Shura Speaker reaffirms Yemen’s right to end blockade, rejects militarization of Red Sea in message to Arab-African Parliamentary Association

Sana’a – Saba:
The Chairman of Yemen’s Shura Council Mohammed Hussein Al-Eidrous has reaffirmed Yemen’s legitimate right to take all necessary measures to protect its people, safeguard its sovereignty, and end the blockade, stressing that security in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab is a shared national, regional, and international interest.

In a message addressed to Mohammed Ould Errachid, Speaker of Morocco’s House of Councillors and President of the Association of Senates, Shura and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World, as well as the association’s member councils, Al-Eidrous outlined Yemen’s position on recent developments in the Red Sea and rejected what he described as media and political campaigns aimed at misrepresenting Yemen’s stance.

He said the Saudi-led aggression and blockade imposed since March 2015 are the root cause of Yemen’s crisis, resulting in widespread destruction and depriving Yemenis of basic rights, while noting that Sana’a had engaged positively with UN-sponsored peace efforts and reached a 2022 roadmap, but implementation stalled due to Saudi non-compliance and continued economic restrictions.

Al-Eidrous said Yemen’s actions in the Red Sea were taken in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza and were a sovereign response aimed at ending the blockade on Yemen, adding that they targeted only Israeli-linked and Saudi vessels, not international commercial shipping.

He also argued that U.S. and British military intervention and the formation of foreign coalitions had militarized the Red Sea, urging Arab and African parliaments to support efforts to end the aggression and lift the blockade, reject the militarization of the Red Sea, and uphold Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.