The "Vichy" Government in Southern Yemen

Following the German invasion of France in 1940, the Vichy government emerged as a political facade loyal to the Third Reich. Named after the city of Vichy where it was headquartered, and headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, it adopted policies of direct collaboration with the Nazi occupation.

Despite that government's attempts at the time to portray itself as a protector of remaining sovereignty, contemporary French historical readings still classify that era as a "black spot" in the nation's trajectory. It is viewed as a functional entity established to facilitate the occupier's tasks and execute its will under a local cover. In the collective consciousness, it remains a model of dependency that French society refuses to recall except as a harsh lesson on the dangers of losing political independence.

This model of occupation-loyal governments applies entirely to the current Al-Alimi authority and its predecessor, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. They represent the Saudi regime and its interests, which conflict with Yemeni sovereignty. Just as the Vichy government served as a local front to secure Nazi occupation interests, these political formations are an expression of the Saudi regime's will and regional orientations.

Accordingly, history—which describes the Vichy experience as a phase of national collapse—places current formations in the same political balance. They lack independent decision-making and operate within a framework that serves the interests of the external powers that created and nurtured them. This makes them, in the Yemeni collective consciousness, merely an extension of regional projects that do not reflect the people's aspirations for sovereignty and independence.

If Saudi Arabia were not an occupying power, we would see the Al-Alimi government moving to protect Yemeni sovereignty, even at the expense of Saudi interests. However, what we see is absolute subservience to Riyadh's will. Neither Al-Alimi nor any minister in his government dares to utter a single word outside what the Saudi government dictates. This explains their silence as the Transitional Council (STC) moves to marginalize them across the southern provinces, while they only act when the danger reaches the borders of the "Big Sister" (Saudi Arabia).

As a Yemeni citizen, I have no objection to the Saudi presence in Yemen, provided that Saudi Arabia treats Yemenis with reciprocity. However, we all know the status of Yemeni labor on its soil. It is unjust to welcome Saudis on our land while their government treats Yemenis as tools devoid of dignity or humanity; had it not been for the fact that they are the cheapest form of labor, they would not even tolerate seeing them. This contradicts the principle of "reciprocity" practiced by all independent states, a principle that only collapses when sovereignty falls to a foreign invasion.

The evidence of this subservience is not limited to political stances; it extends to the reality of the Yemeni citizen who feels the impact of lost sovereignty in daily life. While military and political leaders loyal to Saudi Arabia enjoy special privileges, Yemeni expatriates in the Kingdom are forced to face a barrage of arbitrary measures—from exhausting "dependent fees" to forced deportation campaigns that have not spared even academic and medical personnel in the Kingdom’s southern provinces—without the Al-Alimi authority daring to issue a single statement of condemnation.

Furthermore, at land ports like Al-Wadeeah, Yemeni travelers are humiliated and detained for hours and days under flimsy pretexts, while Saudi trucks and equipment cross the border seamlessly. This stark paradox between the "welcome" Saudi forces receive in Yemeni ports and airports, and the "restriction" the Yemeni faces in his own country and at his neighbor's border, is damning proof that the relationship is one of annexation and dependency, in which the puppet authority has squandered human dignity in exchange for remaining in power.

Were it not for Saudi interference in Yemen's affairs, Yemenis would not have been forced to leave their homeland for work. Saudi Arabia has placed Yemen under guardianship since 1967—a guardianship that has cost Yemen its sovereignty and all forms of economic stability, which are the rights of every Yemeni on their own land. Had it not been for puppet governments, starting with the government of Abdul Rahman al-Iryani, and "cheap" tribal leaderships, Yemen would have been ruled by men like the martyr Al-Hamdi, whom the Kingdom saw as a threat to its sovereignty simply because he insisted on the independence of Yemeni decision-making.