COLOGNE, Germany, 21 August 2003 — Fourteen Europeans held hostage in the Sahara by Algerian militants for half a year arrived home yesterday to relief but also criticism of the adventure travelers whose rescue cost the taxpayer millions.
The nine Germans, four Swiss and one Dutch tourist looked thin and tired, but cheerful as they alighted from the German air force plane that had flown them to Cologne from Mali’s capital Bamako.
“You can imagine what a joy it was after six months,” Witek Mitko told a news conference in his hometown of Augsburg. “We didn’t learn we were going to be released until exactly two days ago. We couldn’t believe it, but that’s what we were told.”
The hostages were among 32 seized in separate incidents in February and March in southern Algeria, famous for its gravesites, but also for smuggling and banditry.
One hostage died of heatstroke and Algerian commandos rescued 17 others in May.
Deputy Foreign Minister Juergen Chrobog, who accompanied the tourists back from Mali, said questions about the terms of the travelers’ release should be put aside for now.
“We should refrain from all critical questions that one could pose in this case, I think for the moment we should be happy that the affair ended as it did, it could have turned out much worse,” he told reporters.
But a survey conducted by the website of Der Spiegel news magazine showed nearly 70 percent of Germans thought the freed hostages should contribute to their rescue costs. Many politicians voiced the same calls.
“People who recklessly put themselves in danger should expect to have to take a share in the cost of their rescue,” said Wolfgang Bosbach, conservative member of Parliament.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder expressed his relief at the ending of the drama on Tuesday, but urged German tourists to take more notice of travel warnings and avoid unnecessary risk.
Details of the six-month desert ordeal remained sketchy even after the hostages landed. Most hurried to be reunited with their families and the ones that faced news conferences focused on their joy at being home.
“We urge the press to spare us,” said Kurt Schuster, 64, who was kidnapped with his wife Erna. “We’ve first got to come to terms with this ourselves.”
Some hostages may decide to sell their stories to newspapers or write books to help recoup any payment demands from the government. German rules stipulate that hostages are liable to bear some of the costs of such rescue operations.
The exact terms of the hostages’ release to Malian authorities on Monday remain unclear. Germany has not commented on reports that Berlin was planning to reimburse Mali for meeting ransom demands of about $5 million with development aid.
Talk of a ransom payment has increased concern that Germans, keen travelers because of their six weeks’ annual holiday and relatively high incomes, could become even more popular targets for kidnappers.
Chrobog refused to comment when asked if a ransom had been paid, but said: “Germany cannot and will not be blackmailed.”
He said the location of the female hostage who died in the desert was known and the body should be recovered.
Algeria said the kidnappers were the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, fighting for a purist Islamist state.
Chrobog said the hostages had told him they had been treated relatively well, with some hostage takers making efforts to make the ordeal more bearable. “Others were less pleasant,” he said.
The kidnappers kept their captives on the move, hiding among rocks and dunes of the vast Sahara in temperatures that regularly topped 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).
The four Swiss hostages, two men and two women, were flown to Zurich, where they were met by the foreign minister.
“I had not given up hope for a single minute,” said Max Hediger, the father of hostage Marc Hediger.
