Between the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, this island of 50,000 inhabitants with unspoiled nature occupies a strategic place. For several years, the United Arab Emirates has been investing there and distributing passports to the inhabitants. Recent statements raise fears that their ambitions do not stop there.
Many Yemenis were angry when a high profile figure in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) suggested on his Twitter account that the island of Socotra could join the United Arab Emirates.
Indeed, on March 7, Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, former adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ), the de facto ruler in Abu Dhabi, tweeted:
Some of the island’s esteemed inhabitants have told me that they would like their island to become the eighth emirate of the United Arab Emirates.
In the eyes of the Yemenis, this looked like an openly expressed threat, against which we must stand up firmly. Because it is not a random statement from this man close to power in Abu Dhabi, who knows what he is saying and who passes for the unofficial mouthpiece of UAE diplomacy.
Despite the pernicious nature of this statement, which confirms the malicious agenda that the Emirates is pursuing in Yemen, official authorities in Yemen have maintained silence.
Repeated tweets
In 2018, former Emirati foreign minister Anwar Gargash tweeted praising the historical and family ties believed to bind the people of Socotra to the Emirates.
The same year, Dhahi Khalfan, [l’inénarrable et prolifique] number two of the Dubai police, had also started by disqualifying people who protested against the deployment of Emirati troops
[…]
Zeid Al-Lahaji
Source
Al-Yemen Net (Yemen net) is one of the most recent of the Yemeni sites which appear and often disappear at close intervals. It mainly includes dispatches, sometimes translations of articles from the Western press concerning the
[…]
Read more