Unity Day: What does it mean to you?
Wefaq organization warns against power transition failure
Left: Ahmed Al-Jua’mani, righ: Abd Al-Rahman Al-Ameri
“What is taking place in Abyan is an attempt to disrupt the GCC initiative and all of us must stand together against anyone who hinders the initiative’s implementation,” Abd Al-Rahman Al-Ameri, a Yemeni businessman and co-founder of the organization, told the Yemen Times.
Al-Ameri believes that Yemen’s “silent majority” already made its position of support for the initiative clear on February 21, when citizens went to the ballot boxes and elected new President Abd Rabo Mansour Hadi.
“Hadi’s validity doesn’t come from the international and regionally-backed initiative only - it is now the popular consensus which was achieved on election day,” he said.
On February 25, when Hadi vowed to fight terrorism in front of parliament and ambassadors from five permanent members states of the Security Council, over 20 Republican Guard soldiers were killed in a southern presidential palace, the result of an operation Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for.
“We demand that the new president combat terrorism and boost security and stability so that we may have a good climate for the upcoming National Dialogue Conference,” Al-Ameri said.
The Wefaq organization was announced on October 18, 2011, a month ahead of the formation of an interim government in line with the GCC initiative and its implementation mechanism. Al-Ameri said the organization is funded by its members and founders and that it hasn’t received money from any parties.
There are currently around 5,000 members in the Wefaq organization.
“We created this organization to convey the silent majority’s voice, those who seek change and a civil, modern state by way of non-violent means,” said Ahmed Al-Jua’mani, a member of the organization.
“We endured a lot of troubles and we have emerged with the formation of this organization to help Yemen achieve safety,” Al-Ameri concluded.
