Yemen's struggle against separation

Yemeni MP Mohammed Abdullah Al-Kadi Sanaa - Ali Rabea “Critics directed at the recent appointments, decided by Yemen's President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi, are justified and justice is strongly needed in Yemen's southern region in order to avoid the country a possible separation” said the Yemeni MP Mohammed Abdullah al-Kadi. Once a member of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's party, the General People's Congress (GPC), Kadi was one of the earliest to resign from the GPC and join the people's uprising against Saleh's rule in March 2011, despite the fact that he shares the same geographical and tribal affiliation of Saleh.  In an exclusive interview with us, MP Kadi spoke about his expectations to his country's future and his assessment to the current conditions — especially the recent decrees of Saleh's successor, President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi, which drew a lot of controversy among Yemen's political spectrum. As one of the earliest Yemeni politicians to support the people's uprising, how do you assess the current political situation in Yemen? Needless to say, the country is indeed going through tough conditions. I am very optimistic about the future; but the current conditions of the country are pushing it into failure rather than success. What did you make of the recent decrees issued by President Hadi? A few of them were good, but unfortunately most of them were not well considered before they were taken. What is your opinion on the twenty points prompted by the National Dialogue Committee to President Hadi? They are good points; but the problem lies in the points that were not mentioned than the ones mentioned. The committee did not refer to the essentiality of Yemen's unity as a vital factor for guaranteeing the country's future. Regardless of the wrong conducts committed in the past against the people of south Yemen, these conducts should never lead to breaking the unity of Yemen. What we really have to do is to find quick solutions to the problems left by the former regime in the south and not to let the south separate. Twelve out of the twenty points made by the committee were related to the south; do you think this was too much? Not really, the situation in the south is a really significant worry for all the Yemenis. A lot of wrong things were done by the former regime in the south and we are supposed to correct them as quickly as possible in order to protect the country's unity. One of the points stated that the people of south Yemen should be granted an apology. Who should apologise and how should it be delivered? Those who led us to this situation are certainly the ones who have to apologise and they are the ones who were in power throughout the last thirty years. I believe this apology should be delivered to all the Yemenis, not just in the south. All the people have suffered from the wars, the bad policies, the deterioration in education, the economic hardship, corruption, poverty and unemployment, which caused massive frustration to the youth in particular. This apology shouldn't be represented in just meaningless words, but it must be based on a true intention to start a new era totally different from the past. President Hadi was criticised for focusing on officials who belong to the southern region in his recent appointments, how do you assess these critics? Of course President Hadi has a point here, as appointing the southern officials in top military and governmental posts will ease the tension in the south. But on the other hand, those who criticised him also have a point, because the official appointments must be decided upon personal and professional efficiency rather than geographical or tribal affiliation. Calls for separation in the south have been getting louder recently. Do you believe that a separation between north and south Yemen can take place? If the same old policies of the former regime are to be maintained in the south, particularly the partiality and injustice against the southern people, then yes — we might reach a point where separation is not avoidable. If we can however reverse these policies, I believe there will be no reason for separation. Some people feel that the change they aimed to see after the uprising didn't happen; do you share the same feeling? Of course we didn't reach the point we all aimed to reach, but what we have achieved until now is positive, and can be a first step towards more achievements to come in the future. Will Yemen be a civil state one day? I believe it will be and we will achieve all what we have called for in the uprising. The Yemenis will not step back until they get what they wanted. What makes you that confident? I'm confident because I can feel that the Yemeni people are too, very determined and feel no fear whatsoever. Was the uprising really led by the people themselves or were they pushed by some parties playing from behind the scenes? I do believe political parties were involved in the uprising, but certainly the people themselves have decided that what happened was enough and a change must take place. Do you think that the political change achieved by the uprising will be reflected in a social change too, especially as the 1962 uprising failed to achieve this social change? A lot of things have changed since 1962. At that time most of the people were illiterate, but education and culture are much more widespread now, so social change is more likely to happen than ever. Some sectarian disputes have come to the front after former President Saleh was toppled, how serious do you think these disputes are? They are very serious indeed and all the Yemenis are required to avoid their country and the fearful path these disputes can lead us to. Mutual accusations are currently exchanged among the Yemeni political parties of trying to take over after Saleh? I see no 'accusation' in this — political rivalry and seeking power are normal things in a democratic state and the party that will really represent the people's aspiration will eventually gain their trust. How do you see the future planned for Yemen? All the Yemenis, including President Hadi and all the political parties have to work for the future and put aside their differences at least for a while, until we achieve the basic foundations for a democratic state, like justice, national unity, stability, constant development and security. Too much rivalry might not be too helpful at this stage I think. We need to sacrifice our individual and partisan interests for the sake of our country's interests.