UN supports common rules on hostage deals

Rome, Apr 18: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he supports international rules being drawn up to deal with hostage crises such as that that ended with Italy freeing jailed Taliban in a move that angered the United States.

Ban, in comments published before he met Italy's foreign minister today, declined to say whether he agreed with the release of the five Taliban in return for Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo.

The Taliban beheaded the Italian's two Afghan colleagues.

''It's not up to me to say if what was done was right or wrong,'' he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

''To address the issue of kidnappings, common rules are needed, and the UN is the right place to put them forward. I invite all states, including Italy, to present such proposals to the General Assembly.'' Critics of the Taliban hostage deal, including Britain as well as the United States, said it encouraged kidnapping and endangered NATO troops by returning jailed guerrillas to the battlefield.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has agreed to ''initiate a debate'' on whether to have a policy on kidnappings.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, frustrated over the criticism, said last week that the United Nations and NATO should consider guidelines about appropriate ways to respond to kidnappings.

At the same time, D'Alema ruled out a blanket no-negotiation rule that would ''deny all countries their sovereign prerogative''. He says Italy's policy is to defend the life of its citizens.

The debate comes after a string of high-profile kidnappings of Western reporters, including BBC journalist Alan Johnston, kidnapped in Gaza more than a month ago.

An Islamist group said on Sunday it had killed him after British and Palestinian officials failed to freed some prisoners from Israeli jails. The BBC says it has not been able to confirm the claim.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban have recently kidnapped two French aid workers. The rebels have threatened to behead them and send their heads to Paris.

But Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said publicly that he rules out similar deals with the Taliban in future.

Reuters