Aden (South24) 

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Today, in the capital city Aden, the first consultative meeting of its kind was held for political and civil parties in South Yemen since the Yemeni unity in 1990. The consultative meeting began in an opening session attended by prominent officials and personalities.

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) President and the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) member Major General Aidrous Al-Zubaidi, delivered a speech in which he spoke about the importance of consultative meeting and dialogue to resolve differences. He said, "this meeting marks a new era to strengthen the unity of the Southern ranks, and it is an embodiment of the Southern reconciliation and tolerance approach". 

Al-Zubaidi called for continuing the Southern National Dialogue "with everyone without exception." He talked about diversions to divert the Southerners' efforts to regain their state, which he said was "occupied" in 1990.

Al-Zubaidi referred to the historical symbolism of May 4, in which the consultative meeting will be held, and it is the day of the "Historic Aden Declaration", in which massive crowds took the streets of Aden and delegated the Southern official to form the STC in 2017.

Al-Zubaidi renewed the STC's affirmation of supporting the efforts of the Saudi-led Coalition and the international community to stop the war in Yemen and establish peace, but stressed that this is linked to the centrality of the "issue of the people of South"; He said that resolving this issue "is the key to sustainable peace".

"The stage is critical, and full of important events and variables, in the light of which the map of the future of our region will be drawn, which requires us to be at the level of its challenges and vigilant for any attempt to divert efforts," he added. 

Al-Zubaidi delivered his speech in the presence of senior Southern officials including the former Minister of Defense, Major General Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, who was recently released by the Houthis in a prisoner exchange agreement with the Yemeni government, and governors, ministers and heads of the participating parties.

Meeting agendas

The official spokesman for the Southern National Dialogue Team, Nasr Harhara, told "South24 Center" that the consultative meeting will continue for four consecutive days, in which closed sessions will be held to discuss many files.

He added in video statements: "This consultative meeting will result in the Southern National Pact, and this pact will be discussed during these days, contrary to what some are promoting about ready and prepared projects".

Informed sources told "South24 Center" that there are many files that will be discussed within the consultative meeting in Aden in addition to the National Pact, such as the form of the state that the people aspires to, as well as the context of South Issue in terms of negotiations and efforts to end the war in Yemen.

The sources stated that the consultative meeting will also discuss participation in decision-making, which is likely to be focused on by the restructuring process of the STC, which aims to include new personalities and parties. 

Al-Zubaidi had announced yesterday the imminent implementation of the political part of the restructuring process, after the consultative meeting. He also referred to a radical change on the security and military levels.

In a previous report by "South24 Center", the former Minister of Justice, Ali Haitham Al-Gharib, who heads the Peaceful Southern Movement Council, stated that his council will be part of the STC. 

Important political, civil and tribal parties in South Yemen participated in the meeting, such as the General Council for the People of Al-Mahrah and Socotra, the Unified Alliance for the People of Shabwa, the Hadrami Uprising Command, the Supreme Council for the Revolutionary Movement, the Political Bureau for the Revolutionary Movement and the Southern Democratic Assembly. 

Many independent individuals and other entities also participated.

In exclusive statements to "South24 Center", the Hadrami tribal leader, sheikh Hassan Al-Jabri, said: "We came to participate in the name of the Uprising, and we look forward to the consultative meeting drawing a roadmap for the desired federal state".

For nearly two years, the Hadrami Uprising Command and the tribes in Wadi Hadramout have been calling for the expulsion of the Northern forces from the region.

Despite the wide participation of the Southern political and civil parties and spectra, parties headed by Southern politicians boycotted the consultative meeting, such as the National Conference for the People of South, whose president Mohammad Ali Ahmed announced adherence to the outcomes of the national dialogue in Sanaa for the year 2013.

The Hadramout Tribal Alliance party also boycotted the meeting.

In exclusive statements to "South24 Center", a member of the STC Negotiations Affairs Unit, Ahmed Al-Rubaizi, said: "We are surprised that some parties announced that they did not participate in the consultative meeting, at the last moment, despite their prior approval".

It is scheduled that the consultative meeting will continue in closed sessions until next Sunday, and produce a final statement of what has been agreed upon.