Riyadh (South24) 

The Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) in Yemen Rashad Al-Alimi acknowledged the deviation of the Yemeni unity project after the Northern war against South in 1994.

In a speech on the anniversary of the Yemeni unity [22 May, 1990], Al-Alimi said that the "unity was emptied of its content in the 1994 war."

Al-Alimi, who hails from Taiz in North Yemen, added, "The Southerners were pioneers of unity [...] and remained loyal to it, and they cannot be wrong about that."

"Today, they are right to rally around their just cause after the course of the unity project deviated, and its content and participatory value were emptied after the 1994 summer war," he added.

He stressed that "celebrating the unity is not a tendency to political intrigue or exclusion, but rather a commitment to the power of the constitution and the legitimate legal status of the country recognized regionally and internationally."

Al-Alimi referred to the recent decisions to address the conditions of 52,000 forcibly dismissed Southerners in the military and civil services who were excluded in 1994.

Al-Alimi considered that the Houthi militia in North "imposed the separatist measures in the local currency, customs, school curricula and roads," warning of their efforts to invade South under the cover of unity.

Al-Alimi stressed "responding to changes, achieving aspirations, correcting the course in accordance with the popular will, and rallying around the PLC."

Other Northern personalities, such as top Houthi officials Mahdi Al-Mashat and the son of Yemeni President Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, issued speeches on the unity anniversary.

The Islah Party also published a speech by its top officials Mohammad Al-Yadumi and Tawakkol Karman.

The Speaker of Parliament in the internationally recognized government, Sultan Al-Barakani, also stressed on the unity.

On Sunday, STC President and PLC member Aidrous Al-Zubaidi, warned against the continuation of extremist slogans regarding Yemeni unity.

Al-Zubaidi said in a televised interview: "If the slogans of unity or death continue by the Northerners, then we have our goals and we will restore the state of South without fear."

Al-Zubaidi warned of the collapse of the Yemeni government and the PLC if the economic and living conditions continued to deteriorate in South.