Southern Yemenis reject government's apology for historic wars

Protests in southern Yemen after the government's apology Southern Yemenis have rejected the government's apology for historic wars against separatists in 1994, and Shiite Houthi rebels in north Yemen .
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's regime said sorry for his predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh's actions last Tuesday, describing the conflicts as a "historical and moral mistake" that should not be repeated.
The apology was listed among 20 points agreed by the preparatory committee of Yemen's national dialogue conference last month.
Representatives of the Southern Movement have resumed their boycott of the discussions in Sanaa, calling on authorities to divide the panel equally between political groups from the north and south, and move the conference to a neutral venue.
On Wednesday, a day after the apology, there were protests across several regions of southern Yemen.  
Former Yemeni vice-president Ali Salim al-Beidh issued a statement from his Beirut resident condemning the government.
"The rejection of the southern people to the so called apology is a rejection of the Yemeni dialogue and its organisation," he said.
The Southern Movement leader claimed that the apology was being issued by an "illegitimate authority," which is trying to purport "a new legitimacy and justify occupation of the ?south under the guise of maintaining the unity of Yemen."?
Beidh, who is accused of loyalty to Iran, argued that the government's statement is a "confession of the ?crime of occupying the south," adding that southern Yemenis demand an independent state and an end to the occupation.
The Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) also criticised the government’s apology, claiming the state had ignored the facts of the situation.
"The apology that the people had waited for long didn't achieve what it was meant to. It seems to refer to the south as a ?group of governorates without historical or political identity," the statement said.?
Southern leader and former prime minister of Yemen, Haidar al-Attas, said the government had undermined the southern groups ?participating in the national dialogue. ?
Abdullah al-Asnaj, former Yemeni foreign minister, and head of the Independent Southern Bloc, a group ?participating in the dialogue labelled the apology as "disappointing".
The Shiite Houthis, who control the northern Saada governorate, welcomed the statement, adding the confession would heal injuries of the past.?
"We hope that this apology would be translated in ?reality, so that these wars are not repeated. It [the apology] would heal wounds of the past and hopefully bring an end to the ?incitement and hatred campaigns from some of the media."?
Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh criticised the government for singling out wars during his reign as leader. He told one of the television channels owned by his party: "he apology should be about the wars in the south and north ?over the last five decades, not just 1994."?
National dialogue conferences members have said to Arab Today that Southern Movement officials continue to insist on their boycott of the dialogue, unless President Hadi meets their conditions.
Observers fear that the movement's demands could lead to the collapse of the dialogue, and hinder the political transition process.