President Hadi’s escape is the first step in Yemen’s liberation

What the Arabic language press is saying about events in Yemen, featuring Al Arabiya and Al Hayat.

A supporter of Yemen's ousted president Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi shouts support in Taiz. Anees Mahyoub / Reuters

Houthi militants in Yemen set in motion a plan to hijack power in Sanaa last September, culminating last month in a complete takeover of government. The presidential palace and the cabinet were attacked, with president Abdrabu Mansour Hadi and his prime minister forced to resign. The president was then placed under house arrest.

This week, Mr Hadi was able to escape to Aden, where he released a statement saying he is still president and calling all the political decisions made since the Houthi takeover illegal and void. Soon after, the streets in various Yemeni provinces were flooded with tens of thousands of citizens showing support for Mr Hadi.

Khairallah Khairallah, writing in Al Arabiya online, described the situation as increasingly complicated.

“With his recent move, the president deprived the Houthis of a most important card, which they have always sought to secure by force or by twisted diplomacy,” he wrote.

“President Hadi had represented a level of legitimacy that could be useful to them.”

His escape is a blow to Ansarullah, the Houthi group. Had they approved it in exchange for guarantees that he then denied, he asked, or was it the outcome of Arab and international pressure on Houthis to turn a blind eye to his escape from his besieged home?

“There are those who believe that an intelligence operation led to a change in the situation in Yemen to the detriment of Houthis,” he suggested.

“President Hadi returned the situation to square one, to a time before the signing of the Peace and National Partnership Agreement on which they built their entire strategy. Once they took over the capital Sanaa, they sought to use the agreement to give their leader, Abdul Malik Al Houthi, some sort of legitimacy.”

But the reality has changed. The president was able to fool his captors after they had fooled him. He is once more a player in Yemeni politics.

Abdulrahman Al Trairi, writing in the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat, also looked at events in the political turmoil in the country, particularly since the GCC had supported the country’s transition from president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

“Since the onset of Yemen’s ordeal in September last year, everyone was waiting anxiously for the GCC’s reaction,” he wrote.

“After several meetings, the GCC leaders issued a statement clearly confirming president Hadi’s legitimacy and condemning the Houthi takeover as a coup and an unlawful transgression against the national dialogue, which had been brought about by the GCC’s initiative.

“Although unstated, the GCC’s role in the president’s arrival in Aden was clear. Other Yemeni sources close to president Hadi’s son said that the efforts of the chief of a prominent tribe in Yemen also contributed to the president’s liberation.”

He said President Hadi now has an opportunity to write an important phase in his country’s history. His statement from his new residence reasserted his commitment to the GCC initiative and the outcomes of the Yemeni dialogue which split Yemen to six provinces. This is what the Houthis and the former president Saleh rejected.

“The GCC is turning its eyes to Yemen once again. It will not turn away from it as it did before,” he added.

“Gulf leaders are aware that all Yemenis are against the Houthi takeover, as evidenced by the statements of tribal and southern leaderships.”

If the Houthi group had any supporters left, they were dissuaded by the president’s forced confinement. His return to freedom is the first step towards the liberation of Yemen, he concluded.

Translated by Racha Makarem