Case of Nabil Al-Khamiry as a Litmus Test Businessmen Wait to See If the State Will Provide Adequate protection [Archives:1999/05/Local News]

On Saturday, January 30th, a group of tribal elders held a meeting with Mr. Nabil Mohammed Ali Al-Khamiry, a prominent Yemeni businessman. The meeting comes following orders by President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resolve the dispute.
The Yemeni business community was in an uproar in 21/12/1998 when a group of armed tribesmen stormed the offices of the businessman on Zubairy Street. They tried to kidnap the man, but his guards fought back killing one of the attackers and injuring another. But the tribesmen were able to get away with a briefcase which contained some money and documents.
“This gives a bad precedence. We already have problems of tribesmen attacking foreigners. Now they have expanded their activities to include Yemeni businessmen,” says Nabil.
The tribes now want blood revenge because one of their own was killed in the assault. The President of the Republic responded by providing some twenty soldiers as bodyguards. But of course, this is not a good solution, in the long term.
The business community is waiting for a responsible decision from the state. The next few weeks will show the political will of the state of Yemen.

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