Al-Alimi’s new appointments provoke backlash from STC
RIYADH, Oct. 07 (YPA) – Well-informed political sources have revealed new diplomatic appointments made by Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, which include his relatives and foreign nationals with no connection to political or diplomatic life.
Political and media sources confirmed that Rashad al-Alimi, who resides in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, issued several appointments, including his son-in-law Abdullah al-Bashari as an advisor at the Yemeni embassy in London, despite his lack of diplomatic background. The appointments were disclosed in late September.
The list of new diplomatic appointments includes Omar Al-Sufi, an American citizen who has been disconnected from Yemen’s foreign ministry for 15 years, stationed at the Yemeni embassy in South Africa. Others appointed are Saleh Al-Obthani, a Swiss citizen based in The Hague, and Suhair Al-Asbahi, a Dutch national assigned to Yemen’s New York mission, despite lacking any diplomatic experience.
Sources said Rashad al-Alimi’s recent diplomatic appointments include Waleed Al-Ariani, a relative of Maamar Al-Ariani the information minister in the pro-coalition government, holding Hungarian citizenship and assigned to the embassy in Washington. Other appointments include Abdulqader Al-Subaihi, a British citizen appointed as advisor to the Yemeni embassy in Berlin, and Ibtisam Jarallah, another British national assigned to the embassy in Austria.
Al-Alimi’s decisions sparked outrage among Southern Transitional Council (STC) leaders and activists, following a campaign against 11 appointments made by Aidarus al-Zoubaidi.
The Islah party, the Yemeni Branch of Muslim brotherhood) ‘s activists and supporters of former President Saleh described Al-Zoubaidi’s decisions as “illegitimate,” while activists from southern provinces questioned the criteria behind the recent appointments.
Al-Zoubaidi’s decisions caused a major rift among members of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, particularly between the two factions of the Islah party and the General People’s Congress (GPC), who rejected his appointments and deemed them inconsistent with the Riyadh consultations of 2022.
@E.Y.M