Socotra Governor condemns UAE occupation violations

SANAA, May 6 (YPA) –  Socotra Governor Hashemi Sa’ad al-Saqtari condemned the violations carried out by the UAE occupation forces in Archipelago and its efforts to take control over this strategic Island.

in a statement obtained by Yemen Press Agency, He confirmed that dispatching of UAE troops to Socotra is an apparent violation of international and humanitarian norms, charters and laws that criminalized interference in the affairs of other sovereign States.

He noted that the practices of UAE occupation authorities in Socotra, as if it was a part of their own territory, confirming their ambitions to occupy the archipelago to loot its natural resources and unique trees and destroy its biological diversity.

The UAE occupation forces have stolen Lora, coral and rock from the island including endangered blood trees known as “dam al akhawain” taken out in containers from Socotra, he said.

He called on international organizations, especially UNESCO, to fulfil their duty to preserve Socotra as a member of the World Heritage List and within the list of global natural reserves.

Socotra, sometimes referred to as “the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean,” is slowly emerging from its long isolation — in 1999, the first airport opened, and tourism began to pick up. In an effort to counter any negative impacts, UNESCO recognized the island as a World Natural Heritage Site in 2008, promoting conservation of the unique environment and some of its endangered species.

E.M