Barran Press
Yemeni Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Dr. Yassin Saeed Noman, has highlighted the crucial role played by Marib in resisting the Houthi insurgency, which has been designated as a terrorist group by the international community since 2014, and the group's "attempts to erase the republic from people's consciousness."
In an exclusive interview with "Barran Press" coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the "Matareh Marib,"(Camps), Noman praised the ancient governorate for setting a remarkable example in defending the values of the state and the republic, which have remained present in the collective consciousness of the community, shaped by Marib. He emphasized the governorate's success in achieving a synergy between military and civilian efforts to protect state institutions and vital infrastructure, while simultaneously providing a haven for the national resistance.
In September 2014, tribes in Marib established armed popular camps known as "Matareh Marib" in the Nakhla and Saheel regions, northwest of the governorate, and later in the western and southern outskirts. These Matareh were formed to counter the escalating Houthi offensive aimed at seizing control of the governorate by force.
This step, rooted in a traditional tribal custom to confront threats, came after two months of Houthi mobilization and attacks on tribal members in border areas with the governorates of Jawf and Sana'a. This followed the Houthis' capture of the city of Amran in July 2014, and their advance towards the capital Sana'a, which they ultimately seized on September 21, 2014.
Marking the 10th anniversary of the Matareh Marib, the first speaker of the parliament in unified Yemen during the early 1990s, stressed that the tribes of Marib acted as a part of the state, transcending traditional tribal affiliations to become a model in supporting the republican system. He underscored their loyalty to the state during a period of collapse, explaining that protecting the state requires safeguarding the tribes as part of a natural evolution towards urban and civic growth.
The former Secretary-General of the Yemeni Socialist Party emphasized that Yemeni political parties continue to grapple with internal crises that have hampered their ability to form a unified front against the Houthis. He called for self-reflection within these parties and the resolution of longstanding issues to revitalize their role in the battle to restore the state.
He stressed the importance of learning from the Marib experience in achieving integration between society, political parties, and local authorities to ensure the stability of the republican system and strengthen the values of peace and coexistence in the face of ongoing threats.
Dialogue text:
Like many Yemenis, I closely followed Marib's pivotal role in resisting the Iranian-backed Houthi coup. The region's defense efforts expanded beyond the battlefield, encompassing civil and urban development, showcasing Marib's commitment to safeguarding both its territory and the core values of the state and the republic.
The Houthi coup aimed to erase the republican identity from the collective consciousness, but Marib's unwavering stance in upholding the state's presence in the hearts and minds of its people served as a powerful counter-narrative. This resistance, characterized by a high degree of national struggle, became a symbol of defiance against the Houthi's sectarian expansionist project.
Sheikh Sultan Al-Arada, a veteran leader with a long history of service in the unified state, led the local leadership. They faced the monumental task of preserving Marib, a vital part of Yemen, both geographically and in terms of its values.
I have written extensively about Marib's resilience, and the local leadership continues to mobilize the entire region, liberated or under Houthi control, with the same unwavering national spirit. Marib stands as a beacon of resistance, embodying the model that Yemenis aspire to as they strive to restore their state, with equality for all.
The tribal member who undertakes this national duty must be viewed as a citizen of the state. A citizen who emerges from the confines of the tribe's Matareh into the realm of the state, of which Marib has become a model since it embraced state values and confronted all attempts to confine it within tribal, partisan, or sub-state projects. He is no longer the tribal member trapped within the confines of the tribe, its demands for protection, and its resistance to state "encroachments." It has become clear to all that protecting the state automatically includes protecting the tribe and its rights to natural urban and civil development.
At a time when the state's entity was collapsing, the tribe in Marib was strongly present to face the challenges of a period of collapse on the one hand, and the revival of the state and the restoration of its national institutions on the other. It can be said here that the tribe acted as a living and responsible part of a state that was crumbling, proving its loyalty to the state and being the most committed element of the state to its values.
Many people from Marib used to complain that Marib was suffering from a central government policy that kept it in the grip of a tribal system that established its relationship with the state through tribal figures rather than through state institutions. The truth is that the factors that later brought down this centralism created, at the same historical moment, accompanying factors that quickly led to the assimilation of state values and prepared the objective and subjective conditions for state institutions. This means that the tribe is a transitional social component that quickly becomes part of the state when there is a socio-political system that helps it in this natural development. Therefore, it was not surprising for the tribe in Ma'rib to defend the state at this crucial historical juncture, as we have said.
I believe that political parties in general have not been able to overcome their internal crises, which were produced by previous circumstances. Past conflicts were—and still are—a reason for perpetuating the crisis of trust among them. This requires, first, a self-assessment within each party, followed by frank discussions to identify the nature of the mistakes and how to address them in order to create a national political environment free from the shackles of the past and its problems.
If the past continues to dictate the political path of the parties, it will create further complications for the battle to restore the state. If society does not engage politically and popularly in this fateful battle, it will lose its momentum. At that point, it will be reduced to rigid and exhausted slogans. Political parties and forces are the ones relied upon to attract society in all its strata, segments, and factions to engage in this fateful battle. From this perspective, we can understand the role of political parties and the political system as a whole.
If you want to understand the reasons for the Houthi coup militias' repeated insistence on overthrowing Marib, you must not overlook the model that Marib has created for the state as one of the real reasons for this insistence. What bothers them the most is this model that has kept the republic present in the consciousness of the people.
Therefore, the more we can keep the republic present in the consciousness through a cohesive and stable model of the state in all liberated areas, the closer we will be to mobilizing society and engaging it in the battle to restore the state and defend the republican system.