The Hindu : The hostage crisis

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 09, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

The hostage crisis

IN THE ABSENCE of a sudden development, the Nagappa hostage crisis appears unlikely to blow over in a hurry with Veerappan laying down impossible conditions for negotiating the release of his captive. His demand that the two pro-LTTE activists, P. Nedumaran and Kolathur Mani, be sent as emissaries is truly absurd. The former has been booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) by the Jayalalithaa Government and the latter is lodged in a jail in Karnataka under TADA on charges of supplying arms and ammunition to Veerappan. Releasing such men to act as emissaries would have been extremely awkward in any circumstances but is simply out of question today. During the Rajkumar kidnap, the Supreme Court had strongly criticised the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka State Governments for contemplating the barter of those arrested under TADA for the release of the famous Kannada film star.

Both Mr. Nedumaran and Mr. Mani had played a role in the release of Mr. Rajkumar, who was abducted two years ago. Ever since the kidnap of the former Karnataka Minister, H. Nagappa, there was a strong suspicion that Veerappan may demand the release of Mr. Nedumaran and Mr. Mani in exchange for his hostage. Against this background, to ask that they be sent as emissaries seems like just a roundabout or oblique way of asking for their release. As things stand, the Tamil Nadu Government is highly unlikely to agree to send Mr. Nedumaran as an emissary. The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, has declared that any form of negotiation with the outlaw is out of the question; in any case, her Government can hardly afford to send the Tamil Desiya Iyakkam leader as an emissary barely a month after arresting him under POTA for making inflammatory speeches in support of the banned LTTE.

Given Mr. Nagappa's origins, the compulsions on the Karnataka Government are of a relatively different nature. The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, has ruled out sending Mr. Mani, who was arrested by the Karnataka police, as an emissary, perhaps an acknowledgement of the legal difficulties in releasing him. But what really distinguishes the reaction of the two Governments towards this abduction in comparison with that of Mr. Rajkumar is that the operation to catch the outlaw has neither been suspended nor wound down. The joining of a 150-member team of the National Security Guard (NSG) with the Special Task Force (STF) is an illustration of the fact that neither Tamil Nadu nor Karnataka is willing to call a halt to the operations — which incidentally Veerappan also demanded when asking for Mr. Nedumaran and Mr. Mani as emissaries.

The stepped up operations are partly a result of the belief that the STF has managed to identify the broad area of forest in which the outlaw and his gang are presently holed up. Eyewitness reports from the Ramapura forest range have buoyed hopes of apprehending the gang or at least forcing it to abandon Mr. Nagappa in order to facilitate its own escape. It is imperative that the STF makes the most of this opportunity — since the Rajkumar kidnap two years ago, the force has rarely been able to get a fix on the whereabouts of the outlaw and his gang. For the first time, the outlaw's game of abduction and ransom is being addressed in a firm and robust manner and without acquiescing to his unreasonable and illegal demands. These are extremely trying times for the relatives of Mr. Nagappa who, apart from everything else, have reason to be worried about his health. But in the absence of any communication from the outlaw which can be legally examined, the best strategy towards securing the release of the former Karnataka Minister lies in stepping up the pressure on the outlaw and forcing him to free his captive.

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