Work and other commitments have left me slow at posting updates, but here’s the lowdown from around the globe:
–Twenty-one persons taken hostage in the southern Philippines have been found dead. Authorities blamed political rivalry for the murder of the 13 women and 8 men.
–A 12-year-old girl is allegedly among those hostages being held by Somali pirates. The girl – identified by a former Spanish hostage who was released after being held on another boat – is the daughter of Ukrainian crew members aboard the Ariana, one of several vessels captured by pirates in recent weeks.
–A deal is said to be close to being made that would secure the release of Gilad Shalit from his Hamas captors. Shalit, an Israeli soldier, was seized three years ago. His captors have demanded freedom for more than 400 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for his release.
–The remains of a Briton taken hostage in Lebanon decades ago have been identified. Alec Collett, a UN employee, was abducted during the civil war by Palestinian guerrillas. Human remains were found last week at an excavation site in an area notorious for banditry and kidnapping.
–Pope Benedict XVI has received a helmet from a group of motorcyclists who rode to Rome to highlight the plight of hostages in Colombia. The Pope welcomed the riders, who included journalist Herbin Hoyos, and said he would pray for the release of all hostages.
The forced recruitment of children is a common tactic amongst rebel groups, and the FARC prove they are not exempt from the practice. This week, there have been accusations levelled at FARC by UNICEF that they have stepped up child recruitment, especially along the border areas with Venezuela and Ecuador.
But an even more stinging accusation has come from former hostage Luis Eladio Perez, who claimed that FARC uses the young girls it recruits as sex slaves. Perez spent almost seven years in captivity and observed how young girls perform sexual favours as a way to earn small luxuries.
A promising prospect for catcher for the New York Mets, Josh Thole, is being warned that he may be pulled from playing in the winter league in Venezuela due to the high threat of kidnapping in that country. It’s not an overreaction – just last week, the mother of former Mets pitcher Victor Zambrano was taken hostage in her home and later rescued in a dramatic raid. Zambrano’s cousin Richard was not so lucky – he was also kidnapped a few weeks ago and murdered.
There has been a surge of kidnapping for ransom cases in Venezuela lately, with many high-profile persons directly targeted.
Michael Sinnott, taken hostage by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in October, was freed last night in a goodwill gesture by his captors in the southern Philippines. The 79-year-old man was said to be well despite his pre-existing fragile health. Sinnott has vowed that he will continue his work in the country and does not fear another kidnapping.
The Philippine government has vowed revenge against the Abu Sayyaf Group today after the head of hostage Gabriel Canizares was found in a bag on the island of Jolo. Militants had abducted the teacher three weeks ago and demanded a ransom for his return, which his family and authorities refused to pay. A spokesperson for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the government would take tough action against the rebels: “We shall make them pay for the enormity of this savagery.”
Representatives from the human rights group Memorial claim that Arbi Khachukayev, the head of a rights organization called Law, has been abducted in Moscow and renditioned to the Chechen capital. Khachukayev has been an outspoken critic of Chehcn President Ramzan Kadyrov, and it is believed that gunmen loyal to Kadyrov are responsible for his kidnapping. While Khachukayev has been permitted to phone his relatives, it is unclear where he is being held. This case is the latest in a strong of abductions where Kadyrov has allegedly had some involvement; rights defenders still accuse the Chechen President of direct responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of Natalia Estemirova this past July.
Tomorrow marks the 30 year anniversary of an event that would change the shape of Middle East foreign policy – and the American approach to the region – that resonates today. On 4 November 1979, a group of students seized the American Embassy in Tehran, taking hostage more than 50 diplomatic staff. The gesture – organised initially to last for a few days – ended up lasting 444, until Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in January 1981.
This week, several ex-hostages are recalling that fateful day. Some claim the events were an inevitable consequence of U.S. foreign policy in Iran. Others express anger at the game they feel the government of Iran is still playing with the world.
Interestingly, some of the former hostage takers – once held up as national heroes – are imprisoned by the regime they helped to usher in, notes the New York Times today, thus proving that not everyone got the revolution they were fighting for.
A British couple invested their life savings into a yacht with which they could sail to exotic locales, only to end up in the hands of Somali pirates. Last week, searchers found the empty vessel belonging to Paul and Rachel Chandler with no sign of the couple aboard, but soon received a message from their captors demanding a $7 million ransom. Now, however, the pirates seem to be rethinking their demands, especially after much outcry that the couple was not as rich as it may have appeared. Word from the hostage-takers is that they have moved the Chandlers onto land, and now seek the release of other comrades jailed for piracy in exchange for the pair. The British government has sworn off the payment of ransoms as concessions to hostage-takers.
They were hometown football players from Colombia who played under the team name of Los Maniceros – the Peanut Men. Twelve men were kidnapped roughly two weeks ago as they played the beautiful game, and over the weekend ten of their bodies were found across the border in Venezuela, bullets the likely cause of death. The culprit in this grotesque crime is said to be the ELN, a long-time Colombian guerrilla group with a history of kidnapping and brutality, as evidenced in the video below. Fundación País Libre estimates that the ELN was responsible for killing more than 150 hostages between 2000 and 2007.
President Uribe spoke out against the crime, saying it shows that terrorism has no respect for borders.
Muscovites yesterday marked the seventh anniversary of the day that Russian security forces stormed a theatre where Chechen militants were holding hundreds hostage, killing more than 100 in the ensuing gas attack. Victims’ rights groups believe there will never be clear answers behind the fatal decision-making that day.
Ever wonder how the International Committee of the Red Cross gets messages to hostages from their loved ones? Brian Palmer explains how in this article of Slate magazine.
Filipino authorities are offering to pay for information regarding the whereabouts of abducted Irish priest Michael Sinnott. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been linked to the kidnapping of the elderly man, seized from a mission garden almost two weeks ago.
Posted by radiocaptivity 
Posted by radiocaptivity 
Posted by radiocaptivity 
