Headlines 09/03/2016

Headlines

• Turkey Plays Refugee Pinball

• Libya’s 4 Governments

• Houthis Travel to Saudi for Talks

Details

Turkey Plays Refugee Pinball

Talks between Turkey and the EU in the Brussels summit are stagnating, with both parties still not able to agree on a deal that will ease the flow of refugees into the EU. Turkey currently has almost 3 million refugees, with the majority coming from Syria, however the EU wants Turkey to do more to stop what it calls "illegal migration" and to take in more refugees. In exchange Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, has argued for a doubling of EU aid to Turkey in order to house more refugees. He has again followed the Turkish mantra of recent times by asking for a fast track into the EU for the nation. A union in which countries are lining up to leave but Turkey is begging to join. As Turkey negotiates nonchalantly in Brussels many thousands of stranded refugees suffer harshly under the winter, with statements like: "It would be better to stay in Syria and die,” being echoed in the many different camps across Europe, it is clear to see that the leadership of Turkey has its mind set on only fulfilling its own nation’s interest at the cost of the refugees.

Libya’s 4 Governments

Western attempts to establish a government in Libya has run into trouble after just a few weeks from when it was established. The government if national accord was meant to bring together the existing two governments, with the Tobruk based government and Tripoli based government operating from their respective cities. But the new national government required the Tobruk parliament to vote in the new resolutions, but has struggled to even reach the quota for the vote to even take place. In the meantime a fourth government has emerged – ‘Libya-Libya,’ which brings together elements of both government to who disagree with the UN backed government of national accord. Libya, after Iraq and Afghanistan is now the third place for failed western inspired solutions.

Houthis Travel to Saudi for Talks

The two senior officials from the administration that runs the parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthis confirmed Houthi visits to Saudi Arabia that began on Monday 7 March 2016 at the invitation of Saudi authorities, following a week of secret preparatory talks. The Houthi delegation in Saudi Arabia was headed by Mohammed Abdel-Salam, the Houthis’ main spokesman and a senior adviser to Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi. Abdel-Salam previously led Houthi delegates in talks in Oman that paved the way for UN-sponsored talks in Switzerland last year. But Yemeni journalist Hussain al-Bukhaiti, who has close links to the Houthis, told Middle East Eye that the talks will seek to circumvent UN efforts to broker peace talks. Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen began in March 2015 after the Houthis had driven the president Abd Mansoor Hadi from the capital. Despite gaining the North and the South of Yemen, the Houthis have struggled to maintain their grip of this territory. In fact the Hadi government was ousted from Yemen, but has now returned.