Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Freedom

From the Chosun Ilbo:

Taliban kidnappers on Tuesday confirmed they agreed with the Korean government to free all 19 Korean hostages held in Afghanistan, ending a 40-day crisis that has shaken Korea. The two sides reached agreement in a fourth round of face-to-face negotiations at the Afghan Red Crescent office in Ghazni Province on Tuesday afternoon.Presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said the Taliban agreed to release all remaining Korean captives on condition that Korea withdraws its forces in Afghanistan within this year and bans missionary activities by Korean Christians in the Islamic country.

This handout file photo released from Sammul Church shows the group of South Koreans posing for a memorial photo before leaving for Afghanistan at the international airport in Incheon July 13, 2007. /REUTERS

Taliban negotiator Qari Mohammad Bashir said the two sides reached agreement when the Taliban withdrew its demand for the release of Taliban prisoners in exchange for Korean hostages while Korea promised to pull its troops out of Afghanistan by late this year and compel Korean missionaries leave the central Asian country by late this month, according to Pajhwok Afghan News. However, there was speculation of other, under-the-table agreements. Asked about a prisoner swap the kidnappers had earlier demanded, the spokesman simply said, “In consideration of the Afghan government’s position, the Korean government proposed a feasible method to the Taliban and has been negotiating sincerely” with the Islamist group. Despite the agreement, it was not clear when the captives will be freed and handed over to the Korean government. Cheon said that having the hostages returned will take time and they will not be freed immediately. Korean negotiators will discuss the release procedures with the kidnappers, he added.

An unidentified Korean representative talks with media along with Taliban representative Qari Bashir at the Afghan Red Crescent Society of Ghazni province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday. /AP

Qarabagh District Taliban commander Abdullah Jan, who led the abduction, told the Chosun Ilbo’s local correspondent Rahimullah Yusufzai after the conclusion of the negotiations that the release will hopefully start Wednesday. Jan told CBS News it was possible a small group -- three or four hostages, likely women -- would be released later Tuesday, but said all of the captives should be freed in "the next two or three days.” The government will seek additional negotiations with the kidnappers to free the hostages as soon as possible. The militants abducted 23 Korean Christian volunteers on July 19. On July 25, they killed the Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu and on July 31 Shim Sung-min. They later released released two women hostages.