http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L04463893.htm
Romania president says Iraq hostages still alive 04 May 2005 19:33:13 GMT Source: Reuters BUCHAREST, May 4 (Reuters) - Three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Iraq in March are alive, but contact with the kidnappers has been made difficult by recent violence in Baghdad, President Traian Basescu said on Wednesday. Last week Romania appealed to the abductors to extend an April 27 deadline by which they threatened to kill the three unless the U.S. ally withdrew its 800 soldiers from Iraq. "Your colleagues, Romanian citizens ... are for the moment out of imminent danger. We are in contact with the group who detains them," Basescu told private television station Realitatea TV. "We have no sign that the situation of the Romanian journalists has worsened. It's just that the conditions in which we can keep the contact have worsened," he added. Iraq has been hit by a relentless campaign of bombings since a cabinet was named a week ago. The Romanian government has not said whether it will pull out its troops despite increasing public pressure and calls by the opposition to save Prima TV reporter Marie Jeanne Ion, 32, cameraman Sorin Miscoci, 30, and Romania Libera daily journalist Ovidiu Ohanesian, 37. Realitatea TV quoted Foreign Minister Razvan Ungureanu as saying during a visit to New York that Romania's foreign policy would not be changed by the hostage crisis. The three were kidnapped in Baghdad on March 28 together with their guide Muhamad Munaf, who has U.S., Iraqi and Romanian citizenship. A tape aired last week by Al-Jazeera television showed the hostages sitting handcuffed on the floor guarded by armed masked men and looking haggard and distressed. More than 70 percent of Romanians think the troops should come home to save the journalists' lives, while the ex-communist opposition party PSD, which sent the troops to Iraq, has asked for their gradual withdrawal. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
