Press Release
Rising Prices in Yemen is a Catastrophe – A Fire upon Fire
(Translated)

The prices of commodities in Yemen have increased suddenly over the last three days corresponding to a decrease in value of the Yemeni Riyal vis-à-vis the Dollar in the case where the price of one Dollar is now equal to 300 Yemeni Riyal. That has come in light of the war and the political crisis that has been taking place in the land manifested in those struggling and dialoguing in Kuwait in UN supervised negotiations. That is where the UN special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Ash-Sheikh has requested both sides of the dispute to put forward concessions for the sake of peace and stopping the war after the government of Hadi signalled that it would withdraw from the negotiations in the face of stubbornness from the Houthis and Ali Saleh according to its statement.

Rising prices in Yemen is a catastrophe upon its people and a crime that the fighting dialoguing parties of the struggle share the responsibility for and we will explain in summary the most significant causes that have led to and paved the way for that to happen:

1 – The Anglo-American international struggle over Yemen; in the case where there was an economic truce between the dialoguing fighting groups in Yemen, Hadi and his government are applying economic pressure upon the Houthis in order to reach a political solution in the crisis consultations in Kuwait which is currently in its fourth week. So after there being a mutually agreeable economic truce in place between the parties of the struggle, the Houthis, supported by America, nevertheless exploited that in their war in accordance to what served their interests.

2 – The internal and external war that has destroyed the infrastructure and has brought the wheel of production to a halt and particularly the oil supplies that the country relies upon as one of its priorities to support its budget.

3 – The lack of competency of the Houthis to administer and run the economy of the country due to the absence of a productive plan and project for revival and the lack of competent human resources. Indeed, they have plunged into the colonial projects whether these are economic or in other areas. They therefore proceeded upon the projects of their predecessors and added to that their maladministration and excessive arrogance.

4 – The economic inflation has resulted from the printing of Yemeni currency without be backed by gold or any real produce which has weakened the purchasing power of the Riyal making the people rush to the Dollar.

5 - Reliance of those struggling upon the Gulf States and Iran to support their treasury in the case where these states have not fulfilled their pledged support as they are themselves suffering from a feeble economic situation due to what the major states are imposing upon them in terms of solutions and constraints.

6 – The plundering that the country is exposed to by the local parties of the struggle in the case where they consider the war to be a booty and a source to attain richness.

7 – The biased and one sided media war of one of the two parties of the struggle which stirs fear and fright amongst the people due to its exaggerations in respect to its appraisals of the economic state of the country that causes the people to rush to the markets to purchase their needs in large quantities so that the supply decreases and the demand increases.

8 – The tying of the local currency to the Dollar and non-reliance upon gold and silver as the currency of the land. This is because the gold and the silver are distinguished by their consistency and their preservation of their intrinsic value.

9 – Floating of the prices of oil derivatives in accordance to the global price which makes the country fall under the mercy of global increases for these derivatives.

10 – The capitalist system that the country is regulated by under the shade of an aggressive rule and which increases the rich in richness and the poor in poverty. This is in the case where its failure has been proven in the view of those who embrace it and that is because it represents the root of the disease and the cause of tribulation in all aspects of life.

Verily, the system of Islam has detailed practical solutions for economics and all areas and aspects of life. Had those who are in control over the land and forcing themselves over the necks of the people halted at Islaam or thought about solutions upon its basis, then they would have found all goodness within it. However, the time has passed and they represent projects of destruction which has stripped them or mercy until they have come to think about noting apart from authority and even if that is at the expense of the lives of the people and the sources of their nourishment?! Whoever puts himself forward to take care of the affairs of the people must know that it represents a responsibility and trust and that it will be a source of disgrace and regret on the Day of Judgment.

Verily, the return of the people of Yemen to their Deen and placing its Ahkaam and solutions in all areas of life, in the place of application and implementation, under the shade of the rightly guided Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) upon the methodology of the Prophethood, represents the fundamental and root solution to all of their problems. And we urge the people of Yemen to work to establish it as it will take them out of the misery and hardship and it represents that which the security and real firm peace security will never happen except through its consolidation:

[وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَىٰ لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا ۚ يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا ۚ وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ]

“Allah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient” [An-Nur: 55].

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Yemen