Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2003

MSF: Abduction a Scandal

Reuters

GENEVA -- International charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said Monday that Russia's failure to secure the release of a Dutch aid worker kidnapped a year ago in the North Caucasus was a "scandal."

MSF reaffirmed there was evidence that Arjan Erkel, who was abducted in Dagestan, was alive, but accused the Russian authorities of showing little interest in finding him.

"It is a scandal that, after one year, our colleague Arjan Erkel is still missing. This can only be attributed to the mishandling of the investigation and a lack of commitment," it said in a statement released in Geneva.

Arjan was seized by three armed men on Aug. 12, 2002, in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, on the eastern border of Chechnya.

Erkel is the only foreign aid worker still held by kidnappers in the North Caucasus, where MSF is among the most active charities working with refugees fleeing the Chechnya violence.

MSF also pointed the finger at the Dutch government saying it had been excessively cautious in its handling of the case, while other Western governments had been reluctant to press Russia too hard on the question.

"It is difficult to understand why governments have been so reluctant over the past year to hold the Russian authorities accountable for their lack of commitment in resolving this case," it said.

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Relatives and colleagues of kidnapped Dutch demand more government action to secure his release

August 12, 2003 Posted: 16:55 Moscow time (12:55 GMT) 
 
MOSCOW - Relatives and colleagues of a Dutch aid worker kidnapped in southern Russia near Chechnya demanded Tuesday that the Russian government made greater efforts to liberate him - exactly a year since his disappearance.

Standing in drizzle and clutching a banner reading "Where's Arjan?" a group of about 30 people gathered outside the former headquarters of the KGB calling on the Russian authorities to do more to free Arjan Erkel, a 33-year-old doctor kidnapped on Aug.12 2002 in the Russian republic of Dagestan.

"We want to appeal to the authorities to do the best they can to solve Arjan's case," his sister, Roos Erkel, said.

Erkel, who headed the North Caucasus mission of Medecins Sans Frontieres - also known as Doctors Without Borders - was snatched by three unidentified gunmen in the region which borders Chechnya.

The doctor's father, Dick Erkel, welcomed assurances made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, to Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende in May that Russia would deploy more resources to resolve the case but said it was time to do more.

"We are grateful for what they have done but we can only be satisfied when we get Arjan back," he said.
In November, Russian authorities closed the investigation into Erkel's disappearance, but reopened the inquiry in May this year following pressure from the Dutch government.

Medecins Sans Frontieres - or MSF - said the investigation into Erkel's kidnapping had been a "failure" and expressed its "indignation" at the lack of results in the inquiry.

"It is a scandal that, after one year, our colleague Arjan Erkel is still missing. This can only be attributed to the mishandling of the investigation and a lack of commitment by Russian authorities," the organization said in a statement.

The Interfax news agency on Tuesday quoted the Dagestani prosecutor's office as saying it was continuing its investigation into Erkel's kidnapping.

"The investigation into the case continues. Law enforcement services are trying to trace both the abducted man and his abductors," spokesman Ali Temirbekov told Interfax.

The United Nations also reiterated an appeal for Erkel's safe and immediate release and condemned his abduction. The International Committee of the Red Cross also released a statement calling for his
release.

"Such actions undermine the effective provision of humanitarian assistance to the thousands of civilians in need in the North Caucasus," The U.N. Russia office said in a statement.

Last week, Medecins Sans Frontieres said the Dutch Embassy in Moscow had received a videotape showing recent pictures of Erkel. The doctor, who appeared to be in good health, spoke in Russian and asked for ransom money for his captors.

The organization has refused to pay a ransom because it says it would jeopardize the safety of other aid workers, but has not ruled out a non-monetary exchange for Erkel's freedom.

Dagestan, an ethnically mixed region on the eastern border of Chechnya, is plagued by violence including bombings and shootings, as are other republics in the Caucasus region.

/The Associated Press/

Comment: The MSF people should perhaps seriously think about if the time of careful diplomacy might be over now. They should state clearly and loudly what they really think: that number one suspects of being behind this abduction are the Russian authorities itself.