Aden (South24 Center)

On Tuesday, February 25, ’South24 Center‘ organized a webinar in cooperation with the “Sais Organization for Diplomatic Development and Human Rights”. The webinar discussed the current situation and the future of Hadramout governorate in South Yemen in view of the disagreements among its influential forces. 

The webinar participants were: Hadramout Inclusive Conference (HIC) Secretary General Akram Naseeb Al-Amry, Special Representative for Foreign Affairs of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) President Amr Al-Bidh, and academic and political researcher Dr. Haifa Al-Maashi. It was moderated by media consultant and political analyst Anwar Al-Tamimi. 

The webinar focused on three main axes: the views of both parties the HIC and STC toward Hadramout, the points of agreement and disagreement, and the approaches to reach a common understanding for boosting the Hadrami front.

The Visions of HIC & STC toward Hadramout

Akram Al-Amry noted that the Hadramout Inclusive Conference (HIC) was founded in 2017. This followed major preparations since 2016 attended by Hadrami parties, including figures affiliated with the Southern Hirak. The HIC serves as a political and social framework seeking to promote the rights of Hadramout as a territory inside a federal state, according to him. 

He added: “Our vision toward Hadramout is based on the foundation document to which we are firmly committed. In this document, we determined the political, security, and military aspects and the relationship between Hadramout and the central authority of the federal state”.

As for the STC, AlـBidh said that it has a clear vision regarding Hadramout. He pointed to the fact that the STC is an extension of the Southern Hirak which was established in Hadramout itself. He added: “Our project is an independent decentralized Southern state. We are seeking a federal system, with the inclusion of Hadramout, while fully realising its special aspects, and other governorates of South Yemen.” 

AlـBidh indicated that the STC looks at Hadramout as part of an independent Southern State, even as it supports decentralization. He stressed that the STC focuses on managing the war phase, boosting of services, and political representation of the South issue.

According to AlـBidh, the STC recognizes the special characteristics of Hadramout but is of the view that its final position should be as part of the Southern state.

Haifaa AlـMaashi was critical of both the STC and HIC. She noted that Hadramout embraces other factions and parties besides these two entities. She stressed: “Hadramout is owned by the Hadramis and shouldn’t be monopolized by the STC or the HIC. The voice of the Hadrami citizens is the main one that should represent Hadramout and decide its future.”

She also noted that talking about the future of Hadramout cannot be logical without evoking and remembering the past. She explained: “Throughout history, Hadramout has been part of South Yemen. Its presence has been linked to its Southern identity, and not only as Hadramout. We cannot ignore the history and the blood that was shed for the sake of the South. The planned South state should be built according to a clear vision which guarantees the rights of everyone, with a focus on the local governing authorities that would give each governorate its full powers.”

AlـMaashi voiced trust in the goals and desire of both the parties (STC and HIC) to serve the interests of Hadramout. However, she pointed to the lack of a clear method to do that. She believes that unconditional real dialogue is the best way to achieve communication and agreement between both parties.

Points of Accord and Disaccord

Al-Amry highlighted the points of disagreement between the HIC and the STC, pointing to a political competition between the two parties. He said: “The relationship passed through phases of competition followed by pacification, followed by competition again.” However, the competition has recently increased with the escalation of the HIC’s efforts to achieve the demands of Hadramis, according to Al-Amry.

He admitted that it was for the first time in eight years since the establishment of the STC and the HIC, that the points of disagreement and agreement were being discussed with such clarity during this webinar. He considered this as clear evidence about the magnitude and dimensions of the problem.

According to Al-Amry, the points of disagreement include the STC's failure to clearly spell out its vision before the political and economic authorities of Hadramout, while the HIC has called for a clear political representation of Hadramout within any future framework. He added: “The HIC doesn't see itself as part of the STC and is seeking to deal with it politically on a peer-to-peer relationship”. 

However, there are many points of agreement between the HIC and the STC, he pointed out, adding that the foremost is that both of them were formed as a result of major political, economic, and social grievances facing Hadramout and South Yemen's governorates in general. Moreover, both parties support a federal system that achieves a fair partnership. Both also enjoy influential grassroots bases in Hadramout. 

On the other hand, Amr Al-Bidh stressed that the main difference between the two revolves around the clarity of the political project as the STC believes that Hadramout is part of the South while the HIC avoids determining its final stance. Al-Bidh added: "Hadramout cannot have a dual representation. So, who represents it? Is it the HIC only? Is there a wider vision that needs to be clarified? The disagreement here is our belief that Hadramout should be part of a unified South Yemen within a comprehensive vision.” 

Al-Bidh noted that the STC believes in the need to make changes in the local authority of Hadramout, which should be set up through elections rather than the current centralized one. He pointed out that “the STC doesn't oppose the Hadrami peculiarities but believes that such a speciality should be accommodated within the South state.” 

Al-Bidh added that the STC appreciates the HIC's efforts and agrees with it about the need to meet the aspirations of Hadramis. He explained that the points of agreement between the two parties include holding of peaceful dialogue to solve problems. 

For her part, Dr. Al-Maashi stressed that the points of accord between the STC and HIC outweigh their differences. The solution, according to her, lies in focusing on the interests of the people and providing a successful example of local governance. She believes that “political squabbles aren’t in the interest of people and only increase their suffering. The solution lies in working on issues that touch daily life”.

For Al-Maashi, the decision lies with Hadramout and not the STC nor the HIC in light of the lack of stability. She added: "When we talk about autonomy and other political issues, how can we achieve this amid the extreme anger among people? Why is there a focus on politics and the military aspects while neglecting people, the normalization of public life, and building of state institutions?”.

Al-Maashi said that both parties should recognize that these files need to be agreed upon by both and they have to work for achieving them. According to her, the “equation of the common enemy and the common ally requires the STC and HIC to work together in an effective way since they face the same enemies and they are necessarily common allies”.

The Approaches for Enhancing the Hadrami Front

In this axis, discussions focused on finding mechanisms for rapprochement between the two parties. AlـBidh proposed that the STC, the HIC, and other local forces work to support a local authority in Hadramout, and give it more powers based on the diversity and for maintaining the Hadrami Elite forces.

He stressed that the Southern dialogue will remain the first and only option for the STC to deal with any Southern component or party, foremost of which is the HIC. He indicated that holding of the dialogue doesn’t intend to contain or eclipse the HIC but to understand its goals and unify efforts in the best interests of the people.

AlـAmry stressed the need to launch a serious and direct dialogue in order to clarify the STC’s stance toward Hadramout’s current political and administrative situation. He underscored that the HIC doesn’t seek to dominate the Hadrami decisionـmaking but wants a real partnership that reflects the community’s will.

AlـAmry believes that dialogue is an important and key step, pointing to recent statements by STC President Aidrous AlـZubaidi regarding resuming the Southern national dialogue. He called for both parties to move to a clear executive working stage beyond the current good faith square.

Dr. Haifaa AlـMaashi proposed working on a joint project between the STC and HIC, focusing on improving the economic and service conditions in Hadramout and finding clear mechanisms for sharing of wealth and political influence. Furthermore, she pointed to the need to restore the culture of tolerance which was dominant in Hadramout, warning that the growing militarization of the governorate will lead to more divisions.

AlـMaashi called for supporting the independence of Hadrami and Southern decisionـmaking as well as curbing foreign influence and external interventions which cause troubles. She concluded: “The Southerners should respect their regional and international allies, provided the ally doesn’t exercise guardianship or dictate terms. The independence of this decisionـmaking will help both parties to serve the people.”