Warning Against Taliban
Islamic Militants Should Give Up Terrorism Immediately
Nineteen South Korean Christian aid workers returned home safely Sunday, ending six weeks of captivity in Afghanistan. They showed mixed feelings _ joy over their freedom and anxiety over troubles they caused the people. We hope they will soon recover from the shock and pain they suffered during the ordeal. We also call on the nation to wisely deal with the aftermath of the incident.
Unfortunately, the nation is sharply divided over the volunteers' responsibility for their own safety; the role of the government in tackling the unprecedented crisis; and who should pay the costs for the negotiated solution. The public should refrain from irrational and emotional responses to the hostage case. It is imperative for the nation to show tolerance and compassion to help the released abductees and their families heal their trauma.
People will have to take a coolheaded and rational approach to deal with controversies over Christian missions in conflict-laden regions, direct negotiations with terrorist groups and allegations about ransom. Resorting to finger-pointing and name-calling might only serve the interests of the cold-blooded captors. We will have to take note of the Taliban's move following the release of their captives.
On Saturday, the Taliban threatened to abduct more foreigners, apparently emboldened by the Seoul government's face-to-face negotiations with the insurgents. The United States and Germany are firmly clinging to the policy of no negotiations with terrorists. Thus, South Korea faces criticism from the international community for breaking the norm and giving in to terrorists.
The Taliban are seen as successful in their efforts to regain political legitimacy because they engaged in negotiations with a foreign government for the first time since they were ousted from power in 2001. The Islamic rebels also extracted concessions from South Korea. Under an agreement with the Taliban, the Roh Moo-hyun administration promised to pull out 200-strong South Korean troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year although the withdrawal was planned well before the hostage incident. Korean negotiators also accepted the kidnappers' demand that the Roh government should stop Korean missionary work in Afghanistan by the end of December.
Thus, the insurgents went even so far as to claim the hostage-taking as a ``great victory.'' ``We will do the same thing with other allies in Afghanistan, because we found this way to be successful,'' the Associated Press (AP) quoted Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi as saying. A Taliban commander also told Reuters that they received more than $20 million from the Seoul government as ransom for the freedom of the abductees. He was also quoted as saying that the Taliban will purchase arms, renew communication networks and buy vehicles for carrying out more suicide attacks. How can they justify the killing of two of the 23 Korean abductees?
The hostage crisis followed the Taliban's successful swapping of a kidnapped Italian journalist for five of their fighters held in Afghan jails in March. The militants must have been encouraged by the deal to press ahead with more kidnappings. But they must realize that they are committing flagrant crimes against humanity whatever their causes are. We urge them to immediately stop such terrorist acts, including hostage-taking, civilian killings and drug trafficking. We warn them that these crimes could only lead to their self-destruction.