17/4/2021
Translated by Staff, National Assembly Party [NAAS]
A Saudi opposition party, the National Assembly Party [NAAS], has warned of more executions of Saudi soldiers for refusing to participate in the aggression against Yemen.
This came in a statement by the party after the Saudi authorities recently announced the execution of three soldiers fighting in Yemen on charges of high treason.
NAAS referred to the official and semi-official media campaigns that accompanied the execution, affirming its previous position on the necessity of ending this war.
It stressed that the war on Yemen “achieved nothing but losses for all parties, inflicted massive damage on our country and brotherly Yemen and claimed many innocent lives on both sides”. The statement added that the war brought Yemen to a state described by the United Nations as the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world, as Saudi Arabia’s vital facilities had been bombed, a number of soldiers had been killed and large numbers were seriously injured.
Furthermore, the party said that “with all these heavy losses, and in light of the continuation of this war and its mistakes and risks, the Saudi authorities surprised us by announcing the execution of the three soldiers”. NAAS went on to say that “the execution was carried out in complete ambiguity regarding the circumstances of the case, in complete absence of the conditions for fair trials as well as the competent court and the litigation procedures, and without the slightest level of transparency, and after 6 years since the war began”.
The party expressed fears of upcoming executions of other soldiers for their refusal to participate in the war, or their reluctance to bomb civilians or destroy the infrastructure in Yemen, or their rejection of the scorched earth policy that is pursued from time to time, or for other political reasons. NAAS added, “We mention again that this war, like all other hasty decisions, was not made by the people through their elected civilian institutions; it has not been taken by experts and officials of the military institutions; neither has there been a public referendum regarding it; and the people’s rejection of wars, especially with neighboring countries, has not been taken into consideration”.
The Saudi opposition party emphasized that the war was not the only thing that troubled the military personnel, but it has been preceded by a series of measures that harmed them and inflicted severe harm upon them.
The party added, “After the Saudi military had been complaining about poor salaries, a number of bonuses had been deducted recently without the slightest justification”.
It further said, “The weakness of health services, the difficulty of housing, and the rampant administrative corruption which may deprive the soldier from his furloughs or promotions due to administrative corruption or may subject him to unfair transfers and appointments that are not sensitive to circumstances, as well as selectiveness in appointments, transfers, courses and assignments, continue”.
The party shed light to “the removal of the housing services of some soldiers stationed on the fronts; forgetting, ignoring, and failing to treat some of the wounded in the fronts, including amputees, as well as arrests and indictments of those who express their opinion or legitimate demands”.
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