GHAZNI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A South Korean delegation arrived on Thursday in the Afghan province where 21 Koreans are held hostage in an attempt to hold direct talks with Taliban kidnappers and peacefully end the two-week ordeal.
Family members of the kidnapped South Koreans in Afghanistan cry during a news conference demanding for the safe return of the hostages in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, August 1, 2007. REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak
The Taliban have killed two Korean hostages, accusing the Afghan government of not negotiating in good faith and ignoring their demand to release rebel prisoners. They have repeatedly threatened to kill the rest if their demands are not met.
The Taliban have insisted on direct talks with the Koreans, but Seoul has no power to free prisoners from Afghan jails.
“The team, including the Korean ambassador, which has come for the release of Korean nationals, say they have come to speak to the Taliban about choosing a venue for talks,” Ghazni provincial governor Mirajuddin Pathan told reporters.
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“They say they have come to hold direct talks with the Taliban,” he said.
The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Korean church volunteers, 18 of them women, in Ghazni province on the main road south from Kabul on July 20. Two male Koreans have since been killed.
The South Korean government is under intense pressure to bring the captives home, but has no power to meet the key Taliban demand — the release of rebel prisoners.
The Afghan government has refused to give in to the demand, saying that would only encourage further abductions.
A woman takes part in an anti-war rally demanding the safe return of kidnapped South Koreans and the withdrawal of its troops from the country, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, August 2, 2007. REUTERS/Han Jae-Ho
“NO FORCE”
South Korea and the United States, which has more than 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, agreed not to use force to free the hostages, but Afghan troops warned villagers of a possible offensive in the area where the captives are held.
South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte met on the sidelines of a regional security forum in the Philippines on Thursday.
“They agreed that both countries will not use any kind of force,” a South Korean diplomat said.
The body of Shim Sung-min, 29, the second South Korean hostage to be shot, arrived home on Thursday. His family said it would donate his remains for medical research.
The remaining 21 hostages were alive, but two of the women were seriously ill and could die, a Taliban spokesman said.
A man holds a picture of the remaining 21 South Koreans kidnapped by Taliban in Afghanistan during an anti-war rally demanding the safe return of kidnapped South Koreans and the withdrawal of its troops from the country, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, August 2, 2007. REUTERS/Han Jae-Ho
The Taliban are engaged in a campaign of ambushes, suicide bombings and hit-and-run attacks aimed at demonstrating to ordinary Afghans that their government and its Western backers are incapable of providing them with much-needed security.
Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of secretly supporting Taliban rebels in Afghanistan, a charge Pakistan strongly denies.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, himself a South Korean, called Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf seeking his help to free the hostages. Ban was told that Pakistan had no links and no contacts with the Taliban, presidential spokesman General Rashid Qureshi said.
Seoul has called for “flexibility”, a comment analysts say is directed at the United States to sway the Afghan government to strike a deal with the kidnappers.
Eight South Korean parliamentarians also left for the United States to persuade Washington to help end the stand-off. Washington insists it makes no concessions to terrorists, but the politicians hope it might make an exception and help an ally.
A German engineer and four Afghans kidnapped a day before the Koreans are still being held by the Taliban, who are demanding Germany withdraw its 3,000 troops from Afghanistan. Berlin flatly rejected the demand.
One German seized with the group was found shot dead. In Berlin, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday coroners had determined the cause of his death.
“Due to the extreme stress situation during the kidnapping he suffered a circulatory collapse,” said spokesman Martin Jaeger. “He was still alive when he was shot twice. After he was dead, four more shots were fired into the victim.”
El Talibán y Corea del Sur se han dispuesto a discutir sobre el futuro de los 21 rehenes surcoreanos aún cautivos por el grupo insurgente Talibán, luego de haber sido secuestrados por más 15 días y de haber ejecutado a dos. Una delegación de Surcorea ha sido enviada a la provincia de Gazni (140 km al sur de Kabul), donde fueron secuestrados los rehenes.

Talibán ha dado su veredicto sobre el plan de negociación. "Estábamos dispuestos a mantener negociaciones directas con surcoreanos desde el principio ... Ahora nuestro consejo directivo nombró una delegación para negociar con ellos", afirmó por teléfono a la ''AFP'' Yusuf Ahmadi, un portavoz del grupo.

Aún no se ha acordado un lugar, aunque los Talibanes han rechazado una oferta de hacer las negociaciones en un centro de reuniones de la OTAN.

El gobierno afgano ha aceptado que se haga la reunión. "Una delegación de diplomáticos surcoreanos está a punto de reunirse con los talibanes para negociar directamente y estudiar los medios para la liberación de sus compatriotas", dijo Mirajuddin Pattan, el gobernador de la provincia de Gazni.

Se piensa que el grupo mantiene cautivos a los rehenes en un pueblo a 10 km del centro de la ciudad de Gazni. Se ha buscado en los hogares cercanos y se han sellado las rutas para encontrar al grupo.

El Talibán ya ha matado a dos de los rehenes que había capturado inicialmente, identificados como Bae Hyung-kyu y Shim Sung-min. El grupo insurgente exige la liberación de ocho militantes encarcelados pertenecientes al grupo por el mismo número de rehenes surcoreanos. Sin embargo, el gobierno afgano ha rechazado firmemente esta propuesta y exige la liberación de las 16 mujeres bajo los "valores del Islam".

El grupo de surcoreanos había ido a Afganistán en una misión cristiana y fue secuestrado por Talibán hace 15 días. El 25 de julio, el grupo asesinó al primer rehén y líder del grupo, Bae Hyung-kyu. El 30 de julio, el grupo ejecutó al segundo rehén, Shim Sung-min.

El grupo había dado un ultimátum tras ejecutar al segundo rehén; sin embargo, ayer el gobierno afgano pidió un aplazo de 48 horas. El plazo caducó pero el portavoz del grupo declaró que los 21 rehenes seguían con vida. Sin embargo, la tensión sigue en alza luego de que Talibán amenazara con matar "en cualquier momento" a otro rehén.

El gobierno afgano ha declarado que "por principio" el gobierno se negaba a negociar con grupos "terroristas", y también declaró que se negaba a fin de "no incitar a la toma de rehenes".

Junto con los 21 rehenes surcoreanos "aún vivos", el grupo rebelde aún tiene cautivo un ingeniero alemán junto con cuatro trabajadores afganos quienes fueron secuestrados en la Provincia de Vardak