Minister of Culture Condemns Smuggling of Artifacts by Saudi- Mercenaries Through Aden Airport

Minister of Culture Abdullah Al-Kibsi condemned, Sunday, the smuggling of artifacts by Saudi-mercenaries through Aden Airport.

He stressed that the seizure of Yemeni artifacts by the customs of Cairo International Airport coming from Aden Airport confirms that Saudi-mercenaries did not only sell their land, but rather sell their history and civilization at a cheap price.

The Minister of Culture praised the vigilance of the customs and security services in Egypt, which thwarted the smuggling process.

The smuggling and sale of Yemen’s antiquities has flourished in global auctions recently, from the US to Britain, France and Germany to the Zionist enemy entity, after the aggression coalition focused during the past years on destroying immutable antiquities with its criminal raids and the demolition shovels of its takfiri tools.

Smuggling does not only include pieces that were stolen from museums, but also from random excavations of archaeological sites. Therefore, there is no specific statistics on the number of smuggled antiquities, although estimates indicate that thousands of rare pieces and manuscripts were smuggled.

Collecting the fragments of Yemeni antiquities seems impossible because those who claim to protect the history of Yemen, its treasures and collectibles abroad are trading and promoting them, exploiting their control over the occupied areas and their control over airports, land and sea ports.

The bleeding of antiquities smuggling will remain relentless, unless Yemen achieves its independence, and the arduous task remains in tracking down these antiquities in auctions and black markets, and engaging in dozens of judicial disputes to recover them.