LET OUR ACTIONS SPEAK.........

LET OUR ACTIONS SPEAK......

MEA on IRAQ

LET OUR ACTIONS SPEAK …..

Ministry of external affairs on Tuesday said there has been bombing and firing in the vicinity of the hospital building in Tikrit where the 46 nurses from India, all of them from Kerala, are stranded, but added they were safe and unharmed. Though the situation prevails in the city of Tikrit is extremely delicate, the MEA spokesperson was hopeful of extricating the unfortunate citizens form the war hit zone as early as possible. The nurses continued to remain confined to the hospital premise which is about 140 kilometer northeast of Baghdad, where a fierce gun battle took place between ISIS rebels and Kurdish armed fighters on Monday. Yet on Friday night, the hospital's emergency block was hit by a stray bomb dropped from an Iraqi government helicopter gunship that killed three patients. The local staff was fled to safety whereas Indian nurses stayed put as they had no choice. This incident reveals the plight of those 46 nurses stuck in a never ending nightmare that is being lived by many other Indians elsewhere in Iraq. Conflicting reports emanating from different sources regarding heavy fighting and bombardment going on in the vicinity of the hotel adds fuel to the already devastated family members of the nurses here in Kerala. Reports that the Indian authorities have asked the nurses to stay put in the building when the local people offered to take these nurses to Mossul on Monday as the building was under threat of being bombed have angered a few relatives here. While nurses from the other states decided to move out, those from Kerala sought advice from the Indian authorities who in turn advised against any such move as they don’t know what is actually happening there.  All this shows the predicament of stranded Indians in Iraq is more critical than meets the eye.  

One doesn’t know the underlying motive beneath the holding of Indians and the other foreign nationals under captivity. Though the India authorities feel that ISIS’ intention of taking Indian hostages was for publicity and not to kill as the outfit has no direct enmity with India, no one could rule out the possibility of terrorist using their presence as a strategic human buffer between themselves and the expected future military interventions by international community. In the wake of any move to rescue the hostages was being countered by the ISIS so far, it is assumed that the ISIS seems to be least interested in negotiations or in seeking ransom in exchange for the release of the hostages. Their decision to hold the hostages until the threat of any international interference dies down, gives a clear indication of their true intentions. They may also force the captivated civilians to assist them to make emplacements for their own defenses thereby exposing them to catastrophic ramifications on a later stage.  
   

My intention here is not to diagnose or provide any off the rack solution to the impending crisis in Iraq nor to evaluate the efforts so far made by the government of India to rescue the stranded Indians as we have a very effective and experienced panel of experts in the national crisis management committee who are competent enough to deal with such critical issues. They have been working overtime to ensure the release of the nurses as well as the 39 Indian hostages abducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS) in Iraq. But it will be a tough task ahead for the government. Rescuing those who are confined in the middle of a killing zone and subsequently bringing them to safety for further evacuation to India, particularly when we have still not been able establish any direct contact with the outfit is going to be a gargantuan task. Let us hope that the Indian think tank will find a solution to this problem even by persuading the religious authorities in Iraq as they are reasonably capable of ending the sedition. Let’s also hope that India’s efforts to seek the assistance of the Red Crescent Society in Iraq to engage in talks with the ISIS will be fruitful. 

Under the present circumstance, a commando operation aimed to rescue the hostages is not feasible or possible because of the enormous geopolitical instability of the region. Such attempts would have unforeseen and intricate consequences. There is little that even the most powerful nations can do to tackle the situation in Iraq. Any country would have a very limited means to extricate any of their national stranded in the war zone apart from ordering their domestic security agencies to explore every humanly possible means to ensure the safety of their citizens. 

As of now the stranded civilians are connected to the outside world but no one is sure what to expect tomorrow or what happens next. We should anticipate a situation where in the communication towers are bombarded by either Shia militia or by ISIS particularly in the wake of continues helicopter borne assault on areas where the rebels are occupied. And once the Shia militia conquers the city no one would be able to step out of their houses. There will be total communication black out in Iraq. The best any government can do under such circumstance is to intensify its efforts and try every possible means including negotiations with the religious leaders by sending a high level delegation to Iraq with a clearly stated and well crafted strategy to win over the religious leaders in Iraq, particularly the Sunni tribal leaders. 

While appreciating the government decision to send a war ship INS Mysore to the Persian Gulf and placing the three Air-India planes on standby to bring back the nationals lost in the non-conflicting zones, we should certainly not forget our immediate task that is to bring the traumatized hostages out of the danger zone.  Obviously there are allegations that the efforts taken by the government to rescue its stranded citizens in Iraq were proving futile. Here it is important to ensure that the people should not feel that the government is deliberately concealing information to make itself looks better. The MEA should refrain from making exaggerated or unwarranted claims. The government should take the nation into confidence over this issue and infuse confidence among the country men that they will leave no stone unturned to rescue our hapless countrymen stranded in Iraq. Let our actions speak... 


P.S:- Dated-3/7/2014:-  Yesterday, in this article, I've expressed my reasonable apprehension about the possibility of using the stranded Indians in Iraq by ISIS to assist them to make emplacements for their own defenses thereby exposing them to catastrophic ramifications on a later stage. However my apprehension has unfortunately proven to be true after reading a story in today's "The Hindu" newspaper which carry the head line "Indians in Mosul used for labour" (Page-10). According to the article, they said, I quote.."Indian construction workers trapped in Mosul have been press ganged to build earthworks and defensive fortifications by Islamist insurgents holding the city" Unquote.
It is indeed a sad state of affairs. We can only hope that the Government of India rise to the challenge and that the international community pay urgent attention to take whatever measures required to rescue the hostages and other stranded nationals. The danger is looming large on Iraq and the issue leaves no room for procrastination...
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/indians-in-mosul-used-for-forced-labour/article6170293.ece