IHT : Gaza kidnappers tell U.S. to free Muslims

Gaza kidnappers tell U.S. to free Muslims

Greg Myre | The New York Times August 23, 2006

JERUSALEM -- An unknown Islamic group Wednesday issued a sweeping demand for the release of all Muslim prisoners held in U.S.-run prisons in exchange for two Fox News television journalists seized at gunpoint last week in Gaza City.

The group, calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades, had not claimed responsibility or made any demands until Wednesday, when it released a statement along with a video of the two men, Steve Centanni, 60, an American based in Washington, and Olaf Wiig, 36, a cameraman from New Zealand.

"We will give you one chance that will not be repeated: the liberation of Muslims detained in American prisons in exchange for the detainees in our hands," the group said in a statement. "If you satisfy our condition, we will keep our promise."

The statement, which made frequent references to the Koran, was not more specific about the Muslim prisoners whose release was sought. The statement said the United States had 72 hours to decide, beginning at noon Wednesday, and did not say what would happen if the demands were not met.

In the video, Centanni and Wiig were sitting cross-legged on the floor and appeared relaxed as they spoke to the camera.

"We are alive and well," said Centanni, who had been reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian fighting for about two weeks when he was seized with Wiig in Gaza City on Aug. 14. "We are in fairly good health. We get lots of clean water, food every day. Access to a bathroom, shower, clean clothes and our captors are treating us well."

Wiig added, "If you could apply any political pressure on the local government here in Gaza and the West Bank, that would be much appreciated by both Steve and myself."

For many years, Palestinians have welcomed foreign journalists, aid workers and other Westerners in Gaza. Palestinian officials, militant groups and ordinary citizens are normally willing, even eager, to speak to journalists. Even after heavy fighting broke out in 2000, Western journalists were able to operate with relative freedom in Gaza.

However, the territory has grown increasingly lawless in the past couple of years as Palestinian government authority has largely collapsed, while armed groups, some of them nothing more than criminal gangs, have proliferated.

More than a dozen Westerners have been kidnapped in the past two years, though in every case they were released unharmed, and almost always within 24 hours.

In contrast to Iraq, where many kidnapped Westerners have been killed, the kidnap victims in Gaza often said they were treated more like guests than hostages, and did not feel threatened during their brief captivity.

The Gaza kidnappers have usually been seeking jobs in the Palestinian security forces or the release of a relative held in a Palestinian prison. The kidnappers have often told their captives that they have no interest in harming them, but that Westerners serve as extremely effective bargaining chips when dealing with the Palestinian Authority. In many instances, the Palestinian Authority has quietly met the demands of the kidnappers after the hostages were released.

However, the statement released Wednesday marked the first time that kidnappers in Gaza had made a sweeping political demand that transcended the immediate Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The tape was initially released to Ramattan Studios, a television production office in Gaza, not far from where the two Fox journalists were seized. The tape was initially broadcast on Al Jazeera, the Arab satellite channel, though Fox and other news organizations also aired parts of the tape.

Fox officials and Wiig's wife, Anita McNaught, a television journalist herself, have been in regular contact with Palestinian Authority officials who say they are trying to secure the release of the men.

The Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniya, told his cabinet Tuesday that the government was "looking to win the immediate and unconditional release of the two journalists." The Palestinian interior minister, Said Siam, who is in charge of the police and other branches of the security services, said Wednesday that intense efforts were under way to find the two men.

However, the Palestinian Authority says it has been unable to contact or negotiate with the kidnappers. In this case and in the previous abductions, the Palestinian authorities have denounced the kidnappings and said that they harmed the Palestinian cause.

Since the abduction nine days ago, other Western news organizations have pulled their journalists out of Gaza. American diplomats have warned that there are credible threats that additional kidnappings could take place in Gaza, while the Foreign Press Association in Israel warned its members to "exercise extreme caution in the coming days."

The developments come as Israel and the Palestinians remain locked in a standoff over an Israeli soldier who was seized by Palestinian militants and taken into Gaza on June 25. Israel's military forces, which pulled out of Gaza a year ago, have returned to the territory and clashed with Palestinian militants.

Israel is demanding the unconditional release of the soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, while the Palestinians are seeking an exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.