RIYADH, 28 July 2004 — An Indian truck driver working for a Saudi transportation company was seriously injured when his vehicle, part of a 50-truck convoy, was fired upon by a group of insurgents in Iraq on Monday night.
The truck driver, Subramaniam, was seriously injured and has been admitted to hospital in Baghdad, according to information received by the Indian Embassy here from the Indian mission in the Iraqi capital.
The convoy had left the Eastern Province carrying diesel fuel for the US troops in Iraq when the incident occurred near Fallujah.
According to V.V. Narayanan, first secretary at the Indian Embassy here, the convoy had crossed the Saudi border district of Arar and was on its way to unload its cargo when it was intercepted near Fallujah.
Subramaniam worked for the Al-Jarie Group, a Saudi transportation company, whose general manager had denied in a press interview recently that their trucks were going to Iraq as part of a convoy hired by the US security forces.
Arab News and its sister publication Al-Eqtisadiah tried to contact him by phone, but obtained no response. Abu Khaled, one of the company’s employees, disclaimed any knowledge of the incident involving their truck driver, although he did not contradict the Indian Embassy’s information.
Truck drivers carrying fuel and other supplies from the Kingdom for the US forces in Iraq have either been kidnapped or waylaid. While the Filipino truck driver Angelo dela Cruz was released after about two weeks in captivity, three other Indian truck drivers — Antaryami, Tilakraj and Sukhdeo Singh — were taken hostage along with Egyptian and African truck drivers in that country. They have been threatened with execution unless India and other countries cease any form of cooperation with Iraq. India has denied having any such contacts.
In an appeal to the hostage-takers, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahmed has urged the captors to release the Indian truck drivers, since India has always been “the champion of the Arab cause.”
In his statement, the minister said: “The people of India have great faith in the people of Iraq, who would never think of doing anything harmful to India and its people because the historical and traditional relationship between the people of Iraq and India is based on mutual trust, confidence and brotherhood.”
The private sector in the Kingdom invested heavily in the transportation sector in the wake of economic reforms and opening up of the country and encouraging Umrah pilgrims to visit other parts of the Kingdom. There was also a great expectation among businessmen of opportunities in Iraq with the re-opening of the Saudi-Iraqi border at Arar last month. A Saudi businessman had early this year bought a giant SR1.5 million crane from an agency in Riyadh in hopes of making lucrative deals in Iraq. The rash of kidnappings and hostage-taking has dashed their hopes.
Since the release of Angelo dela Cruz recently, the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment has sent a representative to assist more than 50 Filipino truck drivers stranded along the border of Saudi Arabia and Iraq, a local television reported in Manila on Monday.
George Gonzales, one of the truck drivers, said that a copy of the documents signed by Labor Secretary Patricia Tomas will be sent to all countries bordering Iraq to prevent Filipinos from crossing into that country, Xinhua news agency reported.
Gonzales added that he and other workers were assured that they would be assisted in their return to Saudi Arabia. The Filipino drivers have been there for nearly a month refusing to enter Iraq for fear of their lives. Gonzales said their employers have been pressuring them to deliver diesel fuel to Iraq despite the dangers.
