The Struggle for Unity and Sovereignty in Yemen

Brigadier General Khaled Baras, head of the Southern Movement component in the Yemeni National Dialogue Conference, extends his sincere congratulations to the leader of the revolution, Sayyid Abdulmalik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and to President Al-Mashat, all members of the Supreme Political Council, and the Yemeni people at home and abroad, on the occasion of the blessed anniversary of Yemeni unity.

Baras stated that the greatest threat to unity is occupation and foreign interference, and the main goal of the aggression against our country is to dismantle and divide Yemen. He emphasized that the October 14 revolutionaries and their leaders come from all regions of Yemen, both north and south.

He added that the key factor that highlighted the need for unity was represented by the bloody events that began on January 13, 1986. He pointed out that achieving unity is a historical achievement made by the Yemeni people in both the south and the north and the Yemeni national movement.

Baras stressed the need to address the issues and heal the wounds that have befallen Yemeni unity, and that the disagreement between the ruling partners after unity was one of the main reasons leading to the war of the summer of 1994, as they reduced the great achievement of unity and turned it into personal gains to be divided among themselves.

He explained that the Saudi-Emirati occupation is trying to divert our attention from the truth of its goals and criminal practices, asserting that the presence of the occupation and its interference in all aspects of our lives is what prevents us from achieving any ambitions for our country.

Baras pointed out that the solution lies in uniting our efforts to face the external enemy, which is the cause of all our suffering. He explained that the aggressive forces are trying to preoccupy the citizens in the occupied areas with conflicts and crises, so their thoughts remain focused on providing for their daily needs.

Baras expressed his regret for those who supported the aggression against our country at its beginning and called on them today to direct our efforts together in confronting the real external enemy, and continued: “There is no fear for a Yemeni from a fellow Yemeni, nor for a southerner from a northerner. The reason behind all that is happening is foreign intervention and aggression against our country.”

Regarding the recent conference held by the Transitional Council in Hadramout, Baras stated that it was carried out under the direction of the occupiers to implement the policies of division. He indicated that the creation of various armed formations by the occupation in the southern occupied regions aims to incite strife among the people of the south and Yemen as a whole.

He considered the formations created by the aggression, led by the Transitional Council, to be consolidating among their supporters the idea that the presence of northerners is occupation, while the presence of foreigners is not. Baras added that the occupying forces are capable of providing electricity to the people in Aden but deprive them of it to humiliate them.

Baras pointed out that the Transitional Council is an Emirati creation, as admitted by the Council itself, and that all the formations created by the occupation in the southern provinces reflect and serve its policies and objectives. He explained that the prisons of the UAE and the Transitional Council in Aden are overcrowded with patriotic men for various reasons.

Baras confirmed that there is a national activity in the Mahra province that recognizes the external threats to Yemen. The American presence in Mahra and Socotra is now known to the citizens, hence their positions have developed against the dangers of the American and British presence, which require us to unite our positions and avoid division. He emphasized that expelling the foreign occupier must be one of the goals that we all meet around, regardless of the form and type of this presence.

Baras reiterated that the Southern Movement he leads has adopted a principled position that cannot be neutral, which is to reject the aggression against Yemen and call for its confrontation, and we are still committed to this stance.

Addressing the occupation opponents in the occupied southern provinces, Baras said: “Stand firm, and you will find us with you at the right time.”

He continued: “As a national component, we have a vision for the solution that is summarized in the necessity of the occupier’s departure, and this is the correct vision that will be implemented and will remain.” He called on the internal agents to learn a lesson from Vietnam, as the occupier will never endure.