Sana'a - Saba:
The Tourism Promotion Council condemned the crimes of smuggling and selling Yemeni antiquities at Zionist and Western auctions.
In a statement received by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba), the Council considered these crimes a blatant attack on Yemen's cultural and historical heritage and a violation of the people's rights to preserve their ancient cultural heritage.
It indicated that these practices are an extension of the systematic targeting of Yemen's cultural and heritage capabilities within the framework of the comprehensive and systematic aggression it is being subjected to by the Zionist-American enemy.
The Council explained that it had recently observed the Israeli commercial platform "Bed Esprit" offering stolen Yemeni artifacts for sale in the so-called "Tel Aviv" of the Zionist entity.
These artifacts included a small bronze statue of the Sphinx, dating back to the Hellenistic period (second to fourth century BC). This statue is considered an integral part of Yemeni civilization.
It noted that holding the auction constitutes a blatant violation of international and local laws protecting human cultural heritage and contravenes all ethical principles.
The Tourism Promotion Board held the international community, UNESCO, and all parties concerned with heritage protection a historical responsibility to take immediate action to stop this illegal auction and return the stolen artifacts to Yemen.
It emphasized that protecting Yemeni antiquities is a national responsibility, and that the official authorities responsible for protecting antiquities will not hesitate to use all means to recover every stolen artifact, and that the Council will do everything possible to cooperate with them.
The Council issued an urgent appeal to citizens, civil society organizations, media professionals, and activists around the world to contribute to exposing these crimes and raising awareness of the importance of preserving Yemeni heritage as a fundamental pillar of national identity and human heritage.
The Council reiterated its unwavering commitment to protecting antiquities, based on its role in promoting them as a Yemeni and cultural right, emphasizing that the recovery of smuggled antiquities is not an option, but rather a right that cannot be postponed or compromised.
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