Al-Ghaithi sends message to UN Security Council and ambassadors of 18 countries on developments in Riyadh Agreement
SMA NEWS – ADEN the capital
Mohammad Al-Ghaithi, Head of the General Department of Foreign Affairs of the Southern Transitional Council, sent a written message Mr. Nicolas de Riviere, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations and President of the Security Council, and the representatives of the member states of the Council, and the ambassadors of the countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen, in which it included the developments of the Riyadh Agreement, and the political situation in the South.
Al-Ghaithi stressed that the Southern Transitional Council, since the signing of the Riyadh Agreement in November 2019, has taken serious steps to fulfill the commitments contained in the agreement, based on the Transitional Council’s vision that the agreement represents a real starting point towards a comprehensive political process led by the United Nations.
Al-Ghaithi added that the Southern Transitional Council has maintained a constructive and positive approach towards the process of implementing the mechanism of accelerating the agreement since July 2020, by fully implementing its obligations, including facilitating and supporting the return of the parity government, engaging seriously with other counterparts, and with the efforts to normalize the situation, and providing public services.
Al-Ghaithi stressed that the Southern Transitional Council’s efforts have faced many obstacles and deliberate violations, foremost of which is the government’s failure to fulfill its obligations and tasks for which it was formed, and the refusal of authorities controlling Shabwa governorate, Hadramout valley, and parts of Marib to deposit local resources to the central bank in the capital, Aden, and the latest of which is the government’s departure from the capital, Aden, as a result of unjustified pressure exerted by the leadership of the other party to the agreement.
Al-Ghaithi indicated that the other side did not fulfill any of its obligations, in addition to carrying out dangerous field moves that renewed its insistence on creating a military escalation, referring to the brutal military attack on Lauder district in Abyan governorate, and the ongoing military mobilization towards Abyan governorate, instead of implementing the stipulated withdrawals in the Riyadh Agreement.
Al-Ghaithi said: “What seriously complicates the situation is the ongoing humanitarian violations carried out by the forces of the other side controlling Shabwa governorate, Hadramout valley, and parts of Abyan, which reach to level of war crimes, as the number of martyrs and wounded reached 67, and the kidnapped and arrested civilians 800, in addition to the arrest and disappearance of more than 103 soldiers from the Shabwani Elite Forces, and the arrest of 18 media workers and journalists, the arrest of 38 children, and the raid of 39 homes, the suppression of 22 peaceful civilian demonstrations, and finally, more than 131 arbitrary unilateral decisions that are not agreed upon, forefront of these are appointments of a partisan political nature in the judiciary, the Shura Council, and the Ministries of Defense and Interior.
In his letter, Al-Ghaithi indicated that the Southern Transitional Council informed the sponsors of the agreement of all these violations and abuses officially, in writing and in detail, explaining that the continuous disruption by the other party would not only lead to the failure of the coalition’s efforts, and the collapse of the economy, the failure of the public services system, and the interruption of salaries, as well the collapse of the health and education sector, but it also led to the progress of the Houthis and their control over most of the legitimate controlled areas in the northern governorates, as well as the return of terrorist activity of ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and the increase in the movements of terrorist elements affiliated with them in the areas of control of the forces of the other party in Shabwa governorate and parts of Abyan, and therefore carrying out bombings, interruptions, killings and chaos in the south, the latest of which was the operation implemented in Zinjibar, on June 11, 2021, which killed 8 martyrs of the Security Belt Forces of the Transitional Council there.
Al-Ghaithi said in his letter: “The delegation of the Transitional Council, before leaving the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to spend Eid al-Adha holiday a few days ago, had agreed with the sponsors of the agreement on the return and the security of the government, and the start of discussions to complete the implementation of the remaining provisions of the Riyadh Agreement, but the other party, unfortunately, refrained from discussing any dialogues regarding the completion of implementing the remaining provisions of the Agreement before the government returns to the capital, Aden, despite the Transitional Council’s repeated calls demanding the return of the prime minister and the ministers of the government of parity to the capital, Aden, in which the Southern Transitional Council did not find clear answers about the intransigence of the other party, and the complications that it constantly places in front of all opportunities for returning the government to the capital, Aden, and to move forward in completing the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement.
Al-Ghaithi’s message included a call to the international community to play its role and support the efforts made by the sponsors of the agreement to address this issue in a way that ensures no continuation of escalation, as well as stopping the practices and violations carried out by the other party, and the return of the parity government to the capital, Aden, and carrying out its tasks towards the citizens stipulated in the agreement, leading to a reliable implementation of all the provisions of the Riyadh Agreement without selectivity, and moving towards the comprehensive political process with a joint negotiating delegation as stipulated in the Riyadh Agreement.
In his letter, Al-Ghaithi reiterated the Southern Transitional Council’s commitment to its position on the need to complete the implementation of the agreement according to a specific time mechanism to be agreed upon.
