NEW DELHI, 26 July 2004 — Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh yesterday described the crisis involving Indians being held hostage in Iraq as “serious” and warned it should be dealt with sensitively.
“I don’t want to give any false hopes. It is a serious situation and has to be dealt with in a sensitive manner,” Natwar told reporters at New Delhi airport after returning from a trip to Pakistan.
He said New Delhi so far had no contact with the group holding the seven men of three nationalities including three Indians.
“It does not look like they are a political group from the look of it. There are various groups operating there and are taking advantage of the situation in Iraq.
“’Take a hostage and ask for ransom’ seems to be their game,” Natwar said, adding New Delhi was “doing whatever can be done” to end the crisis.
He said the Indian government was in touch with families of the three truck drivers in their northern Indian hometowns in Una and Ropar.
In contrast with the somber tone of Natwar, his deputy, Edaepakath Ahamed, was more upbeat, telling reporters earlier the Kuwait-based transport company for which the hostages work, had assured the Indian Embassy in Kuwait they were “willing to do everything necessary to ensure the safety and release” of the captive men.
“This is a very positive indication. I am optimistic,” Ahamed said.
One of the demands of the militant group, which calls itself The Holders of the Black Banners, is that the trucking company, Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport, withdraw from Iraq and close its offices there.
If it fails to do so, a hostage would be killed every 72 hours starting Saturday, the group warned.
Ahamed said a crisis management group consisting of senior officials had been set up in the Foreign Ministry under his chairmanship to monitor the developing situation. He said the government in May decided to suspend emigration clearances for workers headed for Iraq and also advised Indian workers against going to the war-torn country.
Ahamed said another demand of the kidnappers, that the hostages’ governments pull troops out of Iraq was not relevant as India has sent no forces to that country and has no plans to reverse its decision.
He added India had always held the people of Iraq in “high esteem”.
“We have had the best of relations with the people of Iraq therefore it is a matter of surprise for the people of India to see Indians taken as hostages,” he said.
The Indian hostages have been identified as Antaryami, Tilak Raj and Sukhdev Singh.
The minister said the Indian government was also in touch with the governments of Egypt and Kenya, as well as with the families of the three men. It would “spare no effort to secure the early release of hostages and their safe return home”, he added.
In an appeal to the captors, Sukhdev’s brother Harvinder Singh said: “We have sent our brother to earn money and improve the condition of the family, not to fight with you. If an American company gives Sukhdev a job in any country, even then we won’t accept it.”
