Jeddah dialogue’s success: Coalition close to quelling the sedition of Yemen’s Brotherhood

Ali Ragab

In an indication of the success of the Jeddah dialogue in defusing the crisis between Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC), as well as quelling the sedition of the Brotherhood-affiliated Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Al-Islah), Mansour Saleh, a leader of the STC, said the delegation of the legitimate government arrived in Jeddah on Tuesday, September 24 to complete the dialogue with the STC leadership.

He pointed out that the delegation consists of Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, Vice Prime Minister Salem al-Khanbashi, and Abdullah al-Alimi, director of the Office of the President of Yemen.

Yemeni politician Dr. Hussein Lagour posted on Twitter revealing the most important items of the initiative to support legitimacy in Yemen led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to resolve the conflict between the STC and the Yemeni government in the Jeddah dialogue.

Lagour pointed out that the most important item of the proposal is the formation of a mini-government between the South and the North, whose ministers are technocrats, do not belong to any party, and are nominated by consensus between the STC, President Hadi, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The appointment of local authority leaders in the provinces in the South would also be through agreement between the STC and Hadi, along with the approval of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The terms of the agreement are also expected to include the exit of all military forces from the southern provinces, including the forces of the legitimate army in Al-Wadi, Al-Mahra and Shabwah, Lagour said, adding that the Nukhba Forces and the Security Belt Forces would assume responsibility for securing the southern provinces under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior.

For his part, southern political activist Malik Yazidi Yafei said the Southern Transitional Council has grown to a difficult and irreversible number, representing all the people of the south with an official mandate.

Yafei said on Twitter that a just solution to the southern issue will end the problem in the north and south, adding that what is happening in the north is a power struggle that Al-Islah won in the first stage and succeeded in handing over power to Houthis.

Yemeni journalist Saleh Abu Oudhil said it is premature to talk about an agreement between the Yemeni government and the STC, pointing out that leaks of the agreement reveal the terms of an agreement proposed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

These items may be the subject of discussion between the delegation of legitimate government and the STC, he said, pointing out that if these proposed items are agreed upon, it will constitute a major gain for the transition and a step towards restoring the country to the situation it was in before 1990.