Saudi Arabia Keeps Tight Grip on Yemen
Saudi Arabia is treading carefully in Yemen, especially following the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi in Egypt.
The beginning
After the war came to an end and the Taif Agreement of 1934 was signed between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, the behavior and mindset of the kingdom in dealing with Yemen was that of the rich victor against the poor vanquished. The kingdom acquired three provinces from the historical country of Yemen — namely Jizan, Najran and Asir, whose surface area equals approximately half of that of Yemen.
Later on, the kingdom dealt with these regions with a heightened sense of Yemeni nationalism in a way that goes against the will and desire of these feelings. Examples can be seen during the September 1962 revolution, the June 13 movement and the 1990 unification of Yemen, in addition to the issues that preceded and succeeded these events and that have yet to be resolved. These include dealing with the 10% of the Yemeni population (2.5 million citizens) residing in the kingdom without taking into consideration the dignity of its Arab neighbor.
The kingdom and the 2011 Yemeni Spring
