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The simultaneous kidnapping of three Japanese, one Briton and two Israeli Arabs in Iraq on Thursday shocked the world. The number of Koreans being abducted is also increasing; on Thursday, seven Korean missionaries were taken hostage and released.
There is concern that these kidnappings are a "strategic choice" made by armed anti-American forces in Iraq. Kidnappings of foreigners have suddenly increased following the opening of a "second war" by the "al-Mahdi Army" (a Shia militia) in places in central and southern Iraq on April 4.
Generally speaking, Iraqi citizens have favorable feelings toward Koreans. There were no kidnappings of Koreans before the start of the uprising. When Shia militiamen kidnapped two Korean relief workers in Nasiriyah on Tuesday, they were treated with much goodwill.
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Three Japanese protesters hold a banner calling for the withdrawal of Japanese troops from Iraq in front of the Lower House of Parliament in Tokyo, Friday./Newsis
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The kidnapping of the two relief workers was due to the extremely confusing situation in Iraq in which its difficult to tell who is who and what is what. On Tuesday, Shia militiamen in Kufa seized a party of New York Times journalists when the former mistook the later as American, Spanish or Israeli intelligence operatives. All the kidnappings that have occurred so far were the result of foreigners being mistaken as intelligence operatives.
The kidnapping of the Korean missionaries seems to have occurred for the same reason.
On the other hand, in the case Briton who disappeared in Nasiriyah on Wednesday, it's only presumed he was kidnapped, and information has yet to come in. Moreover, AP relayed Israeli media reports that two people presumed to be Arabs who reside in Jerusalem were kidnapped in Iraq Thursday.
Cases in which armed Iraqi forces kidnap individuals intentionally, however, are serious. The Arab broadcasting network Al-Jazeera broadcasted scenes of the three kidnapped Japanese (two men and a woman), blindfolded and seated on the ground, surrounded by unknown figures wearing masks and carrying guns. Al-Jazeera also broadcasted images of the Japanese passports and ID cards so everyone would know who they are. The "Saraya al-Mujahideen," the group responsible for the kidnapping, said, "Three of your sons have fallen into our hands... We offer you two choices: either pull out your forces or we will burn them alive."
The group also said, "We give you three days starting the day this tape is broadcast." The two Japanese men are 32-year-old photojournalist Koriyama Soichiro and 18-year-old civic activist Imai Noriaki. The woman is 34-year-old volunteer worker Takato Nahoko.
The kidnapping of the Japanese shows that in the days ahead, the kidnapping of foreigners by rebels in Iraq might become based on intentional and strategic choices. Such kidnappings would be conducted with the intention of creating an anti-war atmosphere in countries either with troops in Iraq or planning to send troops to Iraq. Already, we have the example of Spain, in which Al-Qaeda terrorist bombings on Madrid trains, which resulted in the death of 191 individuals, prompted a decision on the part of the government to withdraw its troops. With Korea soon to deploy troops to Iraq in earnest, there is talk that Korean civilian relief workers in Iraq could become kidnapping targets.
(Jeong Gwon-hyeon, khjung@chosun.com )
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