SANA’A, Aug. 19—Discussions to resume participation of the Southern Movement and southern representatives of other parties in the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) are ongoing between President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and leaders of the major Southern Movement faction, the Southern People’s Conference (SPC). Southerners suspended their participation in the NDC last Tuesday to protest the ‘slow’ resolution of the Southern Issue.
SPC member and Deputy President of the NDC Yasin Makkawi met with Hadi to convey a message from Mohammed Ali Ahmed, the leader of the Southern Issue Working Group, detailing the terms which would persuade the SPC to resume their participation.
Ahmed issued a statement that has been widely circulated in the press, explaining his position and demanding that the dialogue location be moved abroad and that Southerners and Northerners participate as equals. Other demands in the statement related to security and administrative issues in southern governorates.
Southern Movement leader and NDC representative Dr. Ahmed Al-Sulmani told the Yemen Times that President Hadi has been involved in intense discussions over the past days to bring the southerners back to the dialogue.
“The NDC hasn’t provided any tangible solutions to the Southern Issue [so] far,” Al-Sulmani said. The movement will not accept the outcome of the conference if it reaches decisions without the participation of Southerners, he said.
NDC Deputy Secretary General Yasser Al-Ro’ini said Hadi ordered the ministerial committee assigned to carry out the 31 Points to specify a deadline for the implementation of the document. The 31 Points are a list of demands put forth by southern leaders.
The Southern Issue, Al-Ro’ini said, can only be resolved through NDC reconciliatory outcomes, adding that “President Hadi won’t recognize any conditions beyond this choice.”
The NDC working groups were scheduled to submit their latest reports on Sunday but submission was delayed because of the Southern leaders’ boycott.
by: Mohammed Hassani
