'Release Margaret Hassan'

2004-10-23 11:36

London - The British and Irish governments have called for the immediate release of Margaret Hassan, the kidnapped director of Care International in Iraq, with London saying the videotape showing her crying was "extremely distressing."

"I have the greatest sympathy for what her family is suffering," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in a statement late on Friday. "Margaret Hassan has spent more than 30 years working for the Iraqi people. We hope all Iraqis will join us in calling for her immediate release."

"The video of Margaret Hassan which has been released by her kidnappers is extremely distressing," he said.

The video, aired by the Arabic television station Al-Jazeera on Friday, showed her weeping and pleading with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to withdraw his country's troops from Iraq.

She said she might be killed

She said she might be killed like British hostage Kenneth Bigley, who was beheaded by his captors earlier this month.

Hassan, an Irish-British-Iraqi national, was abducted on Tuesday in Baghdad. She had been doing relief work in Iraq for three decades.

In Dublin, Irish premier Bertie Ahern appealed for the release of Hassan, who was born in Ireland and has an Irish passport.

"The people of Ireland have been shocked by the kidnapping of Margaret Hassan," he said. "She is a person who has selflessly worked for the benefit of her Iraqi fellow citizens and fought for the rights of the Iraqi people for many years.

Ahern said, "Taking Margaret from her family is a cruel and shocking act. To harm her in any way would be unthinkable. I call on her captors, on behalf of the government and people of Ireland, to release her immediately."

On Wednesday, the Irish parliament unanimously supported a call for Hassan's release.

In Britain, Blair's popularity at home has been hurt by the Iraq war, which many citizens and legislators opposed, especially after the premier's main argument for the conflict - Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction - turned out to be inaccurate.

Blair has repeatedly tried to replace the Iraq debate with domestic issues, looking ahead to a national election expected next year.

On Friday, a friend of Hassan's, Felicity Arbuthnot, sharply criticised Blair, claiming on BBC radio that comments he had made about the kidnappers could reduce her chances of being freed. - AP

- SAPA