Taliban hostage makes video appeal

[GAP]

Taliban hostage makes video appeal
POSTED: 2000 GMT (0400 HKT), March 14, 2007 ROME, Italy (Reuters)
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An Italian reporter kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan on March 5 appealed to Italy's government to secure his release in a video distributed on Wednesday that proved for the first time he was alive.

"I appeal to the Italian government and to Prime Minister Romano Prodi to do everything, work in every direction, to obtain our freedom," Daniele Mastrogiacomo said in the video, shown on Italian state television. He said he was well.

Mastrogiacomo was picked up in the lawless southern province of Helmand along with two Afghan colleagues and the Taliban said he had confessed to spying for British troops.

The Taliban, which often execute Afghans it accuses of spying, have called for Rome to withdraw its 1,900 troops from Afghanistan in order to free him -- something Rome rules out.

Mastrogiacomo looked haggard but well in the video, which he said was recorded on Monday morning. He made no mention of his supposed confession to spying for the British and instead he said he was "arrested" for crossing into Taliban territory.

"I was arrested by a group of Taliban, who believe that we entered, with two Afghan colleagues, illegally into their territory," he said.

He also made an emotional appeal to his wife and children, saying: "Be calm. There's no problem ... they will release me and obviously we just need to have a little patience and I'm sure you're with me in spirit."

La Repubblica has repeatedly denied the reporter was a spy and said the Karachi-born man had been writing for them since 1980 and had been reporting from Afghanistan since Feb. 28.
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[FredDaHead]

What don't they understand by "the government will not negociate with terrorists"? They knew what they were getting into when they went over there. It's sad and tragic, but it's a risk they knew they were taking when they flew over.

 

[GAP]

And now there is this

Karzai regrets prisoner exchange with Taliban
Updated Fri. Mar. 23 2007 8:18 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Afghan President Hamid Karzai told CTV News in an exclusive interview that he regrets having had to strike a deal with the Taliban to secure the release of an Italian journalist.

Under the agreement, which has come under fire from the United States and Britain, five Taliban prisoners were exchanged for journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo.

He was released by the Taliban on Monday, two weeks after he was kidnapped.

Read Paul Workman's column on the prisoner swap

In an exclusive interview Friday, Karzai told CTV's Paul Workman he felt as if his hands were tied and he had to come through for an ally that needed his help.

"Had I not done that, and those terrorists had killed the Italian, the Italian people would have said the Afghans have no heart for us, they don't care what happens to us. We have been there, but when we ask them to help us they don't do it," Karzai said.

Karzai said he was in a tough position, and the bottom line was that when the Italians called and asked for his help -- which he said they did many times -- he couldn't say no.

"It's a human to human response in times of need. We needed help from the rest of the world and it came to us, and the other day Italy needed help from us and I had to deliver."

Karzai said it is ingrained in the Afghan culture to provide help to those in need, and that's what he did. However, he admits having agonized about the decision, which observers say could set a dangerous precedent and may encourage the Taliban to carry out more kidnappings.

"I am upset about it, I'm very upset about it, I'm especially upset because a 25-year-old Afghan driver was beheaded by the group that was holding the Italian," Karzai said, pointing out that the man had six children, all under the age of seven.
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[Quag]

I can't blame Karzai.  What tough decisions a leader of such an unstable nation must make.  While it is generally held in our culture that we DO NOT negotiate with terrorists, it would appear as though the reverse of that is true for Afghan culture.  Therefore, if Afghan runs their own government, while it might be considered wrong to release these 5 terrorists, they are still the controllers of their own government and have a right to do so.

 

[Timmy!]

It is hard to have these journalist floating around a hot zone and not be a tool of war. But the media craves it. May be there should be a media ban? Or just behind the wire they are able to floating around in. But then it would be something along the lines of Charter of Rights flag would fly. I know these folks are not Canadian, but still, the idea of journalist going missing, bothers me. This is not WW2 nor Korea. They fight dirty there. Only rules they play by is that there are no rules.


Regards,
TN2IC

 

[orange.paint]

I had my dog microchipped...
I wonder what rules there are for placing it in terrorist?
Could help out by providing a whole lot of movement/human intelligence.

 

[GAP]

Simply refuse to negotiate with terrorists....as seen in the above incident, you simply create a market for kidnappings...

The journalists that do not heed the warning, I'm sorry but you are on your own