PRIME MINISTER PROMISES RESOLUTION FOR YEMENI FISHERMEN DETAINED IN ERITREA
Published on 24 September 2013 in News
Rammah Al-Jubari (author)
HODEIDA, Sept. 23—Following a week of protests in Sana’a, Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa met Sunday with representatives from families of detained Yemeni fishermen who have been detained in Eritrea for over two years, promising to work with the African nation’s government to secure their release.
Last week, over 70 families arrived in Sana’a from Hodeida to stage protests, calling attention to their family members’ captivity.
The families protested in front of the president’s house on Al-Siteen Street, as well as in front of the Parliament building and Cabinet.
The head of the Fishermen Association, Mohammed Thabet, said the meeting with the prime minister was fruitful and that he believes the prime minister has a great understanding of the issue now.
According to Ismael Al-Hyj, a member of the Fishermens’ Union, an Eritrean committee is set to arrive in Sana’a next week to discuss current boundaries and try to build a joint-country understanding of fishing agreements.
In 1995, an agreement was arbitrated by France that stated the two countries could share fishing waters.
While the Yemeni Foreign Affairs Ministry said Saturday that the Eritrean authorities recently released 1,400 Yemeni fishermen who have been detained for about a year, the Fishermen’s Union, a syndicate that advocate for fishermen’s rights, disputed the figure.
Al-Hyj says at most 130 fishermen have been freed, saying that the Yemeni government may be relying on statistics from the Eritrean government instead of tracking it themselves.
http://www.yementimes.com/en/1714/news/2918/Prime-minister-promises-resolution-for-Yemeni-fishermen-detained-in-Eritrea.htm
Received on Tue Sep 24 2013 - 11:23:40 EDT