US won't negotiate for reporter Carroll's release
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-01 08:10

BAGHDAD: The United States will not give in to the demands of the kidnappers of reporter Jill Carroll, a US military spokesman said yesterday, after a new video was aired in which she called for Iraqi women prisoners to be freed.

The American journalist appeared veiled and weeping in the video broadcast by Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera Monday night. Her voice could not be heard on the tape but Al Jazeera said she called for US forces and the Iraqi Interior Ministry to release all women in their custody.

It was the first glimpse of Carroll since her kidnappers released a video on January 17 in which they threatened to kill her within 72 hours if women prisoners were not released. The deadline passed with no word on her fate. "We will not make concessions to terrorist demands," said US military spokesman in Iraq Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson. The United States says it does not negotiate with kidnappers or terrorists.

He said US forces were continuing to work with Iraqi authorities "to resolve the situation as quickly as possible." US and Iraqi soldiers have staged several raids on homes and a mosque in their hunt for her.

The US military released five women prisoners last week, but both they and Iraqi officials insisted the move had been pre-planned and was not linked to the hostage-takers' demands.

US forces say they continue to hold at least four more women security detainees. The Iraqi Government has been pressing for the release of the women, as the detention of women offends Iraqis and the US military seeks to avoid controversy in most cases.

"The American journalist kidnapped in Iraq urged her family and Americans around the world to demand that US military forces and the Iraqi interior (ministry) release all Iraqi women prisoners," Al Jazeera said on Monday.

"She said that this would help in her release," the station said, without giving further details.

The Interior Ministry holds up to 2,000 suspects, the United Nations says, and was the focus of controversy when US troops found dozens of abused Sunni men in a secret jail last year. An Iraqi Justice Ministry official said there were a number of women among the 7,000 people being held in civilian jails under its control, although he did not have an exact figure.

Carroll, 28, a freelance journalist working for the Christian Science Monitor, was abducted in Baghdad on January 7 by gunmen who killed her Iraqi interpreter on the spot.

After the airing of the videotape, the Boston-based newspaper issued a fresh appeal for Carroll's release. "Anyone with a heart will feel distressed that an innocent woman like Jill Carroll would be treated in the manner shown in the latest video aired by Al Jazeera," Christian Science Monitor Editor Richard Bergenheim said in a statement.

"We add our voice to those of Arabs around the world, and especially to those in Iraq, who have condemned this act of kidnapping. We ask that she be returned to the protection of her family immediately," he said.

(China Daily 02/01/2006 page10)