The Southern State and the Importance of Effective and Convincing Foreign Media!

Written by\ Dr. Tawfiq Jozlit
SMA NEWS – ADEN THE CAPITAL
The victories achieved by the Southern Transitional Council forces in preserving their military gains and repelling and even expelling the Houthi militias bring to mind the importance of the southern audiovisual media in light of laying the constitutional foundations for the anticipated southern state and developing it into an external media outlet that conveys the military and political developments of the Southern Transitional Council and the people of the south, who are seeking to regain their state.

Perhaps this analytical article is the product of my own convictions and conversations during my visit to Aden and Mukalla a year ago, with leaders of the Southern National Media Authority, as well as the media professionals supervising the Aden Independent Channel, which is truly the voice of the steadfast south.

This and that were done with the aim of presenting and discussing the current state of media in the south in general and the prospects for its development in a way that makes it an effective tool for reaching international public opinion and marketing the legitimate demands of the southern people to regain their state.

During these meetings, I was keen to remind media professionals, both at the Aden Independent Station and the leadership of the Southern Transitional Council, that the latter’s decision to embark on building constitutional institutions is a fundamental step before entering the anticipated negotiations to find a final solution to the security and geopolitical complexities that have characterized Yemen since the ill-fated 1994 war, which effectively ended the unification of the two parts of Yemen.

This decisive decision, with its strategic dimension, paving the way for an independent southern state, must be supported by effective and convincing foreign external media. There is no doubt that the importance of external media for the south is evident in the following:

First:
Promoting the southern issue among international public opinion, particularly Western public opinion, as southern media remains local and has never risen to the occasion to address crucial issues, addressing the West in the language of international communication, which is primarily English.

Second:
The political leadership must determine the editorial line, taking into account the perspectives of the media.

Third:
An English-language newsletter covering the most prominent activities of the STC leadership nationally, regionally, and internationally, with a brief section in the newsletters that includes a historical and legal perspective on the South.

Fourth:
A talk show hosting experts in international law and constitutional law to discuss the selfish phase of building constitutional institutions for the upcoming pre-negotiations period (these programs can be prepared in Arabic, with subtitles used, meaning the content is translated on screen).

Fifth:
Preparing documentaries based on documented data with two main dimensions: the “historical dimension,” aiming to introduce South Yemen, and the “legal dimension,” which clarifies the objective reasons for the legitimate demands of the southern people to restore their state, based on historical and legal data.

The political and media leadership in the South must consider the development of external media a top priority. This media must be formulated and developed based on data that is subject to change from time to time.