SM Krishna takes up hostages issue with Egyptian envoy

[ejazr]

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/repor...an-ambassador-on-indian-hostage-issue_1516697

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) has sought the help of Egyptian government to help free six Indians held hostage by Somalian pirates.

The government had urged Egypt to impress upon the Egyptian-ship owner of MV Suez to take proactive steps in freeing the hostages.

The ship's crew members— which includes four Pakistanis, six Indians, four Sri Lankans and 11 Egyptians — have been held hostage by Somalian pirates in Gulf of Aden since August last.

The pirates have, reportedly, demanded $4 million for the release of the Indians. The owner of the ship, reportedly, has refused to pay the ransom.

Foreign minister SM Krishna spoke to Egyptian ambassador Khaled El Bakly and discussed the hostage crisis at length.

"We told him that we are working on this very seriously. I have also relayed it to Cairo that we have to catch hold of the ship owner and make him sort the crisis. The news is that the owner is not keen. So we are working out to see how best we can go on this. This issue doesn't concern only India, but many other countries as well. We want Indians and other hostages to be safe home. But the fact is that governments do negotiate with pirates," Bakly told DNA.

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, meanwhile, tweeted that media publicity leads to pirates hiking their demand.

 

[ejazr]

Egypt requested to intervene to rescue Indian hostages

External affairs minister SM Krishna said he has expressed India's concerns over the rescue of Indian sailors taken hostage by Somali pirates, to Egypt.

The pirates had hijacked the Egyptian cargo liner M.V. Suez, off the Gulf of Aden in August 2010.

Speaking to the media in Delhi, Krishna said he has already spoken to the Eyptian Ambassador to India Khaled el Bakly on the issue, and has received positive feedback.

Krishna said: "I want Egypt to intervene and impress upon the ship owner that he should do whatever is necessary to get the Indian sailors rescued. They should be able to get back to India. I think the Ambassador has been very appreciative of India's concerns and I impressed upon him that these are all high priority issues for the Government of India."

"He (Egyptian Ambassador) appreciated it and said that he will talk to the ship owner or the managers of the shipping companies MV Suez and try to find a solution," he added.

Helpless relatives have been urging the government to initiate strong action for the safe return of the captive sailors.

On Friday (March 4), Krishna had ruled out the possibility of an armed encounter with the Somali pirates for the rescue of the abducted sailors and said that talks with the ship owners regarding the release of the hostages, were on. (ANI)

 

[sandeepdg]

Its been more than six months already since these sailor were abducted, and the government is still making requests. Hope those poor sailors just make it out alive. They will be lucky to be so.

 

[venkat]

Requesting Egypt,which is boiling? AoA!!!!!

 

[Ray]

The Govt has been pathetic on all fronts.

 

[ejazr]

Somali pirates free ship with 11 Indians, fate of 79 hangs in balance

NEW DELHI: Anxiety mounted today about the fate of 79 Indian sailors abducted by Somali pirates from an Egyptian ship as the deadline set by the sea brigands for the execution of eight of the hostages expired today.

On the other hand, 11 Indians captured along with their ship in a separate incident have been freed by Somali pirates, who had kept them hostage for 11 months, capping "delicate" negotiations.

The concern over the plight and safety of the 79 Indians on board the Egyptian cargo vessel MV Suez, hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on August 2 last year was voiced in the Lok Sabha when the Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj raised the issue during Zero Hour.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna assured the House that the government was doing everything possible for their release.

"We are doing all that we can. We are in touch with the ship owners. We are depending upon ship owners, as is done in most cases, to negotiate with the pirates," he said.

Krishna said there was a transitional government in Somalia and "we have taken up the issue with the President of that government and he has assured us all help."

The Minister said he has held talks with the Egyptian Ambassador to India who has promised all assistance for safe and quick release of the hostages. The Indian envoys in Egypt and Dubai were also making efforts in this regard.

Meanwhile, 11 Indian sailors on ship RAK Africana were freed by Somali pirates and picked up by a Spanish naval ship in vicinity "(They are) safe," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said on Twitter.

Noting that the negotiations for release of the Indians were "delicate" and "prolonged", she said 53 Indian sailors are still in captivity of the pirates along with hostages from other countries.

 

[ejazr]

Well its a delicate situation really. The Americans and French tried a military approach and both lost their hostages as the pirates just killed them. Anyone has any idea on how GoI should have approached this?

