STC Media Authority Holds Regular Meeting and Warns Against Exploiting Positive Climate for Freedom of Opinion

The National Southern Media Authority (NSMA) of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) convened its regular meeting today, Wednesday, in the capital, Aden, headed by Mr. Mukhtar Al-Yafe'y, deputy head of NSMA.

The meeting reviewed the current political, security, and military landscape in the South, coinciding with celebrations marking the anniversary of the STC’s founding under the leadership of President Aidarous Qassem Al-Zubaidi and the hard-won achievements of its eight-year struggle and political journey, which have bolstered the cause of the people of the South both domestically and internationally, and the work to unify the Southern ranks and advance the institutional building of its bodies towards building the federal civil state of the South.

Regarding media developments, NSMA reaffirmed its commitment to press freedom, freedom of opinion, and freedom of expression as essential pillars of the positive climate enjoyed by the capital, Aden, and the South and warned against exploiting this climate to fuel unrest and political and media quarrels, indicating that the malicious campaigns targeting the Southern media, its journalists and activists of the South are only desperate attempts by forces known for their opposing to the cause of the South and its political representative, the STC, and that these campaigns would not deter the media of the South from practicing their national role in informing and enlightening the public within the bounds of the laws and regulations in force, while advancing the aspirations of the people of the South, and will continue to counter misleading and funded propaganda by exposing their falsehoods through factual reporting, imaging, and deeply rooted stances.

Furthermore, the authority focused on the deteriorating situation of public services, particularly electricity outages, currency collapse, and rising prices, calling for directing the media discourse of the South towards supporting popular demands to provide basic services and combat corruption in the state institutions.

At the end of its meeting, the authority discussed a range of media-related matters, including those pertaining to the regulation of media affairs in the capital, Aden, and the South in general, and took the appropriate decisions and measures.