ADEN // In the scorching afternoon sun, Saleh Al Huribi and other protesters packed into Aden’s Al Arood Square to demand a separation from the North.
“No chance, with the Houthis, I want to separate,” said the management student, holding the flag of the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, as independent South Yemen was formerly known.
“After the unification in 1990 it was good, but 1994 onwards, the education, working rights, and freedom in the south, it all went downhill,” he said, referring to the decline in the south’s power and influence after southern fighters lost the civil war in 1994 against armed forces in the north.
Mr Al Huribi’s anguish anger resonated in the voices of thousands of men, women and children chanting “Revolution, Revolution South”.
In nearby streets, encampments adorned with pro-independence graffiti were filled with protesters determined to stay until their demands were met.
The start of the protests two weeks ago marked the 51st anniversary of South Yemen’s revolt against British rule. They spread to nearby Hodeidah, in the province of the same name, and Mukalla city in Hadramout a week later and are still continuing.
The trigger was fears of the growing violence following the rise of Shiite Houthi militias in the north. On top of a long-held grievance about poor governance, and Sanaa’s neglect of the south, it was the last straw.
The Houthis seized the capital in late September and showed their power this weekend after they forced the UN-backed president to form a government under the threat that they would install their own "national salvation council" if their demand was ignored.
Neither side of power struggle in the north has much support among the Southern Movement, a group that has been demanding secession since 2007.
“These tribes from the north are only for war, not peace,” said Ahmed Mohsin, a supporter of the movement, on Sunday. “We southerners don’t want unity if its going to be made by force.”
The Southern Movement has been calling for equal rights through peaceful sit-ins and marches, but their demands were met by deadly force under former president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime.
Southerners such as Walid Al Bakili, a paediatrician from Aden, had hoped for autonomy through a federal system.
But after the Houthis seized Sanaa, he started supporting the Southern Movement.
“I don’t want the rule of the gun,” Dr Al Bakili said. “The south is modern, educated unlike the north who are controlled by tribal factions.”
A panel, led by president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi approved the Gulf Cooperation Council-mediated national dialogue, backed by the UN, where representatives from all political parties and the Houthis agreed in February, to transform Yemen into a six-region federation.
In order for the switch to federalism to take place, a new constitution must be written and approved in a referendum, which is scheduled to take place next year.
Like many in the south, Mr Al Huribi, the management student, dismissed the idea of a federal system outright.
“Six-autonomous regions will not work. We don’t need the north even if we don’t have the resources now. We have to start building from zero.”
A report released last month by the Abaad Studies and Research Centre, a think tank in Sanaa, made a strong case against secession. Among the risks it cited were: non-political ideologies that would give rise to extremist movements, and internal conflicts in the Southern Movement between factions linked to Shiite Iran and Al Qaeda-linked militants.
The report also warned that the Houthis, under the pretext of protecting the country, would seek to control the Bab el Mandeb strait, a waterway through which millions of barrels of oil are transported daily.
But not all southerners are in favour of secession, with some believing it would be a foolhardy move.
“We don’t have enough resources, administrative power, military support, ”said Bilal Gulamhussein, a historian and writer based in Aden.
“If there is a federation for five to 10 years, we can gradually get up to speed and eventually separate,” he said. Mr Gulamhussein said most of those taking part in the independence day rallies were not from Aden but from neighbouring provinces such as Lahj, Abyan and Hadramout.
The reason, he said, was that their forefathers once ruled the region but they had become powerless after unification.
“They are hungry to return to power, similar to a time before the unification,” Mr Gulamhussein said. “The Southern Movement is just one group, but there are 67 other groups fighting for their voice to be heard.”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
