Proof British Hostages in Iraq Still Alive
UK Embassy in Baghdad Receives Video of British Hostage Peter Moore
Mar 26, 2009
Notwithstanding their being surrounded by a group of armed religious zealots baying for the release of one of their own, the five hostages are believed to be holding-up. They are in reasonable health, are apparently well treated and have access to satellite TV. They won’t, however, see themselves featured on the news. For the Foreign and Commonwealth office has imposed a near media black-out on the situation and continues to be exceptionally tight-lipped about the status of negotiations.
The wisdom of British officials’ reticence is questionable. A man with first hand knowledge of the life-line the media can afford the kidnapped, Alistair Hetherington, uncle of BBC journalist and former Hamas hostage Alan Johnston, claimed it was a “big comfort” for his nephew to receive radio and TV updates on efforts to secure his release. The five men in Iraq have been denied this comfort.
Recording Believed to be From 14th of March
The tape is the third of its kind and is after the pattern of previous disclosures concerning the captives. As on previous occasions, just the one tape was released and that features the computer consultant Peter Moore addressing the camera and describing his ordeal. Analysis is yet to prove the tape is genuine, but embassy sources believe the recording is from the 14th of March this year.
Mr Moore was kidnapped along with his four bodyguards from Baghdad’s Computer Services Institute, a building adjacent to the city’s Finance Ministry, in 2007. The kidnappers are believed to be followers of the hard-line Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the Iranian-backed leader of the Mahdi army. Al-Sadr has since imposed a cease-fire among his adherents, but the five were taken in the heady days of the insurgency before ‘The Surge’ of U.S troops took effect.
Kidnapping Operation 'Almost Uniquely Professional'
Although kidnapping is not rare in Iraq and especially not in Baghdad, the seizure of the five is believed to have been executed with military aplomb and an unusual amount of daring. At the time, a British official described the seizure of the men as ‘almost uniquely professional’; the attack involved 12 vehicles and the kidnappers fled in opposite direction into the safe haven of Sadr city, the vast Baghdadi Shia slum area that remains unfriendly to Britons, Americans and Sunnis alike.
Since the men were taken, British and Iraqi officials have adopted a stance of extreme taciturnity on a situation Iraq’s national security adviser, Dr Mowaffak al-Rubaie, described as “extremely sensitive”. However, it is believed the hostage takers are demanding the release of Mr Qais al-Khazili, a former chief spokesman for the Mahdi Army, in exchange for the five Britons.
Mr Qais al-Khazili has been held by the U.S army for the past four years at the Camp Bucca detention centre, a site near Iraq’s second biggest city, Basra. The Americans accuse Mr Qais al-Khazili of masterminding an attack on a U.S army base that killed four soldiers.
Hostages' Families Remain Silent on Advice of Foreign Office
On the advice of the British authorities, the families of those held have also shied away from the media, conscious that the negotiations between those mediating on the part of Britain and the hostage takers are on-going but complicated by the fact that Mr Qais remains in American custody and therefore out of the immediate jurisdiction of the British authorities. Their one foray into the media – an anonymous call for the five’s release – drew no traction in the media owing to the Foreign's Office's request that the story be kept off the front pages.
Bucca to be Down-Sized
The release of the tape is especially timely considering the expected scale-down of the Camp Bucca detention centre. In its efforts to scale back its presence in the country, the U.S hopes to significantly reduce the numbers at Camp Bucca and transfer the majority of its detainees to the Iraqi prison services. The fate of Mr Qais al-Khazili is unknown, but it is thought his detention will be a feature of negotiations for the safe release of the Britons.
A website set-up by Peter Moore's friends and family can be found here: www.4pete.org
 |
