20070813.
![]() ![]() 2007/08/13 11:01 |
'Taliban ready to release two sick female captives'
Denying previous reports that the Taliban have withheld its decision to free the captives, purported Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi reiterated yesterday afternoon that the militants will soon free them. But the timing of the release has not yet been decided, he said.
No development was reported, as of this press deadline.
Observers said the decision to release the sick hostages appeared to be an attempt to curtail rising international criticism, while continuing to hold the upper hand in the negotiations.
The South Korean side, which remained mute about the report, resumed direct contact with the Taliban kidnappers at the Red Crescent building in Ghazni City, Ghazni Province, as of 3 p.m., Korean time.
"The same representatives from both sides entered the building for negotiations," Yonhap News quoted its source as saying.
Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said, "It is not yet the time to confirm the ongoing rumors that some of the hostages will be released."
He added that direct contact with the militant group "is continuing."
Confusion occurred in Seoul as conflicting news reports came from Afghanistan regarding whether the Taliban have made or withdrawn a decision to release the two sick hostages among the remaining 21 South Korean aid workers held captive since July 19.
In the latest report, the Associated Press quoted Ahmadi as saying that the two would be released, in part because "Taliban leaders were happy with the progress being made in face-to-face talks between two Taliban leaders and South Korean negotiators." He did not identify which two of the hostages were to be released.
The credibility of Ahmadi's comments remains questionable. He initially said on Saturday night that two captives had already been freed.
Franz Rauchenstein, an official with the International Committee of the Red Cross, was quoted as telling AP that he had no information about "when and how and where these hostages are going to be released," referring to the two women. Releases of people in other hostage situations have been coordinated through the Red Cross.
But Yonhap News quoted another official from the Red Cross as saying that the two captives were set to be released soon, and that the action was just being delayed.
Talks between the South Korean negotiators and the Taliban resumed yesterday after several hours of negotiation on Saturday.
In the largest kidnap case in Afghanistan since the rise of the insurgence in 2001, 23 South Korean church volunteer workers were held at gunpoint and taken hostage by the Taliban over three weeks ago. Two, including the leader of the group, pastor Bae
Hyung-kyu, 42, have been murdered.
Desperate to rescue the remaining Korean nationals, the South Korean government arranged for direct face-to-face contact between the South Korean negotiators and the Taliban earlier this week. The first meeting was held on Friday.
Mullah Qari Bashir, one of the Taliban negotiators, said on Saturday that the talks were going well, and that the Taliban were sticking with their original demand for a prisoner release. "I'm very optimistic. The negotiations are continuing on a positive track," Bashir was quoted as saying.
The Taliban has remained steadfast that no hostages will be released unless at least eight of its jailed fighters are freed, a proposal that has been flatly rejected by the Afghan government.
Both the Afghan government and the United States, in their efforts to promote stability in the war-torn country, believe that a prisoner-swap only encourages more abductions of foreigners.
The United States has led the international coalition in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001. Initially, the United States went to war there to retaliate against the Taliban for providing a hideout for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his forces.
The Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the South Korean officials will "continue to maintain contact" with the Taliban.
"For the safety of the hostages, no details of the talks can be released for now, but the end of the first round of talks does not mean that negotiations are concluded," Cheon Ho-seon, the presidential spokesman, told reporters.
By Lee Joo-hee and news reports