Forecast Highs

My head is swimming with hostage news. Last week we closed the final chapter of the Goldwasser and Regev saga, and our attention is focused squarely now on the Gilad Schalit case. Lately, Hamas has been making sounds to the effect that they want to replace the Egyptian mediators in the Schalit deal, with Germans or possibly Qataris. We’re not convinced this is a genuine call, as Hamas desperately wants the Egyptians to pressure Israel into opening the Rafah crossings into and out of the Gaza Strip. Only Egypt has enough leverage over Israel and Hamas to seriously mediate a hostage negotiation for Schalit.

I decided to look around at some of the other hostage news making the headlines around the world, and I’m interested to note the similarities and differences between what happened here last week with the return of the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, and hostage news elsewhere.

So in that spirit, here is the inaugural bulletin of the all new Hostage News Network:

British PM Gordon Brown is here today, the day a Shi’ite group in Iraq released a video saying a British hostage has committed suicide while in custody.

LONDON, England (CNN) — A videotaped statement claiming one of five British hostages captured in Iraq last year has committed suicide is an “abhorrent film” that will only increase the anguish suffered by their families, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Sunday. The London-based newspaper The Sunday Times posted a video online in which the kidnappers claimed that the hostage — identified as “Jason” — died on May 25, four days before the first anniversary of the abduction. The footage also shows another hostage appealing for the British government to hasten the men’s release.

“This abhorrent film will only add to the anguish of families who’ve suffered a great deal over more than a year when their loved ones have been in captivity,” Brown said in a statement issued Sunday during a visit to Israel.

I wonder what the public outcry in Britain is over this. I can just imagine the field day the Israeli press would have were this to happen to an Israeli hostage. Families of the suicide hostage victim would most likely have been quoted slamming the government’s “foot-dragging”. Any Israeli Prime Minister would be in serious trouble if an Israeli hostage committed suicide in custody, and would likely not survive stories like these. Here is a quote from the statement from the ‘Islamic Resistance’ group holding the British hostages: “This procrastination and foot-dragging and lack of seriousness on the part of the British government has prolonged their psychological deterioration, pushing one of them, Jason, to commit suicide on 25/5/2008,” the statement said, according to the newspaper. “He surprised our brethren, who were taking care of him, with his suicide.”

What I also find interesting is that the names of all five of the hostages have been kept a secret, at the request of their families. Keeping this kind of information secret would be impossible in Israel. But it is interesting why the families asked for this, and if it was done on the advice of the British authorities. The release of the video today, mentioning a hostage called Jason, puts pressure on the UK government to make a hostage deal. Today, I asked IDC Communications Professor Yariv Ben Elizer to weigh in on the role of the Israeli media in the Goldwasser-Regev deal, and what can be learned from that exchange that can be applied in the Schalit example. What he said didn’t really surprise me, but it did provide a serious wakeup call:

Ben Eliezer: “Even though my heart was with the families, I think the media pressured the government to do something that was against the national interests of Israel. I believe we will pay for it with Gilad Schalit, that as a consequence Israel will have to give up a lot more prisoners to bring him back than would have otherwise been the case.”

Further afield, Colombian president Alvaro Uribe said Sunday that the Red Cross symbol was used in the rescue operation a few weeks ago of Ingrid Betancourt.

This from the Associated Press:

BOGOTA, Colombia: A member of the military mission that tricked Colombian rebels into freeing 15 hostages wore the insignia of the International Red Cross during the operation, President Alvaro Uribe said Wednesday.

His government apologized to the Red Cross for the incident, which Uribe called an unauthorized error by a nervous soldier.

International Red Cross spokesman Florian Westphal said in Geneva that the relief organization accepted Uribe’s explanation for how its symbol was misused.

“An officer mistakenly and contrary to orders … put a cloth bib over his vest that carried the symbol of the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Uribe said in a speech in Bogota.

A fleeting image of a portion of the cloth is visible in video taken of the operation by an agent posing as a cameraman that was officially released.”

In the past, Hizbullah carried out the 2000 kidnapping in Mt. Dov using UN – marked vehicles. Hamas has used UNRWA-marked vehicles to transport wounded fighters. And there are many other reports of combatants abusing the symbols of neutral international aid organizations to dupe their enemies. I wonder if the organizations are sensing an increase in this tactic, and if they can do anything about it.

Also referring to the Betancourt rescue, a Spanish paper reported today that Israeli Mossad agents had taken an active part in the operation.

“Mossad and the U.S. and French intelligence services worked for more than a year with the Colombian authorities to develop the plan,’ Vanguardia said, citing an Israeli secret service source.

“Colombian armed forces freed Franco-Colombian politician Betancourt, three U.S. nationals and 11 Colombian soldiers July 2 from the jungle, where they were being held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

“According to Vanguardia, Israel, France and the U.S. had different reasons for participating in the operation: France because of Betancourt’s half-French nationality, the U.S. because of the three Americans in the group and Israel in order to maintain good bilateral relations with Colombia and the U.S.

Vanguardia’s correspondent in Tel Aviv said the Mossad operation consisted of two agents unknown to each other separately infiltrating FARC.”

Betancourt herself joined demonstrations around the world on Sunday urging an end to kidnappings. She was holding a poster of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. “We want freedom for everyone,” said Betancourt, drawing loud applause from the crowd, many of whom chanted the Spanish word for freedom “Libertad!”

Also relating to Colombian hostages, pop star Shakira is to lead nationwide demonstrations in her native Colombia on Sunday demanding the liberation of hundreds of hostages held by rebels in the jungle for years.

Over in Pakistan, the Taliban have threatened to kill several hostages they’ve taken captive.

From the NY Times:

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Pakistani Taliban have taken dozens of hostages, including police officers, paramilitary fighters and even state bank officials, and threatened on Friday to begin killing them unless the government released four of their comrades captured last week.

The standoff has grown into one of the most serious recent challenges to the government’s resolve to curb the militants’ rapid expansion. The threat comes just 10 days before Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House.

Meanwhile, German hostages taken in Turkey’s eastern province have been freed.

From the BBC:

“Three German climbers taken hostage by Kurdish armed rebel group the PKK have been freed and are in the hands of the Turkish government, officials say.

The tourists were seized from their camp on Mount Ararat in Turkey’s eastern Agri province on 9 July.

The PKK had vowed not to release them unless Germany renounced its crackdown on the group, defined as a terrorist organisation by the US, EU and Turkey.

“We have the German mountaineers,” a Turkish government spokesman said.”