YEMEN: Yemeni authorities struggle to crack down on illegal smuggling of antiquities

Authorities in Yemen are struggling to crack down on groups smuggling antiquities out of the country. According to officials more than 1,000 attempts to smuggle antiquities were foiled in 2006. But many Yemenis do not understand the historical value of some of the artefacts that they unwittingly sell. Authorities in Yemen have been struggling to prevent the looting and smuggling of the country's antiquities and treasures by both local and foreign gangs, but efforts to step up operations to crack down on smugglers are underway, authorities in Yemen said. Yemen's government has been criticised for not doing enough to put an end to the looting, smuggling and selling of the country's artefacts, but authorities say that they have strengthened their security at border crossings, airport and harbours to prevent the smuggling of antiquities abroad. ''This is a dangerous phenomenon. This phenomenon is a very bad one because these people damage the history of their country and cause harm to themselves because this is the history of people so when this is smuggled out of the country it means many of the historical chains have been lost,'' says Abdullah Bawazier, the director of antiquities and scrolls commission in Yemen. According to Hisham al-Thour, the general manager of the protectorate of antiquities and manuscripts in Yemen, hundreds of smuggling attempts have been prevented by security personnel, particularly at Sana'a International airport. Those include the attempted smuggling of manuscripts and sculptures. "More than 1,026 pieces (of antiquities) were seized (from smugglers) in 2006 and this includes both pieces and scrolls," al-Thour says. One of the biggest success operations in preventing the illegal sales of Yemen's antiquities was in 2005 when an Iraqi dealer was caught with more that 780 pieces of antiquities. Officials say that a number of people have been arrested for looting and smuggling antiquities this year. Some have been charged with crimes they do not know they have committed, explains Ali al-Hasni, the director of administration for the protection of antiquities in Sana'a airport. ''Smuggling sometimes is unintentional by both Yemenis and tourists but there is also organised smuggling which we also discover,'' says al-Hasni. Abdel Aziz al-Jandery, the director of the National Museum in Sana'a, explains that one way of preventing the looting of antiquities is by protecting archaeological areas. But he says that many archaeological sites, a number of which are in remote areas, have been severely damaged or are in a deteriorating state due to the lack of adequate measures to protect them. Another major issue is ignorance on the side of local residents, who are not aware of the value of such antiquities, al-Jandery explains. ''Some people would sell anything for money. The second issue is lack of awareness and ignorance when it comes to the importance and value of these antiquities. The pieces that are sold constitute (the country's) heritage/civilisation," says al-Jandery. A conference on 'Yemeni civilisation' was held in Aden at the beginning of April to discuss ways of protecting the country's heritage. Participants concluded that the country's authorities have to step up efforts to ensure the protection and preservation of Yemen's architectural heritage, particularly by providing more security at historical sites. The cities of Sana'a and Shibam and the historical town of Zabid are listed on the World Heritage List.

ITN Source | May 10, 2007

Tags:. .prevented. .border. .gangs. .iraqi. .committed