South24 (Aden)

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Tens of thousands rallied in Aden and other Southern cities to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Disengagement Declaration in 1994 which separated South from North after the collapse of the Yemeni Unity Agreement. 

In the capital city of Aden, Al-Mualla District witnessed an event which included speeches and artistic shows. Some STC leaders were among top participants. Moreover, hundreds carrying South Yemen flags roamed the city's streets.

Furthermore, Shabwa’s capital, Ataq, witnessed a mass event in which thousands of people from different districts of the governorate participated. They chanted slogans that called for the establishment of the Southern State.

In Hadramout, the biggest Yemeni governorate, people commemorated the Disengagement anniversary by holding an event including speeches and artistic shows in its capital coastal city of Al-Mukalla.

In Abyan, east of Aden, thousands of the governorate's residents gathered to hold an event accompanied by revolutionary and patriotic songs to commemorate this anniversary.

In Al-Mahra's capital, Al Ghaydah, thousands of Southerners flocked to commemorate the Disengagement anniversary. The main road was crowded with hundreds of vehicles that transported the participants. A public event was held with the participation of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Afrar, Chairman of the "General Council of Sons of Al-Mahra and Socotra".

In Socotra Archipelago, located in the Gulf of Aden, a public carnival was held in Hadibo, the capital of the Archipelago's main land. The event was interspersed with various folk dances and songs.

In the governorate of Lahij, thousands toured Al-Houta City carrying anti-unity banners that called for the establishment of an independent state. 

The anniversary

On May 21st 1994, Southern President, Ali Salem Al-Bidh declared the disengagement of South Yemen from North Yemen four years after signing the merging unity agreement between the two states.

This declaration came after the dispute between the unity's two parties reached its peak following the assassination of hundreds of Southern cadres in Sanaa, and after the declaration of war against the south, which was carried out when it was invaded in the summer of 1994.

In a speech to the nation at that time, Al-Bidh said: "We announce the establishment of a sovereign and independent state under the name of People's Democratic Republic of Yemen whose capital is Aden.

Restoring the two states

During the Aden event, prominent STC leader Nasser Al-Khubaji said: "We call our brothers in North Yemen that it is time to negotiate about restoring the two states".

Al-Khubaji believes that reality today confirms that unity is a dying lie.

The final statement of the Shabwa event said that the latest declaration about establishing a new Presidential Council deactivated the constitution of the Republic of Yemen.

Southern politicians and activists wrote on Twitter to comment on the anniversary of the disengagement and the mass events in the various South Yemen governorates.

Ahmed Omar Bin Farid, STC leader said: "all Southern governorates renew their refusal of the continuation of the so-called "the Yemeni Unity".

On the other hand, Yemeni politicians and unity regime leaders celebrated the 32nd anniversary of the unity agreement between South and North.

The Speaker of the Shura Council, Ahmed Bin Daghr, said: We celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the Yemeni unity. More than three decades passed  in which Yemen witnessed phases of stability and phases of conflict".

Former Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Alqirbi  said: "We greet the Yemeni Revolution leaders who put achieving Yemeni unity as a main goal for them". 

The Saudi News Agency (SPA) published congratulation statements from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to the Chairman of the Presidential Council Rashad Al-Alimi on the occasion of "the anniversary of the unity of his country".

In a speech, Rashad Al-Alimi admitted that the goals of the Yemeni Unity deteriorated into a civil war which produced a fair Southern issue.

Al-Alimi added: "In a historic moment, the partners from North and South met to make the transformation and we can make this now".

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