MP Abdul Razzaq Al-Hijri, a member of the Supreme Authority of the Yemeni Islah Party, a member of the Parliamentary Bloc, renewed talk about the call of the Chairman of the Supreme Authority of the Islah Party, Mr. Muhammad al-Yadumi, in his speech broadcast live on Suhail Satellite Channel on the occasion of the 33rd Founding Day of the Islah Party, in which he called to expand the space of the National Front’s alliance with the National Resistance, the Transitional Council and all components, to overthrow the Houthi coup, restore the state, and postpone the special projects in order to be discussed after the restoration of the state.

 

In an interview on the official Yemen Channel, yesterday evening, Wednesday, al-Hijri made it clear that any political project proposed by any party cannot be achieved with the presence of the Houthi militia and that talking about it is considered a kind of luxury or tamper.

 

He expressed his hope that the Islah Party’s call would be met favorably because it opens the horizon of communication for everyone, hinting at positive reactions to the idea of rapprochement.

 

Al-Hijri said: “We have long been committed to thawing the ice between all forces supporting legitimacy, with a view to compiling the national bloc and directing it towards its primary goal of restoring the state.”

 

He called on all media activists from all political parties to stop political bickering and fueling disputes and conflicts between the components of legitimacy and its institutions, from which no one will benefit except the Houthi militia, just as it benefited from the state of divergence between the national forces.

 

He stressed that if political parties do not learn from the Houthi militia’s killing, abducting, and displacement of their leaders and cadres and check themselves before it gets too late, then they do not deserve to be at the forefront.

 

The head of the Islah Party's Parliamentary Bloc stressed that everyone must stop ruminating over the past, political schemes, political rancor, and condescension toward others until the country reaches safety, in order for the parties to avoid the curse of history and generations hold them responsible.

 

He expressed his hope to reunite the General Popular Congress as a national republican party with national capabilities and to work with all political forces present on the scene to restore the state.

 

Regarding the desire of the masses calling for making major changes in the leadership of the first line of political parties, al-Hijri pointed out that the events that struck Yemen prevented making such changes at the top of the hierarchy of political parties, including the Yemeni Islah Party, where this requires the presence of thousands of members from all over Yemen to hold the General Conference, which is impossible to achieve as a result of the developments of current events.

 

He pointed out that there are positive efforts being made to bring about change, noting that elections are being held that will result in changing the leaders of the Islah Party in most of the Governorates of the Republic, in preparation for bringing about broader changes in the next stage in an appropriate manner that is compatible with the internal regulations, revealing the process of bringing new blood in the framework of the Secretariat General and its Departments.

 

Al-Hijri said that the leaders of the first line of the Islah Party are not holding on to their positions at all because they have already delegated their powers to a number of figures.

 

He stressed that the Islah Party believes in the importance of bringing about change, whether in people or in means, as well as in visions and ideas, through evaluating performance and reviewing discourse and relationships with the aim of overcoming failures.

 

Regarding overcoming the differences between the political forces and the unity of the national ranks, al-Hijri pointed out that political bickering and scoring points played a bad role in bringing down the state.

 

He stressed that the parties were not the obstacle to restoring the state, pointing out that there were mistakes in the administration of the state, the military and political battle, the management of state resources, and the exclusion of state oversight institutions, just as happened with the exclusion of the House of Representatives.

 

On the issue of the Islah Party’s relationship with its brothers in the Arab Alliance, the head of the Islah Party’s Parliamentary Bloc stressed that the Islah Party has friendly relations with the Arab Alliance countries because it is certain that the Islah Party is part of legitimacy, an essential part in confronting the Houthi project, has made great sacrifices in support the institutions of the state, the army, and the resistance, paid a heavy tax from the blood and property of its members, and suffered from the disappearance of its leaders and cadres, foremost of which is the struggling Muhammad Qahtan.

 

He expressed his thanks and appreciation for the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the support it provides for legitimacy.

 

He added, "We in the Islah Party were only supportive of legitimacy and the Alliance, and we were proactive in doing so."

 

Al-Hijri denied that the Islah Party has any problem with its brothers in the United Arab Emirates and that the party views the UAE as a partner in confronting the Houthi militia and that the UAE has provided men, money, and sacrifices within the Saudi-led Alliance.

 

He explained that one of the principles of the Islah Party is good neighborliness, especially with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, and the Arab countries.

 

As for the Presidential Leadership Council and its role: When establishing the Presidential Leadership Council, which includes all the military formations confronting the Houthi militia, al-Hijri made it clear that the Yemeni people hoped that this Council would become the ideal formula for restoring the state through peace or war.

