internationalSouth Arabia
Office of the Southern Transitional Council in America Demands UN Security Council to Get Out of the False Duality of Negotiations
[su_label type=”info”]SMA News – Washington – Exclusive [/su_label][su_spacer size=”10″][su_dropcap]O[/su_dropcap]ffice of the southern transitional council in USA asked UN Security Council to refer clearly to the unique position of Southern Yemen in the council’s outcomes and to establish the southern cause’s position in the political process to get out current false duality of negotiations.
In a message to Francisco Antonio Cortoril Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic to UN, Abd Al-Salam Kassem Mosaad, chairman of foreign affaires department at the office of the southern transitional council in USA, indicated that both the government and Al-Houthis don’t have the credibility nor the legitimacy to talk on behalf of the south. He indicated that this will make any agreement about major issues like disarmament, security and governance, impossible if the south is banned from political process.
Message Text
Mr. Francisco Antonio Cortoril
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic to UN and chairman of UN Security Council
It is a pleasure to send you the greetings of Mr. Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, president of the Southern Transitional Council. Referring to recent political developments in Yemen, I’m writing to you on behalf of the southern transitional council to renew our commitment with the political solution.
The southern people and southern transitional council focus on guaranteeing an inclusive political process where the southern cause is treated and conditions are created for the southern people to determine their future.
We are in a risky turn in the political path and on the ground. Stockholm agreement on December 13th, 2018 had the power to pave the way to some advance, but unfortunately, the agreement is facing massive obstacles as both conflicting parties withdrew their commitments concerning the agreement.
At the same time, the severe humanitarian and economic crisis is continuing along with violence in some parts outside Al-Hodeida. But we are still cautiously optimistic about efforts to end this conflict through negotiations. We hope that the recently formed UN delegation will be the beginning to an inclusive ceasefire that is urgently needed.
It is very clear that we all have massive work to do on all fronts. Therefore, we appreciate the hard mission of the UN Envoy to Yemen, Mr. Martin Griffith, and we can do nothing but appreciating his efforts to reach an inclusive political solution. In this respect, we would like to assert the necessity of our participation in this political process. This is consistent with our pursuit to participate in forming practical outcomes that aim to identify the future of the south, especially under current conditions of limiting negotiations to only two conflicting parties who don’t have the credibility nor the legitimacy to talk on behalf of the south. Based on this background, the southern transitional council is ready to constructively participate with the UN Envoy and his team concerning preparation of negotiation framework. This includes elaborating ideas about basic elements of this framework, in addition to political, security and governance arrangements in the south. To support this, we are concentrating our efforts to participate with other southern political groups to assert commonalities that guarantee integrity and unity around a common goal to guarantee representation of the south.
But efforts on the ground to recognize the southern cause in the political processes have limits too. This requires the international society, especially UN Security Council, to take some measures. Therefore, we ask you to:
In a message to Francisco Antonio Cortoril Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic to UN, Abd Al-Salam Kassem Mosaad, chairman of foreign affaires department at the office of the southern transitional council in USA, indicated that both the government and Al-Houthis don’t have the credibility nor the legitimacy to talk on behalf of the south. He indicated that this will make any agreement about major issues like disarmament, security and governance, impossible if the south is banned from political process.
Message Text
Mr. Francisco Antonio Cortoril
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic to UN and chairman of UN Security Council
It is a pleasure to send you the greetings of Mr. Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, president of the Southern Transitional Council. Referring to recent political developments in Yemen, I’m writing to you on behalf of the southern transitional council to renew our commitment with the political solution.
The southern people and southern transitional council focus on guaranteeing an inclusive political process where the southern cause is treated and conditions are created for the southern people to determine their future.
We are in a risky turn in the political path and on the ground. Stockholm agreement on December 13th, 2018 had the power to pave the way to some advance, but unfortunately, the agreement is facing massive obstacles as both conflicting parties withdrew their commitments concerning the agreement.
At the same time, the severe humanitarian and economic crisis is continuing along with violence in some parts outside Al-Hodeida. But we are still cautiously optimistic about efforts to end this conflict through negotiations. We hope that the recently formed UN delegation will be the beginning to an inclusive ceasefire that is urgently needed.
It is very clear that we all have massive work to do on all fronts. Therefore, we appreciate the hard mission of the UN Envoy to Yemen, Mr. Martin Griffith, and we can do nothing but appreciating his efforts to reach an inclusive political solution. In this respect, we would like to assert the necessity of our participation in this political process. This is consistent with our pursuit to participate in forming practical outcomes that aim to identify the future of the south, especially under current conditions of limiting negotiations to only two conflicting parties who don’t have the credibility nor the legitimacy to talk on behalf of the south. Based on this background, the southern transitional council is ready to constructively participate with the UN Envoy and his team concerning preparation of negotiation framework. This includes elaborating ideas about basic elements of this framework, in addition to political, security and governance arrangements in the south. To support this, we are concentrating our efforts to participate with other southern political groups to assert commonalities that guarantee integrity and unity around a common goal to guarantee representation of the south.
But efforts on the ground to recognize the southern cause in the political processes have limits too. This requires the international society, especially UN Security Council, to take some measures. Therefore, we ask you to:
- Clearly refer to the unique position of the south in all statements and decisions released by UN Security Council establish the southern cause’s position in the political process. This will create the necessary environment to move away from current false duality of negotiations where both conflicting parties have the VITO right, and to expand the political process to include credible and more active parties.
- Interact with southern groups and listen to their reports about the situation in the south in addition to the role they can play to secure a stable and sustainable political situation. It is impossible to reach an agreement about major issues like disarmament, security and governance, if the south is banned from political process.
- Concentrate humanitarian aids on the ground through allocating UN aids to the south where needs are increasing. But unfortunately, these efforts totally marginalize the south, including humanitarian and economic aids.
We welcome the efforts of UN humanitarian aids director, Mark Leacock, and respect his determination to help all citizens without exclusions. We are willing to work with him and his team to guarantee fair and free delivery of aids in the south. This is what we confirmed in our letter to Mr. Leacock on January 25th, 2019.
We all agree that the southern cause is a major part of the political solution in Yemen. UN Security Council previously took clear attitude towards southern Yemen in its decisions No. 924/1994 and No. 931/1994. We should work as a group to turn words into actions as demands of our people should not be marginalized. It is our duty to participate effectively in the political process, and we are still doing so, to pave the way in front of our people to determine their future.
Best Regards
PS. A copy of this message was sent to Mr. Martin Griffith, UN Envoy to Yemen.
Abd Al-Salam Kassem Mosaad
Chairman of foreign affairs department
Office of the Southern Transitional Council in USA
Washington DC
