Interview - Southern Transitional Leader warns of power-sharing deal breakdown
English - Thursday 16 January 2020 الساعة 03:38 pm
aden,newsyemen
The president of the Southern Transitional Council, Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, warned of the collapse of the power-sharing agreement in southern Yemen, stressing adherence to the agreement sponsored by Saudi Arabia, which faces a delay in implementation.
In an exclusive interview with Agence France-Presse in Aden, the leader of the Southern Transitional Council affirmed that the agreement was threatened by Islamists in the government of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and the economic crisis.
According to Al-Zubaidi, "the delay or stumbling in the implementation of the steps of the Riyadh agreement comes from a broken part of the government, namely the Muslim Brotherhood, meaning the Islah party, which is under the umbrella of the legitimate government."
He said “the risks are many, the most important of which is the growing work of terrorist organizations, especially those operating under the shadow of the legitimate (government) Brotherhood.
Southerners accuse the Yemeni government headed by Abd Rabuh Mansour Hadi of allowing the Islamists to grow in influence and influencing its political and military decisions, especially from the "Yemeni Assembly for Islah" party, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Al-Zubaidi added, "These (Islamic) organizations will threaten the Riyadh agreement because they are terrorist organizations and will carry out terrorist operations and potentially lead to the failure of this agreement."
Al-Zubaidi also warned that the deteriorating economic conditions in the south may constitute an additional factor for the failure of the Riyadh agreement.
He said, "The Yemeni currency is undergoing a major collapse, and it is possible that within a few months we will move to (use) the Saudi currency or the dollar in the south because it will become of no value at all."
"It could lead to the stalling of the Riyadh agreement, and the humanitarian aspect is very important for us," he said, adding that the south faces great challenges.
Al-Zubaidi stressed, "There is an acute shortage of food stocks. The warehouses are empty in the south and there is no reserve for ten days, in addition to that the people of the south suffer from delayed salaries."
Al-Zubaidi called on Saudi Arabia and the international community to provide aid to Yemen.
The leader of the Southern Transitional Council reiterated his side's adherence to the power-sharing agreement, explaining, "We adhere to the Riyadh agreement, and we are making a great effort under the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make this agreement succeed and bring peace to the region."
Al-Zubaidi considered, "The Riyadh agreement is an important political step for us. We have obtained regional and international recognition of the transitional council, and we will of course exercise our duties with all comfort under the umbrella of the Riyadh agreement and under the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a sponsor of this agreement."
"We do not aspire during this stage to independence. We aspire to a partnership that guarantees southerners their right to participate in the UN-sponsored negotiation delegation," Zubeidi insisted, referring to the Yemeni peace talks.
He added in the interview, "We aspire to restore our state and the right to self-determination in all democratic ways guaranteed to us."
