From Riyadh, STC leader sends fiery message to Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, June 10 (YPA) – A leader in the recently dissolved Southern Transitional Council (STC), Abdul Nasser Al-Wali, issued a sharp warning to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, saying the growing unrest in southern Yemen is no longer limited to deteriorating state of public services, but reflects deep political anger tied to the future of the southern cause.
In a statement circulated on Facebook, Al-Wali addressed the Saudi leadership directly, cautioning against underestimating the escalating public frustration.
“I said it before — you will face the street, and today you are facing it,” Al-Wali said, warning that opportunities currently available “at a low cost” could soon become unattainable and “far more expensive,” regardless of whether electricity services improve or not.
He warned that anyone expecting the public to submit to the current situation was deluding themselves, adding that portraying the protests merely as reactions to power outages and poor services was “a mistaken reading that will not succeed.”
Al-Wali, who has been residing in the Saudi capital Riyadh since January, said the southern street is experiencing severe tension and widespread negative sentiment, driven by fears that “people’s future is under threat and the horizon is no longer clear as they wish it to be.”
He linked political stability to economic recovery, saying that “the economy will not regain momentum, security will not improve, and public services will not stabilize unless the current climate of public frustration gives way to a more positive outlook.”
According to Al-Wali, such a shift would depend on greater clarity from Saudi Arabia and reassurances over the future of the southern cause, saying that only then would public anger subside, resentment ease, and the wheels of economic and social life begin turning again.
He also revealed the existence of behind-the-scenes political discussions with Riyadh, stating that negotiations are underway for a “safe and smooth disengagement without harm,” in an apparent reference to efforts aimed at restoring Yemen to its pre-unification status before May 22, 1990.
The remarks come as Aden and other southern provinces under Saudi-backed control continue to face severe economic hardship and a continued deterioration in basic public services that has persisted since 2016.
@E.Y.M