[Shadow_Group] Afghan women offer to replace UN hostages

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

Another interesting article from Al Jazeera and again
interesting comments at the end from readers...
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Afghan women offer to replace UN hostages 
11/11/2004 4:45:00 PM GMT  
Afghan women, who are willing to replace the UN
hostages, gathered in Kabul Nov. 11, 2004.

FROM:
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=5406<http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=5406>
A group of 20 Afghan women offered on Thursday to
replace the three UN employees held hostage in
Afghanistan for the past two weeks.   

The women -- among them housewives, journalists,
government officials and an army general -- said that
they are ready to give up their lives to secure the
release of the hostages, two of whom are women.

The three election workers, Annetta Flanigan from
Northern Ireland, Shqipe Habibi from Kosovo, and
Angelito Nayan, a diplomat from the Philippines, were
seized from their vehicle in Kabul on October 28.

Magazine editor Gulalai Habib said that she decided to
take the decision after seeing a videotape of the
frightened women hostages, Annetta Flanigan and Shqipe
Hebibi, broadcasted on Arabic Al Jazeera TV.

"We don't want our country to become a frightened
country and a country of rebels which has a bad name
in history," she said. 

"We hope that the hostage-takers behave like men and
give us their address," she added. "We are ready to go
to meet them to become their hostages and to let them
cut off our heads if they want. We hope they release
the hostages."

Another woman, a former Kabul Television announcer who
edits in a magazine, said that five Afghan women had
initially offered to replace the hostages. "But when
other women heard about the group, others came and
said 'we are with you'," said Jamila Mujaheed. 

"I think the pride we have in our history about our
hospitality has been proven by these women today." She
added.

The women are the latest Afghan citizens who offer to
replace the hostages. Over the weekend, a group of
four male journalists offered the same offer. 

Many educated Afghans have been shocked by the
kidnapping of the hostages, who were helping in the
country's first direct presidential election on Oct.
9.

The captors have repeatedly extended a deadline after
which they said they would decide whether to execute
the hostages. Their initial demands included the
withdrawal of British forces and UN agencies from
Afghanistan and the release of all Taliban detainees
held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

But now they just want the release of 26 Taliban
detainees in exchange for the UN hostages. On
Wednesday, the kidnappers said that the government
agreed to release the detainees, but Afghan officials
didn't confirm and a senior U.S. official said that a
deal would encourage hostage taking.

The kidnapping have raised fears among the
2,000-strong Western community in Afghanistan that the
captors have started emulating the tactics of rebels
in Iraq.
 



 



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