Presidential Leadership Council holds extraordinary meeting to discuss national developments

  Aden

Today, Friday, the Presidential Leadership Council held an extraordinary meeting chaired by His Excellency Dr. Rashad Mohammad Al-Alimi, President of the Council. The meeting was attended by Council’s members: Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi, Tariq Saleh, Abdul Rahman Al-Mahrami, Dr. Abdullah Al-Alimi, and Othman Majli, while Council members Sultan Al-Arada and Faraj Al-Bahsani were absent with excused absence.

The meeting was held to discuss developments in the national situation at all levels, first and foremost the repercussions of the terrorist Houthi militias’ capturing of three Yemeni Aircrafts (Yemenia), detaining them along with their navigational and technical crews at Sana’a Airport, and preventing their return to complete the transport of Yemeni pilgrims stranded in the Holy Land.

The meeting also touched upon the economic conditions, and the measures taken to achieve monetary and service stability, and alleviate the human suffering exacerbated by the terrorist Houthi militia attacks on oil installations and international shipping lines.

In this regard, the Council praised the deposit of the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of a new tranche  of the generous royal grant to the general budget. The Council commended the keenness of the Kingdom to support the Presidential Leadership Council and the government in order to fulfill the inevitable obligations of the state.

The Presidential Leadership Council considered the Houthi militia's seizing  of the aircrafts of the financially and administratively independent airline, as a full-fledged terrorist operation. In addition to its grave violations that have affected national and international air and sea carriers over the past years.

The Council approved the formation of a government committee headed by the Prime Minister and the membership of the relevant authorities to manage the crisis, and restricting the militias’ use of the seized aircrafts until further notice. This also includes the release of the aircraft that has been held for maintenance for two months, and lifting the ban on the company’s frozen funds, which exceed $100 million.

The Council held the terrorist militias fully responsible for the repercussions of this dangerous escalation, which would further deepen the suffering of citizens and affect the conduct of the national carrier’s flights, inflicting heavy losses on it.

The Presidential Leadership Council discussed the ongoing arrangements to hold a new round of consultations on the file of detainees, kidnapped, and forcibly disappeared persons, under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Omani capital, Muscat.

The Council renewed its keenness to support the efforts and endeavors aimed at ending the suffering of detainees, kidnapped and disappeared persons and reuniting them with their families according to the “all for all” principle, foremost struggler Mohammed Qahtan, who is included in the UN Security Council resolution.

The Council also discussed the widespread kidnapping campaign launched recently by the terrorist Houthi militias against dozens of employees of United Nations agencies, and international and local non-governmental organizations, in flagrant violation of national legislation and international laws and conventions.

The Presidential Leadership Council stressed the importance of exerting maximum pressure to push the militias to release all those kidnapped unconditionally, and to accelerate the procedures for moving the main headquarters of international agencies to the interim capital, Aden. The Council stressed the government’s commitment to ensuring a safe and appropriate environment for the work of these organizations, and providing their services to all Yemenis in all governorates of the country.

The Council also renewed its full support for all government economic measures to improve living conditions and rationalize spending, in priority are the decisions of the Central Bank of Yemen aimed at protecting the banking system, ending monetary distortions, strengthening oversight of banks and foreign banking operations, optimal response to disclosure standards and compliance with requirements for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The meeting also discussed developments related to the opening of roads in Taiz Governorate, Marib, and other areas, and the necessary guarantee measures to end the militia siege of cities, and facilitate the movement of individuals, money, goods, and the activities of humanitarian organizations.

The Council noted the usual popular awareness for the plans of the Houthi militias, the requirements for opening roads, and the sustainability of their security, including international supervision of the repositioning of forces stationed on the contact lines and clearing the lands of mines and terrorist militia snipers, in accordance with the truce understandings and the Stockholm Agreement.

The Presidential Leadership Council warned the Houthi militias against trying to exploit these humanitarian issues to achieve opportunistic gains, and to circumvent the measures taken so far by the government and local authorities with the aim of ending the suffering of citizens after years of unjust siege.