Protests call for security in wake of kidnappings

Hundreds of Yemeni artists took to the streets of the capital on Monday calling for better security following a number of armed kidnappings of foreigners. They said the abductions served to hurt tourism and tarnish the image of the country. Protesters, who marched to government cabinet offices in the capital, Sana, demanded that the state implement stiffer security measures. "Yemeni artists are here today to denounce this heinous crime and say ‘no’ to kidnapping and terrorism," said Mohammed Hussein Atroosh, a popular local singer. "We urge our government to punish kidnappers according to the law. It’s our responsibility to care for our country and its stability." Tribesmen in Yemen have frequently kidnapped tourists in an attempt to force concessions from the government. Hostages are usually released unharmed, but several were killed in 1998 during a botched raid by security forces. Over 200 abduction cases were reported countrywide between 1993 and 2000, according to government figures. Official sources at the ministry of culture and tourism, meanwhile, point out that the tourist industry, which employs over 30,000, is losing some US $200 million per year as a result of the kidnappings. Tribesmen are currently holding five Italian tourists in the tribal governorate of Marib, 170km to the east of Sana. This is the fourth case of kidnapping in two months. The latest abductions were reported on Sunday, only a day after the release of a former German diplomat and his family who had been held for three days in the eastern governorate of Shabwa. On Monday, Prime Minister Abdulqader Bajamal told protestors that the government and military were working on the release of the hostages. He called kidnapping “a shameful practice.” “We should all condemn this practice and work to eradicate it by all means,” Bajamal said. “These people are tarnishing the image, culture and civilisation of our society." President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced on Sunday that he had replaced the governors of the two troublesome provinces. The government has also replaced the major security officers assigned to the two governorates.