While YECO denies all Adhban claims Adhban demands Presidents intervention [Archives:2002/31/Front Page]

In a letter sent last Saturday to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Haj Mohammed Mubarak Adhban, one of the most prominent businessmen in Yemen and Chairman of the Adhnan Trading Corporation demanded the Presidents intervention to stop an assault on their warehouses in Aden.
The letter said, The officials at the Yemeni Economic Corporation (YECO) had ordered their soldiers to seal our stores doors in Aden and those soldiers have indeed stormed into the stores destroying doors and messing up with warehouses content.
On the other hand, in an exclusive interview to Yemen Times, Haj Adhban said We were given a notice to empty all our stores on Mualla Street in Aden for them to be used to exhibit products of YECO in the city.
We called the governor of Aden and demanded steps to stop this from continuing, but so far no action has been taken.
The letter to the President said that armed soldiers who belonged to none of the official authorities and establishments caused great damage to the stores and to the reputation of the cooperation.
We appeal to you to order the government of Aden and the YECO to restore our dignity and give back our stores that were attacked by the soldiers. We also request compensation for all the damage that was caused by the attack that cannot be justified by any laws or regulations because such improper and illegal action only results in chaos and discourages investment.
When witnessed by businessmen and investors, such acts will definitely result in concern about assets and will result in avoiding investment in the country.
Yemen Times learnt that officials are investigating the case in the attempt to understand what truly happened. No one from the YECO in Aden was available to comment on the reasons behind this incident, which may result in a lawsuit against the YECO. We have already instructed our lawyer to raise a lawsuit against the YECO.
YECO denies Adhban claims
Yemen Times contacted YECO officials to get feedback on this incident and was received with an astonishing claim that Adhban Corporation has no right in the apartment where the warehouse is located and that the corporation has not been paying to YECO the rent of several years totaling an amount in millions of rials.
YECO sources who conditioned anonymity to respond- in Aden, responded to the allegation by saying, As for the claimed military assault, that was a legitimate action from our side based on orders coming from security office of Aden because Adhban Corporation failed to pay us the due rent of two years because YECO owns the place because it also owns all the property of former Local Trade Company and we have a legal contract signed by Adhban Corporation and us and this can be used in any legal confrontation.
We have only used force after we ran out of options because we did inform Adhban Corporation to pay the due amount because as a governmental establishment, we need to follow up with all government properties and make sure they are utilized for the goodness of the people.
Adhban: ownership of stores is ours
According to Adhban however, there is no legal dispute over the ownership of the stores because Adhban Cooperation originally owned the stores before they were nationalized by the socialist regime in the south. During nationalization of the properties, the regime by then gave them to the Local Trade Company whose assumed properties were given to the YECO after unification.
However, slowly the group was able to regain its property and after unification various lands in Aden returned to their original owners including the Adhban Cooperation. But according to Haj Adhban, the YECO refused to accept this fact and attempted to take over the properties of the cooperation by force. With no court verdicts or any official orders, the YECO forces stormed into our stores despite the fact that we have all evidence to prove our ownership. Does this mean that the YECO is stronger than the rule of law and stronger than the state? Haj Adhban asked.
When asked whether there were old disputes between the cooperation and the YECO, Haj Adhban replied, Even though we have complained about the illegal competition by the YECO with our cooperation in importing our branded products with no custom fees and selling them to the public with cheaper prices and without the authority of the manufacturing companies, we believe that what happened in Aden was not related to this dispute.
We should all respect the law and such actions should stop for the sake of Yemens investment future because without enforcing the law, the countrys reputation will be damaged. He concluded.
Such incidents have occurred frequently in the recent past in several regions in Yemen and in many cases the involvement and intervention of high-ranking officials including the President were needed to end the dispute.


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