The Southern Movement (harak) started in 2007 to gather people in the former South Yemen angered by the marginal status that Salih regime allocated to its partner in unity. Throughout the past years, the movement has organised into a network of regional movements and as part of its magnificent success, managed already in 2009 to gain among 70 percent of the population support for re-establishment of the Southern state. During the 2011 Yemeni popular uprising the goal of independent state was put on hold in anticipation of a victory of the revolution. Once assured that the revolution will not overcome the movement reaffirmed its position of re-establishing the former Southern state, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. As part of the GCC settlement that transferred power from Salih to his deputy al-Hadi and the forming of a joint government with opposition parties a section of the movement agreed to opt for a 5-year transition period after which a referendum will be held on Southern independence. Splitting the Southern movement on the crucial question of independence tells about the successful tactics of the Salih regime in balancing the power by dividing its rivals and setting them to fight each other. How the movement, and Southern people at large, will be able to rise from this detrimental situation is the topic of this paper. I will ask, how tenable is the goal of national independence from the perspective of Southern political activism? How do significant social divisions such as regional origin, tribal and social class background, gender and age play in divisions among Southerners preventing them to unite on a single national strategy?