Aden (South24) 

On Saturday, "South24 Center for News and Studies" held an evening symposium to discuss the “Southerners' vision for peace in Yemen" in Aden’s Al-Mualla district. The participants included representatives of some active Southern parties, civil society, journalists and activists.  

At the beginning, South24 office director in Aden, Jacob Al-Sufyani, welcomed all guest speakers and participants adding that the seminar comes as part of "South24"'s endeavors to crystallize a common Southern vision about the notion of peace in Yemen.

Some participants of the Seminar (South24)

Al-Sufyani noted that the symposium comes amid big political changes represented in the establishment of the newly-formed “Yemeni Presidential Council” including for the first time Southern figures who demand independence. Moreover, there has been an agreement to put a special framework for the Southerners issue during the UN-sponsored comprehensive negotiations among the Yemeni parties.

The list of guest speakers included Head of STC Decision-Making Support Center Dr.  Khaled Bamadhaf, Presidency Member of the Supreme Council of the Revolutionary Movement Brigadier General Mohammed Jawas, Member of the Yemeni Socialist Party's Central Committee Waed Abdulmalik and Director of the Future Foundation for Rehabilitation, Awareness and Capacity Development Manal Mohayyam. The panel discussion, directed by journalist Hamdi Al Yafei, included 5 basic topics:

1- The notion of peace process in Yemen.

2- The active Southern parties that could contribute in peacemaking.

3- Mechanisms and principles accepted in South Yemen to participate in the peace process.

4- The final solutions awaited by Southerners in the peace process.

5- How can the Southern stances towards any peace process be unified?

The notion of peace

Khaled Bamadhaf believes that the notion of peace in any place in the world is itself the same as in Yemen. It is about allowing all people to live on equal foot and to renounce violence in addition to the existence of social justice. 

Head of STC Decision-Making Support Center Dr.Khaled Bamadhaf (South24)

For Waed Abdulmalik, "One can't talk about peace while poverty and hunger spread". The Social Party leader added that bringing peace depends on the ability of different parties to bypass disputes and work to “improve people's living quality”.

Manal Mohayyam said that peace is the citizenship equality and the community value based upon justice. The civil society leader pointed out that peace, with its multiple notions and definitions, is generally relevant with coexistence. She added that "justice comes before peace".

Director of the Future Foundation for Rehabilitation, Awareness and Capacity Development Manal Mohayyam (South24)

Who are the active peacemaking components?

The whole guest speakers agreed that the  Southern peacemaking role should involve all Southern forces and components. They said that the STC today has more presence, and it acts as a general frame which must absorb all Southerners.   

Brigadier General Mohammed Jawas said that there are no disputes between the STC and other components as all agree on one goal which is how to win the Southerners Issue. Waed Abdulmalik pointed out that several Social Party leaders are under the STC's umbrella.

Presidency Member of the Supreme Council of the Revolutionary Movement Brigadier General Mohammed Jawas (South24)

Khaled Bamadhaf stressed that the STC is the party which will represent South in any peace process as being “a political national transitional struggle frame not a partisan one". 

Manal Mohayyam said that the civil society is the balance point in any peace process adding that "it is the one which directs the national and the political identity for any society". Mohayyam criticized the negligence by the STC and Southern political forces of the civil society role.

The unity failure

The guest speakers agreed that the failure of the Yemeni Unity between Southern and Northern states along with the war against the Southerners have undermined the peace process in Yemen. Mohayyam said that the Southerners have been treated as being "10th class citizens". For Khaled Bamadhaf, the current circumstances confirm that the Unity is impossible to continue as “North Yemen is on its way to establish a religious sectarian state".

Regarding the recent Riyadh Consultations and the changes accompanying them, Bamadhaf said that they could serve as a basis for actual and realistic peace.  The STC's official added that the peace issue in Yemen became politicized and that the continuous “plundering” of Southern wealth and ditching behind the projects of influence and control mean that “peace is a farfetched goal and that fighting will continue”.

Waed Abdulmalik said: “The independent Southern federal state” is awaited by Southerners as one of the final peace solutions. Jawas believes that the current Southerners' vision for peace in Yemen is largely unified around terms of restoring the Southern state and putting an end to the Yemeni Unity. 

Member of the Yemeni Socialist Party's Central Committee Waed Abdulmalik (South24)

Mohammed Jawas conceives that “peace won’t be achieved in Yemen without attaining justice for the Southern state issue”. He ruled out that the recent declaration of the Yemeni Presidential Council is a move towards peace adding that many factors refer to that.

Khaled Bamadhaf stressed that any peacemaking attempt must take into consideration the historical reality of the South as well as its religious and cultural traits. He believes that the political structures established in South have acted as de- facto representatives of the Southern community structures.

Bamadhaf pointed out that the Northern political entities such as the Islamic Islah Party reflect the tribal-based community structures there. He indicated that discussing “restoring the state project” was rejected in the “National Dialogue Program” held in Sanaa at that time “which led to our withdrawal from the Dialogue Program”.

As for the STC’s participation in the Riyadh Consultations, Bamadhaf said that this political dynamic adopted by the STC aimed at enhancing its political presence but it didn’t deal with any agenda. 

South24 Center for News and Studies