Date: Sun Nov 30 16:40:06 2014
Yemen: Southern secessionists step up Aden protests on independence day
Calls for South to break away from rest of country
Written by : <http://www.aawsat.net/author/arafat-madabish> Arafat Madabish
on : Sunday, 30 Nov, 2014
Sana'a, Asharq Al-Awsat-Thousands of Yemenis in the country's southern
region are continuing protests in the southern port city of Aden, calling
for independence from the rest of the country, on the 47th anniversary of
Yemen's independence from Britain which saw it split into two states.
Yemeni authorities said they prevented several people heading from
governorates in the country's southern regions to Aden, in a bid to quell
the mass rallies, where protesters have been calling for a unified stance
among the normally diffuse Southern secessionist Al-Hirak movement.
They said one of these included Hassan Ba'oum, a leading figure in Al-Hirak
who is regarded as its "spiritual leader."
The movement is divided between those supporting an immediate declaration of
independence from the rest of the country and others urging further dialogue
with the authorities
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior member from the Yemeni
Socialist Party-which ruled the southern part of the country until
unification in 1990-told Asharq Al-Awsat a unified Yemen consisting of two
regions, north and south, was one of the main outcomes of the National
Dialogue Conference held to decide the country's political roadmap following
the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012.
He added, however, that this issue had been since "ignored without any good
reason," leading to anger in the South.
Insaf Mayo, an MP in the Yemeni parliament and a member of the Islamist
Al-Islah Party-the Yemeni wing of the international Muslim Brotherhood
organization-told Asharq Al-Awsat there had been an "absence of seriousness
and credibility" from the Yemeni authorities in dealing with the Southern
issue, which had led to "frustration" among Southern secessionists.
"The Southerners were part of the National Dialogue Conference held in
Sana'a, which was based on the principle of reaching conciliation between
the North and the South. It was attended by numerous figures from the
Southern Al-Hirak movement, and a feasible vision for solving the Southern
issue was reached during these meetings," he added.
Mayo said, however, that recent events in the country, which have seen the
Shi'ite Houthi movement seize control of the capital Sana'a and other
regions in Yemen, had resulted in some of the outcomes of the National
Dialogue Conference relating to the Southern issue becoming "complicated"
and being "amended."
This, he said, has led to anger in the South, with the country now "on the
brink of a civil war."
Yemen is currently witnessing turmoil following the Houthi takeover of
Sana'a in September, with a noticeable lack of security across the country,
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) carrying out attacks in the north
of the country, as well as the unrest in the south.
Sources from the authorities in Aden, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on
condition of anonymity, said security forces were ready to counter any acts
of violence or sabotage in the city similar to those committed by the
Houthis in Sana'a, should the protests escalate.
South Yemen was created following the country's independence from Britain on
November 30, 1967. North Yemen-or the Yemeni Arab Republic-and the South
then reunited in 1990, with the South then declaring independence once again
in May 1994, which resulted in a civil war and the military occupying South
Yemen again in July of that year.
<http://www.aawsat.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yemen.jpg> Protesters
shout slogans against the deployment of armed militia of the Shi'ite Houthi
movement, during a demonstration in Sana'a, Yemen, on November 29, 2014.
(Reuters/Mohamed Al-Sayaghi)
Protesters shout slogans against the deployment of armed militia of the
Shi'ite Houthi movement, during a demonstration in Sana'a, Yemen, on
November 29, 2014. (Reuters/Mohamed Al-Sayaghi)
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)