrong here. The fact is that UN Resolution 2216 called for an end to the violence in Yemen, and certainly did not support Saudi military intervention in the country.”
The Labor shadow minister, added: "Instead of cuddling up to the crown prince, it is now time for the prime minister to show some leadership and suspend all British arms sales to Saudi Arabia, as their use against civilians in Yemen is a source of shame for Britain.”
Britain and Saudi Arabian officials set themselves a $90 billion trade and investment target for the next decade earlier this week. It came as London looks for new post-Brexit opportunities for its service sector and the crown prince seeks to convince skeptical investors that his country is a modernizing place to do business.
Nevertheless, arms remain the main component of UK-Saudi trade and the UK government has approved the export of $6.4 billion in weapons since the start of the war in Yemen, despite allegations that Saudi-led forces have committed war crimes.
Saudi Arabia already operates more than 70 Typhoon jets. They have been used extensively in the Yemen war, and the deal is likely to spark outrage among rights groups and campaigners.
Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK’s director, said: "Selling more fighter planes to a country leading a military coalition that’s already laying waste to homes, hospitals and schools in Yemen, is just adding fuel to a humanitarian fire.
"It’s shocking, and shows that the Government hasn’t been listening to widespread concern from the British public on this issue during the Crown Prince’s controversial visit.”