Southern Yemenis demand vote for new state

A small group of southern Yemenis staged a protest outside the venue of UN peace talks in Sweden yesterday demanding a referendum to restore independence.

Waving the flag of former South Yemen, featuring a bright blue triangle with a red star, about 30 southerners called for freedom under the watchful eye of Swedish police.

South Yemen was an independent country until the 1990 unification under president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a northerner who ruled for more than three decades and was killed by his rebel allies last year.

The south has long complained of neglect and marginalisation – grievances that did not disappear under President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, who is a southerner.

Protesters said they were seeking a referendum on southern independence and shouted “Free, free South Arabia” with a loudspeaker.

“We are here to demand our rights, as original inhabitants, just like in Scotland, for a referendum,” said Abedelfattah Haddad, who is from the southern city of Daleh. “If the UN talks of democracy and pluralism, why not hold a referendum?”

Nearly four years into a war that has pushed 14 million Yemenis to the brink of starvation, the internationally recognised government of Mr Hadi and Houthi rebels, linked to Iran, have been in UN-brokered talks since Thursday in the rural town of Rimbo in Sweden.

Southerners had complained of under-representation in the run-up to the Sweden talks. The government and rebel delegations include one southerner each, allied with the respective party.

“We are the children of the south,” said Hend Omairan, a southern Yemeni activist.

“We are here today to send a message to the government and the UN special envoy: why is the south not represented in this conversation, in these consultations?”

The war has pushed Yemen towards the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with 22 of its 29 million people in need of aid, the UN said. The two sides have for months been locked in a toand-fro battle for control of Hodeida.

We are here today to send a message: why is the south not represented in ... these consultations? HEND OMAIRAN Activist