YEMEN’S SOUTHERNERS SAY THEY WANT MORE AMERICAN

S E C R E T SANAA 000233
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP AMACDONALD AND INR JYAPHE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2020
TAGS: PGOV PTER YM
SUBJECT: YEMEN’S SOUTHERNERS SAY THEY WANT MORE AMERICAN
SUPPORT
Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

1. (S) SUMMARY. Across Yemen’s southern governorates,
political and tribal leaders and members of civil society are
asking for increased U.S. support in a range of areas )
pressure on President Saleh to implement political and
economic reform, financial support for local development, and
moral support from the international community for
recognition of political and human rights grievances.
Southerners hope to capitalize on increased attention on
Yemen and the January 27 London conference to secure greater
understanding of and support for their issues. Anti-Saleh
sentiment is prevalent, however, as is sharp criticism of
December 2009 counter-terrorism operations in Abyan and
Shebwa governorates widely perceived as American-led. The
United States’ challenge will be balancing engagement with
the southern governorates ) key for tackling the root causes
of Islamic extremism and resolving a debilitating political
crisis - with the politically sensitive issues of support for
Yemen’s unity and partnering with the unpopular Saleh regime
to eliminate al-Qaeda and encourage reform. END SUMMARY.
"WE WANT A REAL PARTNERSHIP"
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2. (S) In meetings in Sana’a and Aden in January, a wide
swath of post contacts asked for increased U.S. political,
financial and moral support for the southern governorates.
Aden’s Deputy Governor and Local Council Secretary General
Abdulkarim Saleh al-Shaif told PolOffs on January 30 that
increased U.S. support was key to the development of Aden and
reduction of both extremist religious thought and civil
unrest. The leadership of the opposition Joint Meeting
Parties (JMP) has consistently asked for a stronger U.S.
position on the frozen political dialogue with the ruling
General People’s Congress (GPC) and human rights violations
in the south. Qassim Dawood, Deputy Chief of the Yemeni
Socialist Party (YSP) in Aden, told PolOffs on January 30,
"Yemen’s problems can’t be solved without support from the
U.S. We want a real partnership with you." The Southern
Movement also seeks U.S. backing. In a January 27 meeting,
movement sympathizer and Abyan MP Salem Mansour al-Haydare
encouraged PolOff to meet with former regime insider turned
Southern Movement leader Tariq al-Fadhli and other members to
understand "just how pro-American they really are." On
February 3, the movement posted a Youtube video of Fadhli
raising the American flag over his Zinjibar (Abyan
governorate) compound as the Star Spangled Banner plays in
the background. (Comment: For the last several months,
Fadhli and his supporters have sought to reach out to the
international community and specifically to the U.S. to
demonstrate that they are not extremists and not
anti-American. End Comment.)
"LONDON WAS A NEW BEGINNING"
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3. (S) Members of civil society also pressed for increased
U.S. moral and financial support and praised the January 27
London conference as a positive signal of future U.S.-Yemeni
relations. "The London conference was a new beginning with a
different road map for American policy on Yemen," Dr. Saif
Ali Hassan, Secretary General of the Aden-based NGO Yemeni
Organization for Human Rights and Liberties, said. A group
of southern human rights activists agreed that Secretary
Clinton’s London remarks were "spot-on" and "she knows what
needs to be done." The NGOs suggested that the U.S. fund a
parallel conference on human rights in Aden to coincide with
follow-up meetings on the London conference.
"THEY ARE MOBILIZING THE MASSES AGAINST YOU"
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4. (S) Southerners also warned of the potential for an
anti-American backlash if the December 2009 counter-terrorism
operations ) which are widely perceived as American-led )
continue to be seen by Yemenis as illegitimate. (Note: Local
media claimed that a December airstrike in Abyan killed
dozens of civilians and few al-Qaeda members. Many of post’s
southern contacts believe that al-Qaeda is connected to the
ROYG and does not represent a legitimate threat to the state.
End Note.) The regime, according to southern contacts, uses
the excuse of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to
pursue political opponents ) from the JMP to the Southern
Movement and the media. (Note: The regime has recently begun
to use the term "the al-Qaeda/Southern Movement," despite the
movement’s repeated rejections of AQAP. End Note.) "The
real al-Qaeda is this regime. We reject al-Qaeda and want to
work together against extremism," Mohammed Qassim Noman,
chairman of the NGO Yemeni Center for Human Rights Studies,
told PolOff on January 30. If the U.S. continues to be
perceived as a willing partner in what southerners believe is
a false cause, it could suffer significant damage to its
already shaky image in Yemen. "They are mobilizing the
masses against you because the regime is saying that they are
going after this fake al-Qaeda for the Americans," the YSP’s
Daoud said. Islah’s Aden Chief and MP Insaf Mayo said that
the U.S. needs to support Yemen’s political moderates. "The
danger is that Yemen is so much like Afghanistan ) modern,
moderate ideas are marginalized and extremism promoted."
COMMENT
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5. (S) Given that a January 2010 poll by a local NGO
suggests that 70 percent of southerners support secession,
coupled with the fact that post’s Aden contacts were
unanimous in asking for the U.S. to reopen its consulate in
their city, the time appears ripe for the U.S. to increase
engagement with Yemen’s turbulent southern governorates.
However, considering regime sensitivity over the unity issue
and U.S. policy supporting Yemen’s unity and stability,
expanding the U.S. presence in Yemen’s south must be
approached carefully, taking into account the need for ROYG
partnership in ongoing counter-terrorism operations and the
necessity of restoring public faith in the responsiveness of
the government to its citizenry. The Embassy has begun a
concerted effort to increase engagement via politically
neutral means: increased penetration of public diplomacy
programs including English language training in Mukullah,
boosting the number of exchange program participants from
Aden and the southern governorates, and increased PD outreach
in Aden; new MEPI grants to local NGOs in Aden and Shebwa;
and a reprioritization of development assistance targeting
the southern governorates of Shebwah, Abyan, al-Dhale’, Lahj
and Aden. Security permitting, continuing to increase the
number of official USG visitors to Aden and Hadramout will
also go a long way to advancing mutual understanding and
promoting long-term U.S. interests. END COMMENT.
SECHE