STC REITERATES SOUTHERN CALLS FOR SUSTAINABLE POLITICAL SOLUTION

[BRUSSELS – 13 September 2019] Following the recent escalation in Aden and Southern governorates, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) joins, today, hundreds of Southern civil society and diaspora community members from across Europe to renew demands for a credible political solution for South Yemen. As talks are underway in Jeddah, at the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to address the crisis in the South, the STC stresses in parallel its commitment to a negotiated political solution through the UN political process led by Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths. Speaking on this occasion, STC EU Representative Ahmed Omar Bin Fareed said:

“We are at a critical time for the Southern people, and the broader political solution for Yemen and the South. The escalation spurred by attacks at the start of August by Houthi and Hadi government forces, as well as extremist elements, against the Southern people has crossed a line that requires an immediate and sustainable resolution. The Southern people are determined to make their legitimate demands heard and not allow the South to be ignored again. And they are making clear their refusal to compromise on their grievances and aspirations to decide their own future.

“We stand with them and we affirm their demands. On the ground, the STC is committed to ensuring that the situation in the South does not deteriorate further, and that Southerners are secure and receive the aid and relief they need in the face of the increasingly dire humanitarian and economic conditions. And at the political level, we have engaged in earnest, including agreeing to the ceasefire initiative sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“As we have communicated to Mr Griffiths and our international and regional partners, we are at an important crossroads and our collective effort must be focused and diligent in finally addressing the Southern issue, alongside the other key components of the solution to the Yemeni crisis. As a representative of the Southern people, we stand ready to continue our constructive engagement and play our part in the UN-led political process to reach a sustainable solution for the South. We now look ahead to engage and work constructively with our EU partners to deliver a broad and inclusive political process, building on the recent UN Security Council’s Presidential Statement of 29 August that explicitly called out the importance of inclusion of the Southern issue in the UN process. Southerners and the fragile status quo in the South cannot afford to wait any longer for securing a sustainable political solution.”

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