Long-exiled South Yemen leader Beidh defends his calls for secession
By Adam Baron
McClatchy Newspapers
Dec. 06, 2012 03:51 PM
BEIRUT -- Ali Salem al Beidh was one of the chief architects of the
agreement that united the northern Yemen Arab Republic with the southern
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen to create the country that exists
today.
When the deal was announced in 1990, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who'd led the more
populous north, became president, while Beidh, who was secretary general of
the Marxist party that ran the south, became vice president.
Yemen's unification was hailed as a historic moment, but the initial
celebration soon faded, and in 1994, civil war broke out. Southern leaders
declared independence, and Beidh once again was declared president in the
south. It was short-lived, with pro-unification forces crushing the south
within months. Beidh, and other southern leaders, fled into exile.
Now Beidh is re-entering Yemen's politics, positioning himself from exile at
the helm of the Southern Movement, a fractious - and officially leaderless -
coalition calling for a return to independence in the south.
Speaking in a rare interview from his base in a sea-view apartment in the
Lebanese capital of Beirut, Beidh, whose stationery still identifies him as
president of the failed southern breakaway state, cast unification as a
failure. Even though the south had eagerly agreed to unification, it was
never treated as an equal partner with the north. Southerners felt under
virtual occupation from the central government in Sanaa. Oil revenues have
been siphoned to corrupt officials, he said, southerners' political voices
and cultural identities were suppressed and peaceful demonstrations were met
with violence.
"It's not about secession," Beidh said. "We're demanding the restoration of
our state and the end to northern occupation."
Beidh sees himself as the legitimate representative of the southern people,
though he admitted it's unlikely he'll be able to end his 18-year exile
soon. But even from afar, he's been able to maintain influence: Southern
Movement leaders regularly travel to Beirut to meet with him, and a
Beidh-aligned satellite television channel boasts wide viewership across the
south.
Still, he remains a controversial figure, even among those who espouse
secession. Many see the aging Beidh - he's in his 70s - as a relic from a
different era. Others can't forget how he rose to leadership on the horrors
of South Yemen's bloody 1986 civil war. Still others say his insistence on a
total split with Yemen is too doctrinaire; other leaders, including Ali
Nasser Mohamed, who lead the south from 1980-1986, and Hayder Abu Bakr al
Attas, a former Beidh ally who served as prime minister after unification,
have proposed southern autonomy within a federal system.
But Beidh refuses to be part of such a deal. He said the agreement that
removed Saleh from the presidency earlier this year was biased against
southern interests. "We do not want to be thought of as the leftovers of
what's obtained in Sanaa," he said.
Diplomats and local politicians have accused Iran of working to increase its
influence in Yemen as a way of pressuring its rival, Saudi Arabia, Yemen's
northern neighbor, which has long held sway over religious, tribal and
political figures there.
Beidh declined to answer directly whether he's received money from Iran in
return for his intransigence.
"If I have received money from Iran, I was (doing so) to help our people,"
he said, characterizing those who raise the issue as politically motivated.
The ultimate source of his positions, he stressed, are the desires of the
southern people.
Beidh said he'll continue pushing for secession, saying he did not fear the
prospect that a newly independent south would be isolated by an
international community that wants to see Yemen remain united.
"I won't take a position because of the international community's demands,"
he said. "What's important are the demands of my people. To say 'the
international community wants this,' great, that's the international
community. But we are the owners of the issue - we, the sons of the south."
Baron is a McClatchy special correspondent. Twitter: _at_adammbaron
Read more here:
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/05/3950022/long-exiled-south-yemen-leader.
html#storylink=cpy
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Received on Thu Dec 06 2012 - 16:26:39 EST
