The Hindu : International / India & World : `KGL paid abductors half a million dollars'

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Friday, Sep 03, 2004

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International - India & World

`KGL paid abductors half a million dollars'

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, SEPT. 2. The Kuwaiti transport company whose seven kidnapped employees, including three Indians, were freed in Baghdad on Wednesday paid over $500,000 for their release.

The chief executive officer of the Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company, Saeed Dashti, told reporters today that "we paid half a million dollars in order to release the hostages and in the past we had paid other sums."

KGL sources told The Hindu that the company had in the past made payments for "maintaining" its employees in captivity. "We had paid for everything including the food that the hostages were having," they said. Mr. Dashti said that the kidnappers initially demanded about $6 million as well as the release of prisoners held in the United States military prison in Guantanamo.

Besides, they had sought compensation for the victims of the U.S. attacks in Falluja, 50 km from Baghdad. The KGL executive, however, acknowledged that negotiations with tribal and religious leaders and parties close to the company had resulted in the kidnappers scaling down their demands.

Earlier deal

KGL had earlier negotiated a deal with the previous Iraqi negotiator, Sheikh Hisham Dulaimi, where it had agreed to pay a ransom of $350,000. While this deal could not be clinched on August 7 as had been slated, all future negotiations regarding payments revolved around this figure, the sources said. After the August 7 fiasco, KGL allowed the talks to drag on. "It had become apparent by then that the hostages would not be harmed, and that the kidnappers could be exhausted into accepting a more reasonable ransom amount," the sources said.

Mr. Dashti said that the seven men were freed after a team of KGL representatives drove under an armed guard to an unspecified location where the drivers were being held to pay the ransom. All the seven were taken first to the Egyptian embassy, which was nearest to the location where the hostages were released. The three Indians were taken to the residence of the Indian ambassador to Iraq, Brij Bhushan Tyagi, before being brought to Kuwait by a special plane chartered by the company along with the three Kenyans and an Egyptian national.

Operations to continue

Backtracking from its assurances of August 27 that it would cease its operations in Iraq, Mr. Dashti said that KGL would not cease its operations in Iraq.

"We have contracts and we have to fulfil our contracts," including a $121-million project with the U.S. military. His company's spokesperson, Rana Abu-Zaineh, said that KGL's Iraqi operations would continue not "with our drivers or equipment, but with Iraqi sister companies."

Meanwhile, the three Indians who landed in Kuwait last night have not interacted with the media. Under instructions from the Intelligence Bureau, the Indian embassy in Kuwait issued a statement on their behalf, where they thanked KGL and the Government of Kuwait for ensuring their safe return.

Regarding the kidnappers, the trio said, "those who were holding us treated us well and gave us food, water and a place to stay. We are thankful to them for the good treatment given to us."

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`KGL paid abductors half a million dollars'