The Middle East Institute (MEI) held a virtual seminar on Tuesday, June 2, 11 a.m. Washington time. Four Yemeni experts gathered to explore the various current dynamics affecting southern Yemen and how they look to the future under the current circumstances. What obstacles are there to the implementation of the Riyadh agreement? How will the US Transitional Council’s decision on autonomy affect future peace negotiations? How did Hadi’s government deal with the floods that swept Aden, some areas in the south, and the power outage, COVID19? Is the Transitional Council capable of dealing with security and economic challenges and providing good governance?
The symposium panelist:
Dr. Abdul Qader al-Junaid, a doctor and well-known political activist in Taiz, is known for his criticism of the Hawthi armed group and its allies. Prior to the 1994 war, Dr. Aljunaid established the “January 18 Commission to Support the Charter of Commitment and Agreement” in Taiz.
Saad Al-Din Ali Talib: former minister of industry and trade ,
Member of the Yemeni parliament for the Shabam region in Hadramaut. Dr. Taleb wrote several papers about democracy in Yemen
Yasmine Al-Nazeri
Executive Director of the Peace Track Initiative
Amr Al-Beidh
NTC member
Amr Al-Beidh is a member of the Presidential Council of the Southern Transitional Council and is responsible for external contacts and issues related to the peace process
Moderator: Fatima Abu Al-Asrar is a non-resident researcher at the Middle East Institute. the capital, the director of the Middle East and North Africa region for violence, and a co-researcher with the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
Fatima talked about the conflicts in Abyan, Shabwa, Sayoun, and how to confront COVID19
Dr. al-Junaid talked about Yemen’s health sector, which is suffering from a severe deterioration due to the country’s worsening conflict, which has led to epidemics, disease and the closure of many health facilities. Al-Junaid spoke of the failure of the authorities and the lack of transparency regarding Koruna, which caused a collapse in the Yemeni economy. He called for confronting the humanitarian, political, military, security, economic, and development challenges, as a result of the inhumane practices of the Houthi militias, which are engaged in acquisition, looting, imposition of fees on humanitarian aid, and obstruction of access to all Yemeni territory. Ambulances have aggravated the MERS crisis, and hospitals with functioning have no reliable power sources, he said, adding that 50% of the population does not have access to clean water.
For his part, Dr. Saad Eddin Ali Talib emphasized that the Transitional Council needs a better government of high morals, not militias, according to him. He said that at the present time, it is impossible to overcome this crisis in light of the lack of justice, which Yemeni citizens have been suffering for some time. He said that he has noticed over many years of political work in Yemen that the rigid mentality of the ruler in Yemen, which clearly the mentality of the “Houthis” who rule from
and a fascist mentality .. He also blamed the current government, which is supposed to be the one to save this collapse, for failing miserably and must be built in a better way. He concluded by expressing his admiration for the success of Hadramaut in dealing with the Coronavirus.
Omar Al-Beidh began his speech by talking about the assassination of Al-Qutaie journalist today in Aden. He expressed his regret for the incident and described it as a sad day in the city of Aden. He accused the Islah Party of wreaking havoc in Aden and the southern regions. He called on the Saudi-led coalition to redraft the agreement. He also called for a common plan, appropriate policies and an integrated vision to implement the Riyadh Accord in the right way.
Yasmine Nazari warned of the danger of autonomy and transitional justice, a priority issue since 2016. She highlighted the fact that since 2014, no peace agreement has been implemented, including the seven-month Riyadh agreement, which is a very clear objective text on a timeline, compared to previous agreements that were vague and open to interpretation, but were not implemented, but rather the Transitional Council’s self-governing council has failed. Transitional Council taking Yemen back to era before 1986 and 1994, which was a time of political exclusion and serious challenges. This is what the transitional council sees as a political challenge and they want to implement it and return their stolen state according to that claim .. The best solution in Yemen is the outcome of dialog and federal rule.
At the end of the seminar, the speakers agreed on the importance of stability in Yemen, emphasizing the the growing humanitarian needs, helping to alleviate suffering and supporting the humanitarian, economic and development aspects, which will have a negative impact on the security and stability of Yemen.
