Following the targeting and subsequent killing of an estimated 15 civilians last week in a US-led drone strike which mistakenly identified a wedding convoy for al-Qaeda, Yemen parliament called on Sunday for an immediate halt to all drone attacks.
The motion which was passed almost unanimously aimed to reflect the people’s outrage, confusion and anxiety over President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s perceived lenience towards such American blunder. Ever since Washington decided to revive its drone program in Yemen back in 2012, dozens of civilians, among whom many women and children have perished under the invisible hands of those, unmanned planes.
While politicians and parliamentarians have often spoken against the use of drones, arguing that Yemen should instead focused on ground cooperation with local communities and aim to work against radical Islam through education and sound institutions, it is the first time that the parliament as a whole so publicly and overwhelmingly condemned America’s war on terror in the impoverished nation.
And if the parliament motion is in no way binding; President Hadi can very well choose to override his parliamentarians’ council, the move is politically symbolic, a clear sign that not only politicians have learned to listen to the people wishes and act on it, but that the country is once again moving as a united body.
"Members of parliament voted to stop what drones are doing in Yemeni airspace, stressing the importance of preserving innocent civilian lives against any attack and maintaining Yemeni sovereignty," Saba wrote in a report published earlier today.