ROYG FREES ITALIAN HOSTAGES: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000050

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER ASEC YM COUNTER TERRORISM
SUBJECT: ROYG FREES ITALIAN HOSTAGES: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR
FUTURE OF KIDNAPPING?

REF: A. 2005 SANAA 3614

B. SANAA 0002

Classified By: AMBASSADOR THOMAS C. KRAJESKI, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) and (
D).


1. (C) Summary: On January 6, tribesmen released unharmed
five Italian tourists that had been held hostage since
January 1 (ref A). Breaking from a long-standing policy of
granting concessions without legal consequences, the ROYG
pursued a successful dual-track strategy of negotiating
through tribal leaders while using counter-terrorism forces
to pressure the kidnappers. It is not clear what the ROYG
had to concede during the negotiations (if anything) but
security forces arrested several individuals involved with
the kidnapping. Although ROYG officials vowed to seek the
death penalty for anyone convicted of kidnapping foreigners,
it is not at all clear what punishment the ROYG will actually
seek. The fact is that to date, no Yemeni has ever been
executed solely for kidnapping.


2. (C) SUMMARY CONTINUED: Whatever the sentence handed down
for these latest kidnappings, the ROYG has sent a strong
message, albeit a belated one, to the tribes by demonstrating
its ability to apply both political and military pressure to
isolate kidnappers and bring them to justice. The ROYG's
success in implementing this new approach, without provoking
a backlash from a powerful and dangerous tribe with past
links to terrorists (ref B),is an important sign that when
fundamentally challenged, the central government is still
capable of responding and winning. End Summary.

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Safe Release of Hostages
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3. (S) Members of the Jahm tribe released five Italian
tourists unharmed during the early morning of January 6. The
Ministry of Interior,s U.S.-trained Counter-Terrorism Unit
(CTU),which had surrounded the kidnappers, compound,
immediately arrested the kidnappers after the hostages'
release. According to security forces, one of the kidnappers
arrested was an "Afghan Arab" who had fought against the
Soviets in Afghanistan. Others involved in the kidnapping
are also suspected of being engaged in smuggling activity
across the Yemeni-Saudi border.


4. (C) The CTU originally deployed to the area on January 2
as a show of force, while negotiations between government
officials, tribal leaders, and the kidnappers continued.
Initially, the exact location of the hostages was unknown.
The CTU, using skills learned through USG-sponsored training,
successfully tracked the kidnappers, cordoned off the area to
prevent them from moving the hostages to a more remote and
inaccessible location, and cut off water supplies. The
Italian Ambassador expressed concern that any rescue attempt
would place the hostages in danger and requested that the
ROYG first exhaust negotiations. In the end, no force was
necessary and the hostages were released without incident as
helicopter-borne CTU forces closed in on the huts where the
tourists were being held.


5. (C) While the details of any settlement remain unknown,
the ROYG had been negotiating with the kidnappers through a
Member of Parliament from the opposition Islah party. The
kidnappers had demanded the release of other tribal members
being held by the ROYG for unclear reasons. As part of
negotiations, the ROYG successfully managed to convince the
tribal leaders to repudiate the members involved and condemn
the kidnapping publicly.


6. (U) As negotiations and CTU pressure continued, the ROYG
waged a media campaign to convince the tribes that the
government would no longer deal lightly with the kidnapping
of foreigners. On January 4, the ROYG announced that anyone
convicted of kidnapping a foreigner would receive the death
penalty. The ROYG also reportedly sped up the sentencing for
several people previously convicted of kidnapping, in order
to apply the death penalty. (Note: While a 1998 Yemeni law
permits the death penalty for any kidnapping, no death
sentence has ever been handed down for kidnapping alone. On
two previous occasions, convicted kidnappers were sentenced
to death, but only because they were also convicted of murder
as part of the same crime. End Note)

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Comment
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7. (C) Comment: The release of the hostages without the
use of lethal force was the best possible outcome for the
ROYG. While the CTU is Yemen's most capable security force,
its limited rescue skills would have likely put the hostages
in great danger. In the interest of maintaining peace with
the tribes, the ROYG appears content with the isolation of
the kidnappers by tribal leaders and has not sought
retribution against the greater tribe. Had security forces
used overwhelming force against the kidnappers or attacked
tribal members elsewhere, the security situation in the
oil-rich region would have likely deteriorated even further.


8. (C) Comment continued: The ROYG clearly realized that
its previous policy of appeasing kidnappers and not pursuing
those involved only exacerbated the problem, resulting in
four kidnapping incidents within the last six weeks. By
deploying the CTU, the ROYG demonstrated its ability and
willingness to use force if necessary, especially on a tribe
it already considers problematic. Combined with the arrest
of the kidnappers and a tough media campaign, the ROYG is now
making a serious attempt to demonstrate that it can stop the
tribes from using kidnapped foreigners as a tool to win
concessions from the central government. The true test for
maintaining security in the area, however, will be if the
ROYG focuses on the underlying causes of kidnapping, which is
a lack of governmental control in many impoverished tribal
areas and a weak legal system that lacks any effective
conflict resolution mechanism.
Krajeski