 

He expressed his regret regarding the emergence of disagreements and the tyranny of special projects for some components, which created a discrepancy that weakened the Council’s performance, causing it to not continue its work from within the interim capital, Aden, in addition to the non-implementation of the military and security part of the Riyadh Agreement related to the integration of military formations under Leadership of the Ministries of Defense and Interior.

 

He stressed the importance of the unity of the Presidential Command Council and carrying out the tasks assigned to them, namely restoring the state, unifying the home front, and restoring services.

 

Al-Hijri pointed out that Yemen is experiencing a great tragedy as a result of the Houthi militia’s coup against state institutions and the national consensus in the National Dialogue Conference and its outcomes as a historical document, while Yemen was proceeding with a pluralistic political system within the emerging democracies, but all of this fell with the presence of the militia group that plunged the country into the war, which was the choice of the Houthis and not the choice of the Yemeni people.

 

He stressed that every Yemeni stands with peace and ending the Houthi war against the Yemeni people and ending the crime represented by the terrorist militia’s coup, as is the desire of the international community and the region as well.

 

He continued, saying: "The only party that does not want peace is the Houthi militia, which believes that war and violence are what achieve its goals because it knows that in the absence of weapons and violence, it will not be able to obtain any popular acceptance and that these civilized people are the owners of great glories in the past and a modern democratic experience that cannot accept the Houthi ideology.”

 

He pointed out that there are no indicators about achieving peace, “but what we know is that there are many initiatives provided by the international community, as well as initiatives provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its efforts to reach rapprochement and sit at the dialogue table, in addition to the Omani mediation, where the Houthi militia wants to obtain concessions and gains without giving anything in return.”

 

He pointed to the Houthi militia's tampering with the port of Hudaydah and the introduction of Iranian weapons, gas, and oil, taking hundreds of billions without paying employee salaries, and all their desire is to achieve their own gains.

 

Regarding the role of political parties in the Yemeni scene, the head of the Parliamentary Bloc of the Yemeni Islah Party stressed that these parties are the political pillar of legitimacy, expressing his regret at the exclusion of their role by political institutions and the UN envoy.

 

He made it clear that the political system of the Republic of Yemen is based on political pluralism, and not on the pluralism of armies and weapons because of the danger that poses to the motherland.

 

Al-Hijri attributed the reason for the weakness in the conditions of political parties to several factors, including the state of the diaspora that these parties are experiencing and what political life was exposed to by the Houthi militia, which confiscated public freedoms, which cast a shadow over the performance of political parties, in addition to the failure of political life to return properly in the liberated areas and the attacks on party headquarters, while it was expected that political life would revive in those areas. He renewed his hope that political parties would be involved in the next stage.

 

He also pointed out that the existing weakness in the performance of legitimate institutions and their supporting components casts a shadow over the general situation, calling at the same time on political parties to review and activate their performance and overcome failures, stressing an exit from the situation of political bickering and rumination of the past.

 

Regarding the House of Representatives and its role in the public arena, the head of the Parliamentary Bloc of the Islah Party denied that the Consultation and Reconciliation Body would be an alternative to the House of Representatives since this body was formed in the decision to transfer power with the aim of assisting the Presidential Leadership Council in resolving problems and ending disputes between the forces supporting legitimacy.

 

He stressed that the House of Representatives, with its speaker and members, never hesitated to try to hold its regular sessions, noting that the obstacles centered on security and logistical problems. He considered that any session of the House of Representatives would require the intervention of the executive authority to create the conditions for the meeting.

 

He expressed his hope that sessions of the House of Representatives would be held in the near future, noting that he had contacted the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council with the aim of coordinating holding Council sessions in the temporary capital, Aden, or any other governorate, hoping to reach the stage of permanent holding of Council sessions.

 

He described the relations of state authorities as complementary, explaining that the House of Representatives oversight is a constitutional role to improve the government's performance.

 

He stressed that excluding the role of the House of Representatives had an impact on the government, alluding to the role of the House of Representatives committees in a number of issues, the most recent of which is the House of Representatives report on oil, electricity, telecom, and finance.

 

Al-Hijri stated that the government did not act correctly regarding the recent House of Representatives report and that the government was supposed to work to stop procedures regarding what was stated in the House of Representatives report and observations and to respond to them.

 

He expressed his regret that the government moved forward without giving importance to the House of Representatives report, which spoke of major imbalances occurring in the electricity and oil sectors, and hoped that the government would understand the constitution, the law, and the right of the House of Representatives in monitoring its performance.

 

Regarding the expected peace, al-Hijri stressed that the Islah Party stands by any lasting peace that preserves the legal status of the state and does not legitimize the militias and the dismantling and withdrawal of their weapons so that cycles of violence do not repeat again.

 

He stressed that the desired peace is what preserves the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

 

He revealed that the Consultation and Reconciliation Body, which includes all forces, has reached an agreed-upon project that represents a unified vision and will be declared soon.