Khaled al Junaidi was a well-known and well-respected youth activist, and southerners are devastated by his assassination. Mr. al Junaidi was central to the modern wing of the southern separatist movement, both as a trusted figurehead and as an effective organizer. A dedicated activist, a measure of Mr al Junaidi’s effectiveness is the extent to which he was targeted by the Sanaa regime. Khaled was kidnapped, tortured and “disappeared” five times since 2011, most recently in August 2014, for taking part in protests. An engaging, direct and sincere speaker, Khaled represented the new wave of southern opposition. He understood that the task of the leadership of the Southern Independence Movement is to discover and develop areas of consensus. Upon his release from jail in November, Khalid undertook a field survey of the sentiments of the Aden protesters. He listened to their “views, concerns and wishes” and was able to define areas of broad agreement. From that consensus, he along with others developed a strategy- escalation thorough peaceful civil disobedience, a city-wide shut down. And it was during one of those strikes that he was assassinated. Al Junaidi was dragged from his car by masked security officers and shot in the chest. The brutal loss of such a respected figure will likely have a long term impact in the south, quashing the possibility of a federal solution that keeps the state intact and hardening the intractable divide between southern secessionists and the unified state of Yemen. Southerners view themselves as denied basic rights by the Sanaa regime and subject to a variety of inhumane violations; Mr. al Junaidi’s blatant murder reinforces that view. While the Southern Movement itself may never again find another representative as extraordinary as Mr. al Junaidi, the youth and students are at the forefront of the movement and will likely remain a driving force.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 18:58:47 +0000
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