“It is not in your hand to end the war, especially when international parties interfere because ending the war and its consequences is tied with the interest of these parties. The complications that happened last year and this year opened the door wide for playing with the situation in Yemen at the regional and international levels. These doors were shut long ago; however, these wars and problems opened them once again.”

Yemen Post: JMP stance of stopping war in Sa'ada was not united. It also warns against war renewal, what is the reason?

Mohammed Al-Sabri: I am not surprised if people viewed the stance of JMP over Sa'ada war to be discrepant and divided. What is true is that there is no discrepancy in JMP stances of Sa'ada war; however, it was necessary for JMP, as separate parties, to wait and see how to react to a tasteless and odorless resolution. This has something positive which is stopping bloodshed. What people heard is an announcement of ending Sa'ada war and not a resolution. Two days after Saleh's announcement, Until now, there is no ceasefire resolution, but rather an announcement for ending the war.

YP: What is the difference between the announcement and the resolution?

MS: A state's resolution shall have consequences including whether we will fight once again, because it is not the first or last time in which we hear about announcing the end of war in Sa’ada. This is the sixth time in which war end is announced. Parties have the right to verify and this is something natural.  

YP:  Did the regime stop the war after it had felt that achieved its purpose, leaving detentions and trials to work against other enemies?

MS: What we see is a change in mood from the ruling party as it announces the war when it wants and ends it in the same manner. This moody manner is corrupting every state institution.

YP:  Ending the fourth war was made just before the presidential elections; announcing the last round of this war came before the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Do not you see any likeness the circumstances?

MS: There is undoubtedly a likeness between the two circumstances, but wars in our country break because of political tactics and resolution. There are political wars. Harassing and arresting people are made in a moody way. There is not the least of what JMP calls country development. Field situation is very bad and regional developments are worse. We can realize that we are before something outside logic, mind, and the political legitimacy.

YP:  The international side could be one of the guarantees for not resuming the war?

MS: The matter is not necessarily so. You can take a decision about fighting a war, but war, even if it is a fake one, has causalities. It is not in your hand to end the war, especially when international parties interfere because ending the war and its consequences is tied with the interest of these parties. The complications that happened last year and this year opened the door wide for playing with the situation in Yemen at the regional and international levels. These doors were shut long ago; however, these wars and problems opened them once again. Every war has consequences and there is not a single file that indicates that war will be over. All files are open and these might lead to worse developments. I think that what happened in Hadramout and Hodeidah are clear messages, especially after the soldiers in Hodeidah felt that their rights were confiscated.

YP:  What happened in Hodeidah was clear, a demonstration of soldiers who participated in Sa'ada war, but whose message was that of the Hadramout bombing?

MS: It is clear that it is one of the Sa'ada war consequences and it is linked with international parties.  

YP:  You spoke about the stance of JMP, denying any discrepancy or differences among coalition parties over Sa'ada war?

MS: There could be some differences; however, there is no discrepancy.  

YP:  Okay, if there was no discrepancy as you said; why did the JMP delay its statement?

MS: The statement was not delayed; rather there were many things to discuss on the agenda. The matter is technical, and the delay was not because of a political matter. Some people think that taking a decision is easy, and also think that JMP is a bugle for publicity; however, this is not true. JMP takes a decision after adequate discussions. It deals with issues responsibly and seriously. Sometimes, taking a decision is slow. We draw our stances in accordance with the overarching interests of the country.   

YP:  Was miscalculation responsible for making some newspapers claim that some parties in JMP had refused to stop war, or was it because of the leaked information awiming to make more fighting and new enemies?

MS: I think both. Some people miscalculated the matter and others were influenced by the leaked information because we are, at the end, human beings. There is a wide difference between taking a decision and chasing after news which is the task of journalists who are also in a hurry to meet deadlines. What is disgraceful is to speak of a crisis within the JMP while it does not exist. 

YP:  So you think that Sa'ada crisis did not make JMP weak from inside, or cause a crisis in it?

MS: Absolutely! I think that the stances of JMP are clear as evidenced by their literature and this can be reread by anyone who wants to do it fairly. We rejected Sa'ada war and made several demonstrations to express our rejection.  

YP:  Now, the General People Congress (GPC) allied with 13 parties to face JMP; do you have the mechanisms and strength to stand against this coalition?

MS: First, we encourage such a move, which was also secret in the past but  has become public now. Second, we support the idea of coalitions in the political undertaking; however, there is a difference in type. JMP was set up for meeting the demands of people and each party alone could not achieve these goals. While, those people say that the goal they seek to achieve is President Saleh electoral platform. As for our ability to face this coalition, our stance is still clear. We are citizens and we want to rival the GPC and the President.

YP:  Let's move to the dialogue between GPC and JMP which you say was stopped; while some GPC leaders speak of secret dialogues. Where have you reached so far?

MS: Let me be frank with you. There has been much talk about this matter, and it should be clarified. The national duty and political work demand keeping relation with the authority. We are equally partners in the country, even if they do not recognize this in the ruling party. We consider dialogue under the current national crisis to be critical, especially when this authority is suffocated, after they lost the trust in all people around them and the national parties.

YP:  Was the dialogue stopped by the JMP or rather was it the contentment of both parties especially when it was not making any results?

MS: Establishing a contact channel with GPC was taken by JMP for a national interest and because we were keen not to give GPC any excuse. We set the goals of this dialogue as well as the timetable, and unfortunately the dialogue was no more than commenting on the raised issues by the GPC. Despite all efforts by the JMP Supreme Council's chairman and the legal team, there were no positive results that could assure them that the minimum reform matrix was achieved. Though unhappy with these results, the Supreme Council referred these results to the general secretariat of parties.   

YP:  Is it possible to conduct the upcoming parliamentary elections in their scheduled time?

MS: The constitution defines that; however, the time is linked with what the ruling party seeks to achieve out of this elections. GPC seeks to create a new crisis and they are to be blamed for delaying or hindering the forthcoming elections.

YP:  You talked about other options in case the ruling party does not respond to your demands. What are these options? 

MS: At the beginning, the JMP studies the democratic option as for conducting elections according to a mechanism agreed on by the political players. These elections should not be viewed as a measure linked with a fixed time, but as a means for a peaceful transfer of power. The second option is the wide national counsel which is a peaceful and national option and this option is beyond the authority's thinking and administration. However, it needs to be consulted with other national forces and Yemeni people.  

YP:  After war had stopped in Sa'ada, the issue of south Yemen popped up; what is your interpretation?

MS: These are complicated files and internal factors. The country has turned to be a scene for involvement of regional and international forces as state turned to be nonexistent.