On Oct. 12, tens of thousands of Yemenis took to the streets of Eden in the south of the country, mostly demanding secession from the north. The date is significant, for it marks the 1967 independence of South Yemen, ending several decades of British colonialism. But for nearly five decades since then, Yemen has tried to find political stability, a semblance of economic prosperity and, most importantly, its national identity.
It has been two years and nine months since a large
protest in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, initiated what was quickly named the
Yemeni revolution, igniting media frenzy that Yemen had officially joined the so-called
Arab Spring. Depicting Yemen as a member of the Arab Spring club, as opposed to
appreciating the Arab country’s unique historical and political circumstances,
was a media shortcut that failed to explain the vast majority of events that
followed the Yemeni youth protests on Jan. 27, 2011.
One of the most significant dates of the massive protests
against the 33-year rule of now deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his
family’s stronghold over state institutions was Feb. 3. It was then that both Sanaa
and Eden stood united under one banner. It was a momentous day because both
cities once served as capitals of two warring countries. The youth of Yemen
were able to fleetingly bridge a gap that neither politicians nor army generals
managed to close despite several agreements and years of bloody conflicts.
But that collective triumph of the Yemeni people was only
felt on the streets of the country, overwhelmed by poverty and destitution, but
also compelled by hope. That sentiment was never truly translated to a clear
political victory, even after Saleh was deposed in February 2012.
Since then a National Dialogue Conference (NDC) was
convened with representations from various political parties, major tribes,
youth movements and delegates representing the south and north. Its job was to
usher in the process of drafting a constitution by organizing a referendum and
general elections. Sept. 18, was recognized as a deadline for these major tasks
to be accomplished, but that date slipped away. Even worse, deep divisions
began showing between all parties involved. Initially, the dialogue attempted
to explore commonalities between delegates representing the ruling General
People’s Congress (GPC) and the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), representing the
opposition. However, conflict soon ensued between members of the JMP
themselves.
JMP is made of several opposition parties, including the
Islamic-leaning Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) whose core supporters
are based in the north, and the secularist Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), based
in the south.
These two parties hail from entirely different
ideological schools of thought, and were not always united by their wish to
defeat Saleh’s ruling GPC. There was a time in which the Islah, seen as Yemen’s
branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, allied with Saleh to defeat socialists. “The
socialist expansion emanating from the south bolstered the Brotherhood’s
alliance with Saleh’s regime during the wars for the central regions
(1978-1982) against what they called the communist tide,” wrote Farea
al-Muslimi for Al-Monitor.
In those years, today’s Republic of Yemen was two
different countries: a Marxist-Leninist South Yemen, and North Yemen. After
years of conflict in which both sides were used to channel regional rivalries
and an international Cold War, they became united on May 22, 1990. Soon after
the union, a process of democratization, elections, wealth sharing and more was
initiated, but quickly fell apart. Southern leaders began speaking of a
conspiracy to deprive their less populated, yet wealthier southern and eastern
parts of the country of its resources by the tribal-dominated north.
In 1994, political conflict quickly descended into civil
war; the south was defeated and thousands of its leaders and military men fled.
Efforts at reconciliation fell short. The sense of injustice that southerners
continue to feel toward the dominant north is challenged by many. But it is
real and has never been seriously discussed, let alone resolved through a
transparent political medium overseen by a democratic leadership.
The current Yemeni Socialist Party is composed of
remnants of the dissolved leadership of South Yemen. Although the Yemeni revolt
of January 2011 ignited much national fervor throughout the country, talks of
succession began resurfacing later on, when Yemenis, especially in the south,
began losing faith in the political transition and the National Dialogue
Conference.
Another contributing factor is the state of utter
security chaos experienced throughout Yemen, some of which is al-Qaida-led or
-inspired violence targeting southern towns and activists. Some in the south
accuse Sanaa of facilitating or allowing such violence to perpetuate to achieve
political ends.
Moreover, JMP, which was slated as the united front of
the opposition, became a major source of tension, for the socialists deeply
mistrust the Islah, and the latter, which strongly objects to any division of
the country, is equally suspicious of its supposed political ally. When the
Egyptian military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi, Islah’s supporters
protested in fury, while the socialists celebrated with utter delight. Trust
was at an all-time low.
Not that the south is united, for the Southern Movement
Hiraak, which advocates a two-state federalism followed by a referendum on the
future of the south, is marred by division. Hiraak is composed of many
political parties and factions and is torn by competing leaderships. That
division was displayed on Oct. 12 during the marking of South Yemen’s
independence. Some participating factions carried pictures of Egyptian military
general Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, who overthrew Morsi, while others waved flags of
Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The political divide soon erupted in bloody clashes in
Parade Square, in central Eden, where some were reportedly injured.
On Oct. 8, only a few days prior to the Eden rallies,
President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was installed following the ouster of
Saleh, declared the country’s national dialogue was about to bear a long
anticipated result. In fact, it was only “a few days away” from establishing a
“united and federal Yemen”, a language so carefully used as to sway both sides
of the divide. But his anticipated breakthrough seemed irrelevant in the face
of compellingly discouraging facts, lead amongst them is that factions
affiliated with the Southern Movement are boycotting the talks. Also, the
signing of any accords “has been put off as the two representatives of Saleh’s
General People’s Congress walked out and the GPC suspended its participation, rejecting
any bid to ‘harm the unity of the homeland,’ ” reported Arab News.
Even if such an accord is eventually signed, the National
Dialogue Conference cannot enforce any agreement that lacks a clear mandate and
popular approval.
Uniting a “homeland” around similar ideas as a rebellion
continues to brew in the north, a secessionist movement gathers steam in the
south, a U.S. drone war carries on, rampant militancy moves ahead and punishing
poverty thrives is no easy task. We must ask if, under these circumstances, it
is even possible at all.
**Ramzy Baroud is an internationally syndicated columnist.