HASSN AL-HUMRAN, ANSAR ALLAH’S EXTERNAL AND DIPLOMATIC RELATIONSHIPS OFFICER “THERE MUST BE PLENTY OF TIME TO REACH SOLUTIONS TO THE PRESSIN Published on 29 October 2013 in Interview Mohammed Al-Hassani (author) Hassn Al-Humran Hassn Al-Humran The National Dialogue Conference (NDC) has resumed its concluding plenary sessions, which first began on Oct. 8. While many are praising the conference’s progress, the Southern Issue, Saada Issue and State Building Working Groups—the committees tasked with dealing with the most decisive issues being discussed at the conferences—have not yet submitted their final reports. The continued boycott of the concluding sessions by Southern Movement and Ansar Allah (Houthi) members has left many concerned. The conference has now more than a month past its intial six-month deadline. Will the conference’s 565 members be able to deliver on the promises made to the country? If agreements are made, will they be lasting? Hassn Al-Humran, Ansar Allahs external and diplomatic relations officer, speaks with the Yemen Times oh how his group is affecting the conference in its expected final days. What are the reasons behind the timing of the NDC’s concluding plenary session? Actually, the NDC should have concluded by now but there was an extension…announced at the start of the concluding plenary. Of course some groups haven’t finalized their work or reports yet. The Sa’ada Issue Working Group, for instance, hasn’t started discussing any assurances so far and is still discussing resolutions and remedies. So we requested that the conference’s presidency provide more time for the group. It’s a similar situation with the Southern Issue and the State Building working groups because we want positive outcomes. The presidency [of the conference] said they have provided enough time. Although Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak , NDC secretary general, told Yemen’s official T.V channel that the Southern and Sa’ada Issues Working Groups and the State Building Working Group will be granted more time. But Yasser Al-Ro’ini, the [NDC’s] deputy secretary general, said only two groups have not submitted their reports. Bin Mubarak’s mentioned speech was in reply to Al-Ro’ini. Do you think this happened due to a lack of coordination between NDC members? Yes, because they both made their statements as we were discussing with the conference’s presidency the possibility of participating in the concluding sessions in spite of the fact that three working groups had not yet submitted their reports. We had reached several agreements including our participation in the opening session of the concluding plenary, but the last straw was Al-Ro’ini’s statement on the NDC official website where he said that seven out of the conference’s nine groups had finalized their reports and that they will be discussed in the session. Are you boycotting the concluding plenary session because the NDC’s presidency didn’t agree with you on its timing? No, this wasn’t the reason at all. I think the reason is that the Sa’ada Issue Working Group presented two demands to [UN Envoy Jamal] Benomar when he visited the group about two months ago. The first demand was to issue a republican decree to ensure there was equal recognition of the people killed during the Sa’ada wars as those killed during the 1994 Civil War and during Southern Movement protests. The second demand was providing a guarantee that the NDC’s outcomes would be implemented in the post-NDC constituent phase. [We want to] avoid what happened when the government was unable to implement the 20 Points constructed by the [NDC’s] Preparatory Committee. Now the Sa’ada Issue Working Group has put forth 60 Points to resolve the [Northern] issue, but how will the government be able to implement them? We have sent a letter to the NDC’s presidency about these demands. How much time do you need to complete the Sa’ada Issue final report? I cannot say. But there must be plenty of time to reach solutions to the pressing issues at the NDC. The Sa’ada Issue is not a simple one. It is not important to end the dialogue. What is important is to reach a consensus on the issues we are discussing. On this basis, we created the dialogue. Otherwise, what’s the point? Regarding the [presidential decree to create a] Sa’ada Victims Fund, some say because [the Houthis] rebelled against the state, you are not entitled to receive the same treatment as the victims of peaceful protests in southern governorates? This is absolutely not true because it was the state that launched a war against the Sa’ada locals, sending its troops to their areas and homes. Sa’ada locals are peaceful, and everyone knows that they loathe wars. When the war was launched, they had to defend themselves. [Self-defense] is a legal, religious and moral duty You said the NDC general secretariat was too late in responding to the obstacles the Sa’ada Issue Working Group came across. Do you believe the genereal secretariat neglected the Sa’ada Issue? No, the opposite is true. The general secretariat is represented by Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubark who is fair, understanding and dedicated to his work. However, the matter is not in his hands. Given you are a member of the Sa’ada Issue sub-committee, tell us about what the group is up to so far? We have achieved a lot. We have reached an agreement on over 60 decisions. In my opinion, this is an achievement because we entered the second plenary with only seven decisions. What still needs to be done? There still need to be guarantees to implement [proposed] solutions and implement a framework so that what happened in Sa’ada will not happen again. Are you saying you are stuck in the middle of the road? No, not stuck in the middle of the road. We only need a little bit of time. I assure you if all members have the will, we will finish the remaining issues in one session or two. Some groups are trying to continually discuss articles that were agreed upon, and this has hampered our work. We agreed that we would not return to discuss anything that was agreed upon and approved by the group. Will you remove all the Houthi-affiliated checkpoints in Sa’ada and other areas [as negotiated with the government]? Of course, as long as the Ansar Allah [the Houthis] are included as political factions and social components. Everyone knows that since 2011 about 200,000 soldiers associated with different political factions and social components have been conscripted excluding those from the Ansar Allah. Is this a condition? It is not a condition, but the transitional government should issue reassuring messages to Sa’ada residents and express good will to solve the Sa’ada Issue. The group has made another decision regarding Sa’ada’s internally displaced persons and you conditioned that the issue should be free of any political or administrative agendas. Frankly speaking, the situation of the displaced is very complicated. We added this condition because there are some issues concerning the displaced that need time to be addressed technically, administratively and so forth. You have also called for an end to covert and overt agreements that allow American planes in Yemeni skies and over land? Do you think this is possible given the current circumstances? Why not? What makes it not feasible? Our country has to be sovereign. There is the international war on terror, and Yemen is famed for being a stronghold for Al-Qaeda militants. There is no doubt that you know what we think of the so-called group “Al-Qaeda.” We see it as a way the United States justifies its invasions of nations and their occupation. Al-Qaeda is not a fact. It is a game the Americans play, and they use the game when they want. So you think the Yemeni government is now fighting against an illusory foe? It is not illusory, but American intelligence has been leading and directing this foe. This is evident.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 07:33:18 +0000
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