Finally, the remaining nineteen Korean hostages returned home safely from Afghanistan. But most people do not have a positive opinion about their return. ST has researched the negotiation process during the past two months........................................................................................................Ed.
Have you heard any recent news about a Muslim country?
▲ Twelve people are set free first.
Three years after South Korean Kim Sun-il was kidnapped and killed in Iraq in 2004, 23 Koreans were kidnapped again in Afghanistan in July this year. They are members of Saem-mul church in Bundang and went to Afghanistan as missionary volunteers. This incident caught the attention not only of Koreans but also of people around the entire world. Soongsil Times surveyed opinions about this incident and the Taleban.
Details on the Major Events
▲ The news shows the negotiation is going smoothly.
Many things have happened during the past two months. On July 19th, twenty-three people were kidnapped in Afghanistan. On July 21st, the Taleban demanded the withdrawal of Korean troops and the release of Taleban prisoners. On July 24th, the Taleban demanded the exchange of eight Taleban prisoners for eight Korean hostages. On July 25th, the Taleban killed Pastor Bae Hyung-gyu. On July 26th, the voice of one of the female hostages Lim Hyun-joo was broadcast. On July 29th, Baek Jongcheon, Chief Presidential Secretary for Foreign and Security Affairs, met the President of Afghanistan as the presidential envoy. On July 30th, the Taleban declared that the negotiation had failed. On July 31st, the Taleban murdered Sim Sung-min who was one of the hostages. On August 3rd, the Taleban requested closed negotiations with the Korean Government. On August 6th, a summit between U.S. and Afghan leaders declared that there would be compensation for negotiation. On August 10th, the Korean government and the Taleban negotiated for the first time. On August 11th, the Taleban announced the decision to release two female hostages. On August 13th, the Taleban set Kim Gyeong-ja and Kim Ji-na free.
Who is the Taleban?
▲ Picture of those who were kidnapped
The Taleban is a fundamentalist Islamic militia that began as a student Islamic fundamentalist organization in Afghanistan. Taleban literally means “students of Islamic knowledge”. Some students who had grabbed guns instead of pencils stood together against the influence of militarists and expanded their influence. Finally, they took power in 1996 and ruled over Afghanistan. The Taleban had a warm welcome from the Afghan government who had been suffering from war. Before long, however, the Taleban was criticized by the international community due to the reign of terror using an Islam law called Sharia. They restricted the activities of women. They even cut the bodies of sinners and had public executions. Furthermore, the Taleban totally destroyed Bamiyan Buddha statues following their Islam law forbidding idolatry. The Taleban collapsed after the September 11 attacks in 2001. U.S. President Bush, at that time pointed at Osama Bin Laden as the wirepuller of the attacks and asked the Taleban for help. However, the Taleban rejected the demand. U.S. and U.K. forces started to attack Afghanistan and they fought to dethrone the Taleban regime.
What does the Taleban want?
Many experts maintain that the real purpose of killing the two Korean hostages was the release of their comrades rather than the withdrawal of Korean troops or money. A spokesman for the Taleban claimed that they killed the hostages since the Afghan government ignored their demands to release their comrades.
The reaction of the Korean government and the world
▲ The result of the negotiation
There has been fierce criticism of the Taleban. For example, U.S. President Bush criticized the Taleban as being heartless murderers with no respect for humans. The Afghan President also said the Taleban are defeated and they are not a threat at all to the Afghan government. People all over the world have the same opinion. The Korean government is making attempts to meet the kidnappers face to face. The plan to include Afghanistan in the lists of ‘banned to visit’ countries such as Somalia or Iraq is also now under consideration by the government.
The Future of the Korean hostages and the Taleban
As we know, on August 13th, the Taleban set the two female hostages free. A presidential official said that the Korean government did not pay any ransom for the hostages’release. When the two male hostages were killed, most people worried that the situation would worsen. However, the Korean government attempted to meet the Taleban and reached a mutual agreement of releasing the two hostages after negotiation. The entire world including Korea and Afghanistan is hoping that the remaining nineteen hostages will return home safely.