 

[KS]

Ejaz, we should have approached as the South Koreans did.

Blast those pirates into Davy Jones locker and I think our Marcos are more than suffiicient.

 

[sandeepdg]

I would have loved to see the IN Marcos take out these suckers, even though there are risks involved, but with a spineless government, that can hardly be expected.

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

Why don't we use our MARCOS to free the sailors. Think the GoI is considering this option. It takes time to operate in these kind of situations. May the MARCOS are indeed planning the operation. But 7 seven months is a very long time to react or make a statement when the lives of the sailors are under threat. Shame on the GoI.

 

[Singh]

Why acquire all those force projection equipment when you are never going to use them ?

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

Those equipments are only to equip and not for use. They are ment to be used only during emergency and emergency occurs only when some babu or their sons or daughters or their relatives are attacked or captured. They are not ment for use during normal and routine kidnaps of the "AAM ADMI". We pay taxes for our protection but they protect themselves and not us.

 

[venkat]

keep capturing as many pirates as possible and trade them in exchange for captured indian sailors...we should capture some king pins.....but i have a suspicion that pakistan is involved in this very much.

 

[Ray]

Too little, too late.

 

[sandeepdg]

keep capturing as many pirates as possible and trade them in exchange for captured indian sailors...we should capture some king pins.....but i have a suspicion that pakistan is involved in this very much.

That won't help. Pirates operates independently, they are not an umbrella organization, neither it is possible to say that they all belong from Somalia, they can anywhere from the Eastern part of Africa. Pakistan can't be involved pirates don't operate under any foreign pressure or organization and even Pakistanis themselves have been hostages in many such hijackings.

 

[ejazr]

Ejaz, we should have approached as the South Koreans did.

Blast those pirates into Davy Jones locker and I think our Marcos are more than suffiicient.

Well Im sure they can take them on, but its about keeping the hostages alive. Im not aware of the S. Korean situation, where they able to free the hostages sucessfully or did they blast the pirates before they got close to the merchant ships.

The thing is that most of these Indian sailors were working on foreign not Indian ships.

Prevention is always better than cure. GoI will have to think about arming merchant ships and allowing navy patrols to pursue and attack pirates as well. Some movement on this regard in todays' reports and about time it is...

Piracy: Govt plans weapons on merchant ships
Two days after an uproar in Parliament over the plight of Indians held captive by Somali pirates, the government today announced a sweeping set of measures to tackle the crisis — from letting merchant ships carry arms to ensuring prompt action by the Navy.

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), Minister for External Affairs S M Krishna said that "actions" by the Ministries of Shipping, External Affairs and Defence would address the "legal, administrative and operational aspects of combating piracy".

Sources said that among the CCS's decisions: merchant vessels with Indian flags will carry weapons; a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be in place for the Indian Navy and coordination of the Navy's activities with counterparts of friendly countries in the Gulf of Aden; the Navy will promptly act — without waiting for sanction — if any ship with Indian flag or Indians on board is attacked by pirates; in the event of a pirate attack, Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary will serve as a crisis management group and coordinate with all agencies and relatives of hostages. An inter-ministerial group will be established under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary.

As of now, 53 Indian seafarers are in captivity on five different ships. Krishna said that India would "intensify diplomatic efforts through consultations with the governments of Egypt and the UAE where the owners of vessels concerned reside, as well as with governments of other nationalities who are also being held hostage". The government, he said, would step up "diplomatic efforts at the multilateral level and within the UN framework."

Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj said the government should use UN mechanisms available on piracy and its victims.

India mulls action against Somali pirates, CCS summons navy chief
The Union government finally swung into action on Friday to secure the release of Indian sailors held hostage by the Somali pirates.

Sources told Headlines Today the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has summoned Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma and Director General Shipping Captain Nitin Bawa to discuss options to launch an operation against the Somali pirates.

The move comes amid increasing public pressure forcing the government to actively mull action against the sea pirates.

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was underway in the national capital. Defence Minister A.K. Antony, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee were also present.

Sources told Headlines Today that India was keen on a joint operation with the navies of other concerned countries to mount an operation against the sea pirates.

Krishna is scheduled to make a statement in Parliament on the issue. Over 53 Indians were still held hostage by the Somali pirates after the release of 11 sailors recently.