CHENNAI: After attempting to negotiate with the government of India for 22 months since taking seven Indian sailors hostage, some Somalian pirates have got in touch with the family of one of the sailors urging the release of 16 pirates in exchange of the seamen.
The pirates, in an email sent to the family on Tuesday, asked the family to reply immediately to the 'swap' proposal. The 16 pirates, arrested in different cases, have been in a Mumbai prison for more than two years.
The sailor's family does not want to reveal the identity of the seaman, fearing danger to his life from the captors. The pirates had hijacked merchant vessel Asphalt Venture in September 2010 off the Somalian coast. The pirates let off nine of the 16 crew members and kept seven Indians in their custody. They said they had sent several messages to the directorate-general of shipping, India, but got no reply. At present, 43 Indian sailors are in the pirates' captivity, including 28 who were held this year. The pirates started active negotiations in January this year, and sent two more messages in July to the Indian authorities.
The families had sent several appeals to the Prime Minister, the shipping minister and senior shipping officials.
Mercy George, wife of George Joseph, a first engineer of Asphalt Venture, said she had approached the Prime Minister and senior cabinet ministers. "Since the pirates are threatening now, I request the government to intervene immediately," she said.
A senior DG Shipping official said Indian intelligence agencies had been trying to work out a plan to save the sailors. Antony Litten, 56-year-old father of another sailor, Danitson Antony, said there was no response from the government. "I got his last call in July. He wanted to speak to my elder daughter and asked her to take care of me and my wife if he is killed by pirates," says Litten.
Manoj Joy of Sailors Helpline said the governments and political parties usually ignored such cases because the sailors community not a vote bank. "There is neither a policy to protect our sailors or rescue them from hijackers," he said.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Somali-pirates-want-16-men-freed-from-India/articleshow/16404727.cms
