STC: Southerners Must be Involved in All Stages of Peace

Aden (South24) 

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The STC in South Yemen said, on Friday, "that the representation of South in the political process needs an international will to ensure real and lasting peace."

"This cannot be achieved unless words are translated into actions, embodied in the real involvement of the Southern Transitional Council as a representative of the aspirations of the Southern people in the peace process led by the United Nations," the STC's Foreign Affairs Department said in a statement.

The STC renewed "its support for the efforts of the UN's Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Hans Grundberg."

This also requires a realistic UN mandate and an appropriate political framework that reflects the reality of the parties on the ground and the national issues that are reflecting the real roots of the conflict, at the forefront of which is the issue of the Southern people. " The statement said.

In this regard, the STC said: "We stress that ensuring a lasting peace cannot be achieved only through listening to the Southerners, but through their real participation unequivocally in all stages of the political process by placing the issue of the people of the South at the forefront of the political process's priorities."

The STC renewed its adherence to the Riyadh Agreement, which it signed with the Yemeni government in the Saudi capital, in November 2019, and ended a war between them that lasted for months.

The STC said: "The Riyadh Agreement still constitutes to be a real opportunity for a successful peace process led by the United Nations, if a joint negotiating delegation is formed as stipulated in the agreement."

STC held the "other party" the responsibility for obstructing the agreement, which "has not fulfilled its obligations contained in the agreement and is not serious about the return of the power sharing government to the capital, Aden. The STC has called on the government to return several times but still seems a single-sided initiative."

The Saudi backed-Yemeni government, whose last stronghold in North Yemen is now threatened by the Houthis, is seeking to make gains in South Yemen that will save its life.

South Yemen is experiencing a deteriorating economic situation that is bringing it closer to the "famine" that international organizations and reports warn of. 

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- South24 Center

- Photo: Newly appointed UN envoy meeting STC president, 2020 October (official)