11 Indian sailors released, many more still held hostage; MEA takes a beating on Twitterverse

New Delhi
9 March 2011

Eleven Indian sailors taken hostage by Somali pirates were released
Wednesday but there were many other Indians still held hostage on ships owned by
foreign companies, including 79 aboard an Egyptian cargo vessel, MV Suez.

"11 Indian sailors on ship RAK Africana are released by Somali pirates. They have been
picked up by Spanish naval ship in vicinity - r safe (sic)," foreign secretary Nirupama
Rao said in a message posted on her Twitter account.

The ship, MV RAK Africana, was reported to have been seized approximately 280
nautical miles west of the Seychelles in April 2010. There were 21 crew members on
board, including 11 Indians.

The negotiations for their release were "delicate and prolonged" but in the end the owner
of the ship, who is based in the UAE, "settled the case", Ms Rao said without
elaborating.

Since the engines of the vessel were not working, the Indian consulate in Dubai and the
Indian Navy requested a Spanish vessel in the vicinity for help.

MV RAK Africana is owned by a Seychelles company and it is registered in the Saint
Vincent, an island in the Caribbean.

However, the fate other Indian hostages, including the 79 Indian sailors aboard MV Suez
was uncertain as the hostage-takers' ultimatum for ransom to be paid was reportedly to
expire Wednesday.

The ministry of external affairs (MEA), which has drawn flak for the slow pace of
evacuation of Indian nationals from strife-torn Libya, finds itself in the line of fire again,
this time over the issue of Indian sailors held hostage by Somali pirates. Criticism has
spilled onto the internet, and the fate of the Indian hostages dominates the discourse in
Twitterverse (universe of Twitter).

Questions are being asked as to why New Delhi is not doing enough and quickly at that
to secure the safe release of the hostages. Why doesn't the government agree to pay
ransom if it will help save lives? Why does the government not consider the option of
using force to rescue the hostages? The questions only got shriller as the deadline for
the execution of some sailors drew nearer. The hostage-takers' ultimatum for ransom to
be paid was reportedly to expire Wednesday.

Twitter is fast becoming a platform to engage in a discussion, aided in part by the fact
that Indian politicians, and now, increasingly, Indian diplomats, have taken to Twitter to
talk to nobody in particular but everybody in general, about whatever they might want to
talk about. Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao is the latest to join the bandwagon, and as if
on cue other Indian diplomats are following suit. Their joining Twitter has made it that
much more easier for people to reach them for information or to elicit replies to their
queries.

The MEA defended itself, provocatively at times, by saying that "publicity blitzkrieg"
would do more harm than good. "Negotiations for the release of the sailors have been
going on well before media raised issue," Ms Rao tweeted. According to the government,
as many as 215 Indian crew members were among those whose ships were hijacked
and 136 of them have so far been released. At present, there were over 50 Indian crew
members on seven ships that are in the custody of Somali pirates.

On one occasion Ms Rao retorted: "r u suggesting payment of ransom by govt to
pirates? Then all Indian sailors become fair game for pirates in future (sic)." On another
occasion she stoutly defended against use of force. "R hostages r part of large gp of
hostages frm diff nations held by pirates. Rescuing them by force is fraught wth
ramifications (sic)," she shot back, taking care not to sound trifle. "I can well realize the
agony the families are going through. I would never belittle that for a moment (sic)," Ms
Rao noted.

For his part, external affairs minister SM Krishna has said that he has met with Khaled el
Bakly, Egypt's ambassador to India, who has agreed to coordinate with the owner of the
cargo ship, the Panama-flagged MV Suez, who is an Egyptian. The vessel was captured
by the pirates on August 2, 2010. Besides the six Indians, the ship's crew includes four
Pakistanis, four Sri Lankans and 11 Egyptians. The Indian ambassadors in Egypt and
Dubai were also making efforts in this regard.

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