Barran Press
The city of Taiz witnessed a massive public demonstration on Monday, June 15th, 2024, in support of the decisions made by the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden, the declared temporary capital, and the measures taken to protect the banking sector from the repercussions of the Houthi group's actions, designated as a terrorist organization.
Thousands of citizens participated in the demonstration, which began at the Al-Awadhi roundabout on Jamal Street in the heart of Taiz and proceeded to the new local authority building on the same street.
Protesters chanted slogans in support of the bank's measures to protect the banking sector and regulate banks, condemning the UN's stance, which they described as complicit with the Houthi group. They emphasized the importance of strengthening economic and financial stability in the country and supporting the Central Bank's efforts to protect the financial system from external interference.
The protesters praised the Central Bank's efforts to preserve the value of the national currency and ensure the stability of the financial market, expressing their support for any measures taken by the government and the Central Bank to address the economic and financial challenges facing the country.
A statement issued by the demonstration expressed a categorical rejection of the pressure exerted by the international community and the UN envoy's office on the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden to suspend its measures against banks that violate its instructions.
The statement considered the UN envoy's actions as a bias towards the Houthi group, designated as a terrorist organization, enabling them to control the country's resources and sovereignty, perpetuating instability and conflict, and leading to the confiscation of the rights and future of millions of Yemenis.
The statement warned against engaging in any negotiations on economic issues that bypass the Central Bank's decisions, the stance of the Presidential Leadership Council, and the government.
It emphasized the need to resume oil exports, implement the Central Bank of Yemen's decisions to abolish the old currency and unify the financial system, halt arbitrary measures against banks and the financial and business sectors, and end the banking division.
On May 30th, the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden declared as the temporary capital, issued a decision to cease dealing with six Yemeni banks and financial institutions after the 60-day deadline for implementing its decision to relocate their main offices to Aden expired.
Simultaneously, the bank issued another decision urging all individuals, commercial establishments, companies, other entities, and financial and banking institutions holding old banknotes printed before 2016, in various denominations, to deposit them within a maximum period of 60 days from the date of the announcement.
The Central Bank continued its measures to counter the economic measures taken by the Houthi group, designated as a terrorist organization by the international community, against the banking sector, which cast a shadow on the economic situation and led to a decline in the value of the Yemeni riyal in areas under government control.
The closure of the six banks' branches in Aden and Sana'a came hours after the UN envoy called on Yemeni parties to engage in "dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations between Yemeni parties to discuss recent economic developments."
"Barran Press" obtained a letter from UN envoy Hans Grundberg to the Presidential Leadership Council, in which he urged the postponement of the implementation of recent Central Bank of Yemen decisions related to the suspension of licenses for banks that have failed to relocate their headquarters to Aden, declared as the temporary capital of Yemen.
In the letter, Grundberg expressed concern about the Central Bank of Yemen's decision number 30 for the year 2024, which "calls for the suspension of licenses for six banks, and the subsequent communication with correspondent banks and the SWIFT system," indicating that this "will lead to the cessation of access for those banks to correspondent banks and the SWIFT system."
The UN envoy urged the Yemeni government and the Central Bank of Yemen to "postpone the implementation of the decisions at least until the end of August," calling for "the initiation of dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations between Yemeni parties to discuss recent economic developments in Yemen."
The Presidential Leadership Council, in turn, held an "emergency meeting" to discuss Grundberg's letter, during which it affirmed its "adherence to a clear agenda for participation in any dialogue on the economic file," according to the official Yemeni news agency Saba.
The Leadership Council stipulated, for the continuation of any dialogue on the economic file, "the resumption of oil exports, the unification of the national currency, the cancellation of all arbitrary measures against the banking sector, and the financial and business community."
In a series of decisions last week, Governor Ahmed Al-Mubarki revoked the licenses of 26 exchange companies since late last month and ordered the closure of their branches indefinitely for violating the bank's decisions and instructions.
These decisions followed two previous ones, including the imposition of a unified network for domestic remittances and the prohibition of dealing with 12 unlicensed electronic payment entities. The Central Bank also permanently halted operations of local financial transfer networks owned by banks, financial institutions, or exchange companies operating in Yemen.