Abu Ali Abdullah al-Hakem, a senior leader in the Shiite group of Houthis, said that the Houthi Movement will participate in the upcoming national dialogue to be held in the coming few weeks, as stipulated in the GCC-brokered power transfer deal signed in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in November.
In an interview published on Monday with the stat-run al-Jamhoria newspaper, al-Hakem affirmed that the Houthis will take part in the national dialogue, but said there must be certain criteria on which the process will be based.
He stressed that the criteria his group are calling for are in the best interest of Yemen and its people.
"Injustice is the thing that brought together the Houthis with the pro-secessionist Southern Movement, which calls for the outright independence from the north," al-Hakem said.
"Both Houthis and southerners have suffered a lot during the last regime, and that motivated them to actively participate in the revolution against it."
He emphasized that the Houthi group does not have any expansion aims in any province in Yemen, and said they need help from all factions in the country through recognizing the destruction and wrongdoing inflicted on the northern province of Saddah, which is completely controlled by the militant group currently.
He claimed that there is more stability, security and coexistence among different Islamic sects followers and political entities in Saddah than in any place in the country.
For the record, Saddah has recently been the scene of sectarian clashes between Sunnis tribesmen and the Houthis.