Demand for honey in Yemen increased noticeably after the US listed honey merchants on its list of terrorists "most wanted" for links with the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, Osama bin Laden.
The Sanaa-based weekly, Yemen Observer, said in its last edition, published Saturday, that procedures to crack down on assets of suspected terrorists linked to Bin Laden were accompanied by a high demand for honey, because locals heard that honey merchants might be linked to bin Laden and therefore closed down.
A number of honey sellers were quoted by the paper as saying that the US accusations served as “a promotional campaign for our shops.”
One said that the anticipated closure of the shops had prompted Yemenis to buy larger quantities than usual.
But apparently, the closure will not take place in the near future.
According to AFP, Yemen's police said Thursday they had found no signs of any involvement of the country's honey dealers in funding terrorism, as alleged by the United States.
"We have found no proof of any link between the honey dealers in Yemen named on the list (published by Washington the previous Friday) and the Al Qaeda movement of bin Laden or any other terrorist organization," the agency quoted police sources as saying.
The New York Times, quoting US officials, said Thursday that bin Laden had been operating a honey distribution network in the Middle East and Pakistan, which serves as a cover for arms and drug dealing.
Honey traders appear on a list of 39 people and organizations Washington suspects of links with terrorism, but they have denied the charges.
A Yemeni official told AFP last Sunday that authorities had frozen assets of individuals and organizations suspected of links with terrorism in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the United States – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
