Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh Calls for State Restoration and National Unity

Ambassador Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, Deputy Chairman of the General People's Congress (GPC), extended congratulations to the GPC's leadership, members, and supporters on the occasion of the party's 44th anniversary, urging a collective effort to restore the state and unify the national front.

In a statement marking the anniversary, Saleh emphasized that the occasion transcends a mere political commemoration, representing a long national history filled with challenges and transformations. He called for a re-evaluation of the GPC's foundational principles and a responsible assessment of the present, coupled with unwavering confidence and determination for the future.

Saleh recalled the GPC's establishment in August 1982 as an expression of pure Yemeni national will, aiming to create an inclusive political framework that transcends narrow divisions. He highlighted the party's commitment to moderation, partnership, democracy, and pluralism, with the National Charter serving as its intellectual and political reference point. He asserted that the GPC has proven to be an integral part of the Yemeni national conscience, its strength residing in its resilient popular base rather than mere positions or institutions.

Acknowledging the difficult years and the attempts to target, dismantle, and fragment the GPC, Saleh paid tribute to the leaders and cadres who became martyrs, including the party's founder, the late leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, and its late Secretary-General, Arif Awad Al-Zouka. He stressed that the GPC's survival is rooted in its deep national ties and its supporters, who embody a national project and a political legacy that cannot be eradicated.

Saleh articulated that Yemen stands at a critical juncture, requiring more than slogans or side conflicts. He defined Yemen's true battle as the restoration of the state, national decision-making, the end of division, the protection of the Republic, and the safeguarding of sovereignty and unity. He stressed the need for an independent Yemeni decision-making process, the construction of strong state institutions, and armed forces loyal to Yemen and the Republic, not to specific individuals or narrow agendas.

He underscored the significance of Yemeni unity, culminating in the 1990 declaration of the Republic, as a cornerstone of modern Yemen. Maintaining this unity, he argued, requires a just state, robust institutions, genuine national partnership, the guarantee of rights and freedoms, and the eradication of all forms of injustice and exclusion. Saleh urged the Presidential Leadership Council and the government to transition from crisis management to solution-building, to engage directly with the populace, and to assume full responsibility for addressing the currency's collapse, service deterioration, and the decline of state institutions.

Saleh concluded by emphasizing that confronting the Houthi project, which he described as having usurped state institutions and undermined the republican system, necessitates unifying the national front. He called for a broad national alliance encompassing all political, military, and social forces, transcending past grievances, to focus on the singular objective of restoring the state and the republican system. He asserted that the GPC remains committed to being a voice of reason and moderation, a pillar of stability, and a supporter of any sincere national effort aimed at rescuing Yemen and restoring its sovereignty and standing, with Yemen, the state, and the principles of the Republic, unity, sovereignty, freedom, and dignity as unwavering constants.