he British couple held by Somali pirates have pleaded with the government to get them “out by Christmas, by whatever means”.
In their first telephone call for five weeks, Paul and Rachel Chandler urged the authorities to talk to their captors to help free them.
The Chandlers, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were kidnapped while they sailed their yacht, Lynn Rival, near the Seychelles in late October.
Paul Chandler, 59, a retired quantity surveyor, who sounded calm, said: “I would like to say to the British government: get us out by Christmas, by whatever means.” But indicating his disillusion, he added: “We don’t think there’s much chance, seriously.”
The Sunday Times obtained the interview with Chandler and his 55-year-old wife through a local journalist, “Omar”, who travelled to the area where they are being held and allowed them to speak to this newspaper via his mobile phone.
There were unconfirmed reports last week that the couple were on the verge of being freed for a $100,000 (£61,500) ransom when the government blocked the deal. In response to that claim, Chandler said: “We have no knowledge of what is happening in Britain except that we have been told that the government has refused to become involved.
“As far as we are concerned it is not a straightforward piracy business, it is a plain criminal kidnapping and … should be approached with a rather different approach than the government uses.
“When you have a criminal gang carrying out a kidnapping, [the government] should not be averse to negotiating with that gang and following it up with whatever means. I don’t think the government should step back and say ‘this is nothing to do with us’.”
The pirates had demanded a ransom of $7m but, when handed the phone, the gang’s leader would only say: “We do not wish to put a figure on the couple’s head but what I would say is that we are open to negotiations.”
The Foreign Office refuses to negotiate with hostage takers. A spokesman said: “We call for the release of Paul and Rachel. Our efforts are ongoing to secure the safe release of the couple. We are in close touch with the family.”
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) yesterday admitted that Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, had authorised a Royal Marine unit that witnessed the kidnapping to intervene. But it said it was the ship’s commander who decided it was unsafe to attempt a rescue.
The RFA Wave Knight was within 50 yards of the pirates and had a marine unit and a Merlin helicopter aboard. But Sir Mark Stanhope, the first sea lord, claimed the ship did not have the expertise required for a hostage rescue.
An MoD spokesman defended the failure to intervene. “It was entirely proper for those responsible for carrying out the operation to make tactical level decisions,” he said.
“Those responsible for carrying out the operation had to balance capabilities and possible actions against the risk to life.”
Pirates usually keep the crews aboard after hijacking ships. But they abandoned the Chandlers’ yacht and took them to the mainland. They are now moving around, living in Land Cruisers which are changed regularly.
The gang appears desperate to ransom the couple because other groups, including hard-line Islamists, are threatening to attack them.
When the Chandlers complained to Omar about the lack of communication to the outside world, he gave them his radio. He also gave them his pen.
The couple are drinking plenty of water but not eating well as they are finding it difficult to consume the local dishes of meat, rice, pasta and a traditional Somali pancake known as anjeero.
Omar said that Paul Chandler seemed to have lost weight since the couple were last seen in a film broadcast on November 20. The video showed them looking thin and fatigued, pleading for the government to start negotiating with the gangs and saying they might otherwise be killed.
Somali pirates do not normally harm their hostages but this case appears to be more complicated. In commercial piracy, the gangs deal with insurance firms or shipping companies which would eventually pay a ransom.
However, the Chandlers, who are both retired, had sold their house in Britain to go sailing and have no money.
Article sourced from Timesonline
