The Southern Transitional Council Marks 8th Anniversary of Historic Aden Declaration and Founding the STC

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) held a speech ceremony in the capital, Aden, on Sunday, commemorating the eighth anniversary of the historic Aden Declaration on May 4, 2017, and the STC's founding on May 11 of the same year.

The event, which began with the national anthem of the South and a recitation from the Holy Quran, Mr. Ali Abdullah Al Kathiri, Acting STC President and Chairman of the National Assembly, delivered a keynote address, relaying the greetings of STC President Aidarous Qassem Al-Zubaidi and conveying Al-Zubaidi’s congratulations on this momentous occasion and his wishes for all the best and the realization of the people’s aspirations.

The ceremony was attended by senior STC officials, including members of STC's presidium, ministers in the government, heads of auxiliary bodies, heads of local leadership executive bodies (LLEBs), and military and security leaders. Al-Kathiri added that the day of May 4, 2017, is an immortal historic day for the people of the South, marking the first good tidings that have appeared when they coalesced around a single leadership and triggered the pursuit of liberation until full empowerment is achieved, paving the way for an independent, fully sovereign state, as Allah wills.

Al-Kathiri continued his speech, "This occasion demands we reignite that unifying spirit of the South—the very force that sparked this movement and safeguarded its hard-won achievements," affirming that the path ahead remains fraught with serious tasks, immense challenges, and even greater risks, requiring all to be at the highest levels of readiness from all supporters of the cause.

In his address, Al-Kathiri touched on the situation in the South, pointing out that the South today faces many attempts to invade and blow up the situation from within the governorates, reiterating that the STC and the Southern Military forces and security services will not stand idly by against those attempts, which aim to undermine the gains achieved for our people and their just cause over the past years. He pledged to remain steadfast in upholding the promise and covenant sealed by the pure blood of blessed martyrs and wounded.

Al-Kathiri emphasized that the STC, the military forces, and security services of the South are red lines and that no one should be allowed to undermine or tamper with them. He added, "We may have internal variations and differences, but we must all be up to the challenges and not allow any force to return us to the post-94 era and the state of fragmentation and disintegration."

Al-Kathiri indicated that the transformative successes and achievements have been realized for the South since the 2017 historic Aden Declaration and the popular mandate given to President Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, which resulted in the founding of the STC, the Southern National Dialogue, and the signing of the National Charter, were all accomplished under under the principle of "the South for all, with all, and by all its people."

Al-Kathiri concluded his speech by emphasizing, "We must all strive for a free homeland that unites, not divides, and achieve full partnership among the people of the South, from Almahrah in the east to Bab al-Mandab in the west.

The event, which was attended by heads of committees of the National Assembly, departments of the General Secretariat, heads of the LLEBs, and local authority officials in the capital, Aden, displayed a short documentary film that chronicled the historic transformation in the South since the historic Aden Declaration, the long phases of the unrelenting struggle of President Aidarous Qassem Al-Zubaidi, his political and military career, and the popular mandate that was granted to him to found a political entity headed by him to lead and represent the South.