EDITORIAL: Abduction ends in Yemen

After being held captive in Yemen for eight days, Takeo Mashimo, a Japanese engineer, was released. The fortunate turn of events apparently owed to patient negotiations with members of a local tribe to which the abductors belonged. We could not be happier with the outcome.

Dispatched to Yemen by Tokyo-based Mohri Architect & Associates Inc., Mashimo supervised a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project to build schools in Arhab, about 60 kilometers northeast of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital.

His abductors reportedly decided to seize a foreigner to demand the release of group members detained by the Yemeni government. Their tribal chief was quoted as saying, "(The abductors) didn't know their hostage was Japanese, but thought a foreigner would give them leverage (in their negotiations)."

Situated on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen is known as the poorest Arab nation. Nearly half the population lives at the poverty level, and anti-government riots keep breaking out around the nation.

In northern Yemen, clashes between government forces and Shiite militia have driven 170,000 people from their homes, forcing them to live in camps. In the south, Somali refugees from across the Gulf of Aden are pouring into the coastal region. The nation has domestic and international problems.

JICA has as many as 24 Japanese staffers permanently stationed in Yemen. Mashimo's abductors apparently did not target him simply because he was Japanese, nor did they intend to harm him.

But this does not mean we can stop worrying. In June, two German nurses and a South Korean teacher were killed after being taken hostage. There is no guarantee that the next Japanese aid worker seized will be treated with the same "goodwill" as Mashimo was.

One ominous development is the establishment of a militant Islamist organization that calls itself "al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula." In September last year, 16 people died in a terrorist bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. In March this year, four South Korean tourists and their Yemeni guide were killed in a suicide bombing.

Yemen is of strategic importance to counterpiracy measures against Somali pirates preying on merchant vessels of all flags. The world cannot let this corner of the Arabian Peninsula become a safe haven for terrorists. As a member of the international community, Japan must provide civilian aid to Yemen.

For aid workers to continue operating in dangerous regions, it is vital that they observe all basic rules of personal safety, such as avoiding predictable patterns of activity. The Japanese government, too, must establish regional networks for sharing detailed security information with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and others.

But even if every precaution is taken, abductions could occur. Ensuring the safety of frontline aid workers is a challenge in Afghanistan, too. Discussions are still going on at the United Nations, whose office in Kabul was the target of a terrorist bombing last month.

Sanaa Governor Nouman Dwaid, who used his influence to free Mashimo, told a news conference: "He built schools. Children will never forget (what he has done for them)." It was encouraging that Japanese civilian aid had moved the hearts of the local people, whose empathy and cooperation are indispensable to securing the safety of Japanese aid workers.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 25 (IHT/Asahi: November 26,2009)