The unity of the south .. the battle of the transitional in the face of the Houthis and the suspicious settlements of peace
English - Monday 01 May 2023 الساعة 05:04 pm
Aden, NewsYemen, exclusive:
In its meeting, Sunday, the Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council discussed the ongoing preparations for holding the consultative meeting of the southern political components, which is scheduled to start next Thursday, May 4, in a political step that the Council relies on to face the challenges of the next stage.
The meeting, which is expected to be attended by a number of southern political components, representatives of all southern governorates, social figures and civil society organizations, is to discuss and formulate the "Southern National Charter".
This charter will work to unify all components within the framework of the Southern Transitional Council, in order to achieve the second independence and the establishment of the independent federal state of the South," says the President of the National Assembly of the Transitional Council, Major General Ahmed bin Brik, who confirms that the meeting "represents a turning point for the cohesion and unity of the southerners."
The Transitional Council's quest for the political goal of "unity of the south" under the project of restoring the southern state represents a fierce and open battle for the council in the face of projects and plans led by local and regional forces that see the realization of this goal as a real danger that drives the south out of its grip or influence.
At the head of these forces comes the Houthi group, which was militarily expelled from the geography of the south in the first year of the war that broke out in March 2015 AD, at the hands of the southern resistance, as a natural result of the Iranian-backed group's lack of popular support in the southern regions, which makes it imperative for its return. Once again a difficult and militarily costly task, if not impossible.
This makes the option available to Iran's arm towards the south an attempt to stir up conflicts and stoke regionalism among its people, which was embodied in its recent showy step by releasing the captive Major General Faisal Rajab, who belongs to the Abyan governorate, after deliberately refusing to release him as part of the exchange deal that took place in the middle of last month.
Contrary to what was expected, this Houthi attempt accelerated the efforts of the Transitional Council to contain more prominent leaders from within the Abyan governorate, and the response came in the reception of the Council’s Chairman, Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi, on Friday, for a number of dignitaries and leaders of the governorate, headed by Major General Ali Muhammad Al-Qafish, a member of the Shura Council. Brigadier General Louay Al-Zamki, Commander of the 3rd Brigade, Presidential Protection.
Al-Zamki is considered one of the most prominent military leaders from the sons of Abyan in the ranks of the "legitimate" forces that were under the control of the Brotherhood and fought violent confrontations for more than a year against the forces of the Transitional Council in Abyan, along with other military leaders, including Brigadier General Saif Al-Qafish, commander of the 115th Infantry Brigade, and he is the son of Major General Ali Muhammad Al-Qafish.
This meeting came in the context of continuous meetings, movements and efforts led by the Transitional Council for about a year, following the significant development witnessed by the political scene in Yemen with the formation of the Presidential Leadership Council in April of last year, and the transformation of the Transitional Council from the position of opposition to the position of decision, prompting the Transitional Council to open channels of communication And a dialogue with the largest number of southern personalities and components, leading to an expanded southern dialogue represented by the consultative meeting to be held next Thursday.
The Southern Dialogue that the Transitional Council seeks, comes in light of recent changes and international and regional efforts to end the war in Yemen through a political settlement between the Houthi group and its opponents within the framework of the Presidential Leadership Council, headed by the Transitional Council, whose leaders constantly warn of rejecting any political settlement with Houthi that goes beyond the southern demands.
Some leaders of the transitional government, along with a large sector of southerners, express their clear refusal to make concessions that they consider "unjust" in order to reach this settlement, such as the issue of paying salaries in Houthi-controlled areas from the revenues of oil exports in the liberated areas, the majority of which is produced in the southern governorates of Hadramout and Shabwa.
Southern concerns and objections to the details of the political settlement, accompanied by pressure from international and regional powers, prompt the need to work to unify the southern political position and strengthen the position of the Transitional Negotiating Council as a representative of the south and its cause, which is what the Council clearly seeks from its move to call for a broad southern dialogue.
