President Aidarous Qassem Al-Zubaidi, President of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and Vice Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), attended today, Saturday, the celebratory event held by the Supreme Committee for National Occasions and Celebrations on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the "Aden Historic Declaration" (AHD) and the founding of the STC.

The celebratory event was attended by a number of members of the STC's Presidium, including Major General Mahmood Al-Subaihi, the former Minister of Defense, the council's ministers in the government, governors of the governorates, heads of auxiliary bodies, military and security leaders, and local authority officials in the governorates. President Al-Zubaidi delivered a speech on the occasion, the full text of which is as follows:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

All praise is for Allah, Lord of the Worlds. May the praise of Allah and His peace be on Prophet Muhammad [PBUH], his family, and companions all together.

O Great People of the South, both within and outside the homeland:

It is my immense pleasure to greet you, the steadfast and militant revolutionary people, and to express my pride and honor in you, your steadfastness; sterling well, unrelenting struggle, and legendary coalescing around your cause, your dedication to defending your legitimate right, and your tireless efforts to enforce your will in order to achieve the supreme goal of restoring and building our free, independent, federal state of the South.

As we celebrate the seventh anniversary of the AHD on May 4, 2017, the historic moment that marked a pivotal turning point in the course of our people's struggles towards achieving their ultimate goal, for which thousands of their noblest sons have cheaply paid their precious souls, it is fitting for us today to stand in reverence and admiration for what those blessed martyrs have given who redeemed the land of this beloved homeland for all of us with their souls and blood, and it is a pledge we have made to ourselves to follow in their footsteps until the restoration and building of our fully sovereign federal state of the South.

O Free Southerners:

The AHD came in the context of the events of the great liberation revolution of the people of the South since the summer of 1994, to represent a struggle for a historical right that was delayed and stumbled a lot throughout the previous years of the revolution, due to a despotic actor in the South, who directed all the tools and means of his tyranny and corruption to tear apart the national fabric of our people and thwart their revolution and strangle their national liberation project in its cradle, and we all remember those systematic plans that the Sana'a regime has been pursuing since 1994, to remove the cause of the people of the South from the circle of concern of the initiatives sponsored by the United Nations and the international community to its margins, and on such a day came the declaration of May 4, 2017 to be a culmination of great efforts made in the context of achieving the entitlement of the rapprochement of the political entity carrying the cause of the people of the South and expressing the goals of their popular liberation revolution in its peaceful and resistant paths, on the basis of the South for and with all its people, partners in the homeland and in bearing the responsibility of defending the gains of our people, their cause and their strategic interests.

O Great People of the South

Our celebration of this momentous occasion in the course of our people's liberation revolution comes in the context of consolidating the national feeling among the generations about the importance of this national entitlement that came as a result of a cumulative collective national effort, on the basis of which the STC was built, as a transitional national leadership entity for the South within its known international borders until May 21, 1990, and the representative and voice of its national cause and its popular liberation revolution in its peaceful and resistant paths, on the basis of the South for all and with all its people, partners in the homeland and in bearing the responsibility of defending the gains of our people, their cause and their strategic interests.

O free Southerners,

The carte blanche you entrusted upon us on this day in 2017 was not merely an honor but a weighty burden and challenging undertaking, a national and historic responsibility we bear before Allah and then before the people of the South and their future generations. It was to forge a broad and inclusive national partnership to reclaim our homeland and collectively shape its future amidst a strenuous and arduous liberation struggle. Guided by this unwavering commitment, we have pursued a dialogue approach, the fruits of which have become clear to all. We shall never falter in our pursuit, for the restoration and reconstruction of our homeland can only be achieved through the collective efforts of all its people.

All the attendees,

Seven years have passed since the AHD, during which we have made significant strides in consolidating our internal presence, making our people's voices heard in regional and international decision-making circles, and working tirelessly and wholeheartedly to strengthen the presence of our national cause in regional and international forums. We will redouble our efforts in the coming period, both domestically and internationally, until victory is achieved for our people's cause and their independent federal state is restored and rebuilt.

O our steadfast, free people,

We recognize the extent of the suffering you are enduring amidst the worsening economic conditions and the collapse of the currency exchange rate. We also recognize that you place the primary responsibility on the STC as your representative in the existing authority and shared power with it. We understand this feeling and its dimensions, as well as the dimensions of those who try to exploit it with malice and political cunning. However, rest assured that this will not continue, and we will always be with you in every prevailing circumstance and eventual outcome. We are neither silent nor indifferent, as some may claim or suspect. Only time will tell.

To the sponsors of peace in the region and the world,

The situation in the country can no longer tolerate the approach of experimentation, installment, delaying, and postponement, as well as cooking solutions and settlements. Rather, it requires a comprehensive and unconditional political process—a process with clear beginnings, paths, orientations, and contents—that does not empower one party over another, does not deprive anyone of their rights, or predetermines the ceilings of the solution. A process that paves the way for sustainable solutions to the pivotal issues of the conflict, at the forefront of which is the cause of the people of the South.

Our people of the South, who have endured the policies of procrastination and postponement for a long time, have run out of patience and can no longer tolerate any initiatives that do not place their cause at the forefront of peace efforts. While the people of the South are committed to the approach of negotiations as the basis for resolving their cause, they are not oblivious to their readiness for any other options, if necessary.

To our official brothers in the Arab Coalition,

Your intervention alongside your brothers and sisters came at a defining moment in our nation's history, a moment when you embodied the most noble meanings of solidarity, fraternity, and the same Arab destiny. We reciprocate our loyalty and deep gratitude for the support, assistance, and sacrifices you have made in heroic epics where the blood of our martyrs and yours flowed side by side. Your genuine Arab stance has etched great deeds that will forever remain alive in the memory of our people and the Arab nation.

The victory achieved through the sacrifices and valor of the heroes of the South, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan has secured one of the most important and sensitive strategic sites in the Arabian Peninsula from an imminent threat that could have turned the hopes of our region's peoples into a nightmare. Despite this, the threats surrounding us and you necessitate that this victory be secured for its true makers, avoiding linking it to losing bets.

To our valiant armed and security forces,

You are the guardians of the South, the guard of its security and stability, and the unyielding rock upon which all conspiracies targeting your people and their just national cause are shattered. Stand tall and raise your heads high, for the homeland basks in the shadows of your towering heads, and victory is forged by your strong sun-browned forarms and the barrels of your rifles that know no defeat.

In the end, we reiterate that we are advocates of peace and will continue to support all regional and international efforts aimed at bringing peace to the country and the region. Our project is a project of peace, our approach is dialogue and tolerance, and just as we have adopted peace as our well-seated approach, we have the will and determination to protect our people's gains and national interests and to achieve victory for their just cause.

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you all.