Kidnapping in Sinai

[Horus]

Heres a link that our Jayway sent me about the kidnapping of 25 Chinese workers in the Sinai by Bedouin tribesman, to read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16813255

[LovelyLadyLux]

Interesting. This is starting to get real close to the big tourist areas!

[Winged Isis]

From today's Al Ahram Online:



All 25 Chinese workers kidnapped in Egypt freed
China said Wednesday that 25 Chinese workers kidnapped by Egyptian Bedouins demanding the release of their Islamist relatives had been released
AFP , Wednesday 1 Feb 2012
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"I can confirm that all 25 people have been released. Right now they are being taken care of by the Egyptian government and are staying in army accommodation," the assistant to the Chinese ambassador to Egypt told AFP.

The Chinese nationals -- technicians and engineers who work for a military-owned cement factory in central Sinai -- were abducted on Tuesday on their way to work, an Egyptian security official said.

The protesters were demanding the release of five Bedouins held in connection with an attack on the tourist resort of Taba in 2004, part of a series of bombings claimed by an Islamist group.

"They are all well, with no injuries. There was no need to send them to hospital," the Cairo-based assistant, who would not give his name, said over the phone. He refused to give details of how the workers were released.

They said the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took power last year when a popular uprising ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, had repeatedly promised to release the Bedouins.

The official Xinhua news agency said the workers had been freed by their abductors, but gave no further details of any negotiations.

China's foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment, but in an earlier statement on Wednesday, it warned Chinese companies and personnel working abroad to be on their guard after a similar incident in Sudan.

We "remind Chinese personnel and firms abroad to improve their risk awareness and strengthen security," the ministry said.

The 29 workers in Sudan were captured on Saturday. They have been described as hostages by the Sudanese military but rebels say they were only collateral victims of fighting with government troops.

China dispatched a team to the African nation earlier this week to help secure their release, and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) holding the workers said they were ready to talk with the delegation.

Beijing has already lodged a formal protest with Sudan over the situation, and has called for the release of the workers.

The SPLM-N was once allied to the former rebels who now rule South Sudan, which gained independence from Khartoum in July last year after decades of civil war.

The oil-rich South Kordofan state remains under Khartoum's administration, but the SPLM-N insurgents have been fighting against the Sudanese army since June, sparking growing international concern over refugees.

[Horus]

I had to smile when someone over on the Blue side was asking what were Chinese workers doing in Sinai. Obvious really, they are continuing their slow colonisation of Africa that started back in the late 1960's. Their first foothold on the continent was in Zambia when they built the TanZam railway which ran from Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania to 'The Copperbelt' in Zambia on condition that they purchased Chinese goods to pay for it. At that time all the Copper mines were run by either British, American or South African consortiums and employed many tens of thousands of Zambians. As expatriate engineers we taught them to be self sufficient and under a training program we replaced ourselves with trained Zambians during what was known at the time as the Zambianisation program. The goverment owned a controlling interest in all these mining companies and could call the tune regarding foreign expatriate workers and eventually we all left the country. Sadly with political upheavals in this part of the world and generally corrupt rulers, this once profitable resource went into decline, resulting in many mines closing for lack of real investment and engineering know how. As things declined further the Chinese took the opportunity to offer assistance with the infra structure in general and this gave them a foothold in Africa and the mineral resources they badly needed. I stiil keep in touch with the situation and know that almost every Copper mine is under Chinese control and employs more expatriate Chinese workers than there ever were Europeans in my day. The local population is very angry at what they see as a creeping colonisation by the Chinese and the decline in wages and living standards. I saw this comming over 40 years ago when I sat in the famous Mosi O'Tunya hotel (translation = "the smoke that thunders") that overlooks the Victoria Falls, eating my breakfast and watching a guy dressed like Chairman Mao struggling to use a knife and fork. I don't say this to belittle his culinary skills, but to emphasise that he was obviously a peasant worker brought all the way from China to build the new railway. So even that far back it was obvious that they had little interest in investing in local labour and their interests lay elsewhere, so Egypt should not be surprised to wake up one day and find ......................... everything is made in China or made in Egypt by Chinese workers.