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From New York to Washington: South #Yemen Returns to the Spotlight as Lenderking Does Not Rule Out a Two-State Scenario

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New York – Special Report| eye south

alongside political action, while stressing the need to bring Yemen’s parties back to the negotiating table. He also called for greater coordination among Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni government and Oman.

Around two weeks earlier, Lenderking had warned that recent developments in Yemen required greater U.S. attention, arguing that Washington needed to increase its diplomatic engagement on Yemen amid the latest military developments.

Could Yemen Return to Two States?

The question is now being raised more explicitly, but there is currently no internationally adopted settlement providing for Yemen to be formally divided into two states.

Lenderking’s stated position is that the final decision should belong to Yemenis and emerge through a political process. The Southern Transitional Council, meanwhile, presents the restoration of a southern state as a principal political objective.

Between these positions lies a range of complex issues involving international recognition, security arrangements, borders, natural resources, ports, the central bank, currency, military institutions, as well as the positions of other Yemeni actors and regional powers.

History itself adds another dimension to the debate. Yemen became a unified state in its current form only in 1990, following the unification of two states, each of which had its own political system, institutions, armed forces and foreign relations.

Timing Carries Political Messages

Neither the demonstration outside the United Nations nor Lenderking’s remarks mean that the international community has moved toward endorsing a two-state option for Yemen. Their convergence, however, brings the question of Yemen’s future political structure back into the debate at a particularly sensitive regional moment.

The New York demonstration reflects an effort by southern activists to keep the southern issue visible before the international community, while the former U.S. envoy’s remarks indicate that the possibility of changing the structure of the Yemeni state is not excluded from political discussion—while emphasizing that the decision must ultimately be made by Yemenis themselves.

This brings back to the forefront a question that has remained unresolved throughout years of war:

Can a future Yemeni settlement preserve the country in its current form, or will the political process eventually have to address the structure of the state itself and the future relationship between North and South?

As Lenderking emphasized, the answer should not be imposed from abroad. Rather, it should be part of a political process through which Yemenis themselves determine the future of their country