Hostage in Somalia Urges Govt to Help End Captivity

Johannesburg _ A South Korean hostage being held by Somali pirates for five months Friday asked the Seoul government to expedite negotiations for release of him and 23 other fishermen, saying they were being treated like animals.

Two South Korean fishing boats were hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of the African country on May 15. The Mavuno 1 and Mavuno 2, owned by Daechang Fishing Co., were manned by four South Korean nationals and 20 other Asian nationals. They are believed to be held in a coastal village 400 kilometers from the capital city of Mogadishu.

The South Korean government has been under fire for its alleged lack of enthusiasm to free the hostages from the pirates, who have been demanding a ransom.

The Seoul government had taken the initiative in securing the release of 21 Korean hostages from Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan in July. The Christian aid workers were freed after more than one month in detention, although two others were killed.

"It has been five months since the Somali pirates abducted us. We urge the South Korean government and media to help us go back home," Han Suk-ho, the skipper of one of the hijacked ships, told Yonhap News Agency over the phone.

It was the first time that any of the hostages was allowed to speak with the media over the phone.

Han said that the kidnappers were treating the hostages roughly, often beating the crew with steel pipes to ask for money. Many of his crew are suffering severely from high fever and malaria and without access to any medicine, he said.

"When the hijackers get high after taking leaves called "khat" they tend to beat us more. One of my crew has loosened teeth and another has a split eardrum," he said.

All of the hostage are aboard the boats 24/7s, which at night are as dark as a dungeon, as they have now ran out of gas, according to Han.

"We are out of food, so we keep ourselves alive on the rice they give us. The rice is mixed with stones and sand. It isn't suitable even for animals," he said, sounding shaky.

"When they threaten to kill us, we shout back that we would rather die than live like this," he said.

South Korean government officials said in August that "considerable" progress has been made to free the two boats and their crew, but "it is premature" to say when it will occur.

The officials said the negotiations have involved the Korean owner of the two Tanzania-registered ships and the kidnappers. No South Korean government officials were involved, they said.

It appears that any momentum negotiation between the two sides may have had has slowed, as there has been no official announcements made regarding the hostage situation in Somalia for two months.

"(The government) should show the same efforts to get our people back from Somalia," said Rim Uh-jay, an office worker. "The crew had to go there to make a living. I feel sympathy for them, as they are not like those aid workers who went to Afghanistan despite the government's warning not to go."

(Yonhap)