Following up on last week’s comments by Ban Ki-moon endorsing Yemen’s single-candidate “democracy” as a model for the entire Middle East to imitate, the UN Security Council has passed a resolution threatening “non-military sanctions” on anyone found insufficiently supportive of the new regime.
The resolution makes several references to “terrorist attacks” in the country and concerns about al-Qaeda’s influence, but makes it clear that the sanctions are not strictly targeted at terrorists but rather anyone caught “undermining” the regime.
The language largely mimics the Executive Order imposed by President Obama last month in the US, threatening official American economic sanctions against any individuals he believes are “obstructing” the new government.
US-backed Major General Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took over as Yemen’s ruler this year in a single-candidate election. Since then, the US has increased aid to Yemen and is launching drone strikes to help them with military offensives. The US has also deployed hundreds of military “trainers” to the country.
