Demands for division convulse Yemen

Mohammed al Qadhi, Foreign Correspondent

April 30. 2009 1:50AM UAE / April 29. 2009 9:50PM GMT

SANA’A // With growing unrest in the south, there is fear Yemen’s unity is in jeopardy. Southern protesters’ demands are no longer limited to redressing wrongdoings by politicians after the 1994 civil war, but have gone further, to calls for independence.

“The situation is worrying. There is fear about the unification of Yemen unless serious actions and genuine reforms are taken to address the mistakes that took place after the civil war. There must be a national dialogue involving all political forces on the ground,” said Saeed Thabet, a political analyst.

Soldiers once loyal to the socialist regime that ruled the south began their protests in 2006 by demanding their pensions. However, after three years of growing public unrest in the south, the protesters are now calling for the restoration of their formerly autonomous southern state.

“Our demands are now an end to the north occupation of the south [that began] in 1994. It was possible for the regime to address the consequent mistakes of the war, but the whim of victory made them look down upon us. Now, we do not accept any solution. We will fight peacefully for our independence but we have the right to take up other options,” Ali al Sa’adi, a leading member in the southern independence movement, said.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s president, whose regime has its hands full with a rebellion in the north, al Qa’eda attacks and tough economic challenges, warned of the consequences of splitting Yemen.

“These people should understand that if anything bad happens to the unity, the country will not go back to two states … It will break down and there will be several states and projections. The people will fight from house to house,” he said. “They should take a lesson from the situation in Iraq and Somalia … The unity is our safety valve and it is our responsibility to protect it … We are concerned that no single drop of blood be shed after 1994,” Mr Saleh said during a meeting in Sana’a with more than 1,000 senior military and civil officials from the south on Saturday.

The southern movement has been gaining ground since Sheikh Tariq al Fadhli, a former ally of Mr Saleh’s, joined its side three weeks ago. Mr al Fadhli also played a pivotal role in mobilising jihadists to fight with government troops against the socialists in the 1994 civil war.

Two days after Mr Saleh’s speech, Mr al Fadhli called for separation of the south during a large rally in the southern province of Abyan.

“It was a historic day, for it marked the fall of Abyan as the last record for the regime in the south. Now, our movement is sweeping all over the southern provinces. All southerners are united in their struggle for independence,” Mr Sa’adi said.

In 1990, a union between the Marxist-led south and tribal-dominated north was reached. But the deal between the People’s General Congress and the Yemeni Socialist Party fell apart and a political crisis developed, which led to the 1994 civil war.

The socialists were crushed by Mr Saleh’s army and the defeated leaders went into exile despite a pardon issued by Mr Saleh, who ruled North Yemen from 1978 to 1990 and has been president of a united Yemen since 1990.

Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the Yemeni vice president who is from the south, lashed out at the southern movement members while admitting there had been government wrongdoing and corruption.

“Yes, there is financial and administrative corruption and, yes, there are negative points. But we have to deal with them under the framework of united Yemen,” Mr Hadi said at a rally in the southern port city of Aden on Monday.

The Yemeni government said it had spent more than US$250 million (Dh918m) to resolve the disputes of thousands of southern pensioners.

Leaders of what is now called Southern Movement Forces complain that any true partnership created as a result of unification in 1990 was destroyed by the 1994 civil war that forced the socialist party and its members from power in the south.

“This regime has been dealing with us since 1994 as spoils of war and defeated people. It has been harassing us and throwing us in jails,” Mr Sa’adi said. “They looted our land and wealth. Tens of thousands of military personnel and civil servants from the south were dismissed from their jobs or pushed into retirement. This is not unity but a backward occupation.”

On Tuesday, armed clashes broke out in Radfan district in the southern Lahj province. Two soldiers were reportedly killed and 12 others injured, including four citizens, in the attack on a military checkpoint recently established by the authorities to control unrest in the region.

“The use of force in dealing with the protests will not improve but further worsen the situation. But, at the same time, calling for independence is not logical as this makes them lose public sympathy. Yemenis in general feel there is need for drastic reform and a war on corruption,” said Mr Thabet, the political analyst.

“There is time for correcting mistakes including the looted land, dismissal of military and civil servants as well as equal partnership and distribution of power and wealth. The people in charge should act now, otherwise danger is looming.”

malqadhi@thenationl.ae