Statement issued by the General Directorate of Foreign Affairs of the Southern Transitional Council

SMA NEWS – ADEN the Capital

The General Directorate of Foreign Affairs, while renewing the Transitional Council’s support for the efforts of the envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Hans Grundberg, it stresses that referring to the need for the voice of the south to have a role in the peace process is an important step, but it is not new in the international discourse.

As long as the Transitional Council has made it clear on more than one occasion that the representation of the south in the political process needs an international will to ensure real and lasting peace, as this cannot be achieved unless words are translated into actions, embodied in the real involvement of the Southern Transitional Council as representative of the aspirations of the people of the south in the peace process led by the United Nations.

This also requires a realistic UN mandate and an appropriate political framework that reflects the reality of the parties on the ground, and the national issues that represented the real roots of the conflict, at the forefront of which is the issue of the people of the south.

In this regard, we stress that ensuring a lasting peace cannot be achieved only by listening to the southerners, but through their real participation in all stages of the political process, and placing the issue of the people of the south at the forefront of the political process’s priorities.

At the same time, we point out that the Riyadh Agreement still creates a real opportunity for a successful peace process led by the United Nations, if a joint negotiating delegation is formed as stipulated in the agreement.

The council’s foreign affairs indicates that the other party has not fulfilled its obligations contained in the agreement, and is not serious about the return of the parity government back to the capital, Aden, and the council has called, several times, on the government to return back, but to no avail. Therefore, we hold the other party in the agreement the responsibility for the economic collapse, and the failure of the public services system, the interruption of salaries, the collapse of the health and education sectors, and the worsening of the humanitarian crisis in our country.

Aden The Capital

Saturday 11 September 2021