There can be no better demonstration of global citizenship than using the good offices of a country to secure the freedom of hostages, no matter which country they belong to. Qatar’s lead role in ensuring the release of American journalist Peter Theo Curtis after he spent 22 months in captivity by Al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate, has once again underscored the country’s sincere efforts at confronting militancy on all fronts.
Qatar “exerted relentless efforts” to obtain the release of the freelance journalist held in Syria “out of Qatar’s belief in the principles of humanity and its keenness on the lives of individuals and their right to freedom and dignity”, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Curtis’s mother said the family was “repeatedly told by representatives of the Qatari government that they were mediating for Curtis’ release on a humanitarian basis without the payment of money”. US Secretary of State John Kerry thanked Qatar for “the effort made to secure the release” of Curtis in a telephone call to HE the Foreign Minister Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah.
Qatar’s unique success in securing the release of Curtis without paying a ransom is sharply contrasted with a New York Times report on July 29 that Al Qaeda and its affiliates have taken in at least $125mn in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66mn was paid last year. These payments were made almost exclusively by some European governments, who sent the money through a network of proxies, sometimes wrapping it up as development aid, the NYT report said.
Qatar has mediated the release of foreign and Syrian captives on several occasions in the course of Syria’s three-year civil war. Al-Attiyah said earlier this year Qatar’s mediation had secured the release in March of 13 Greek Orthodox nuns after more than three months of being held as hostages. Qatar also helped win the release of 11 Lebanese Shias in October 2013 after 17 months in captivity.
Curtis’ release emerged just days after the Islamic State (IS), which operates in Iraq and Syria, posted a video on the Internet showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012.
Qatar condemned on Saturday the “barbaric” murder. “We are repelled by their (IS) views, their violent methods and their ambitions,” al-Attiyah said in a statement released in London. “The vision of extremist groups for the region is one that we have not, nor will ever, support in any way.”
The comments came a day after the German government apologised for unfounded remarks by a minister accusing Qatar of financing IS militants.
Qatar has always charted an independent foreign policy course like any other sovereign country does. The country’s goal is to do all it can to see peace and justice across the region with collective action as the key to ending the violence in Iraq and Syria, al-Attiyah said yesterday in an article posted on the French edition of Huffington Post. “The killing of innocent civilians and the forced flight of hundreds of thousands of people threaten the very existence of Iraq and the peace and security of the entire region,” he said.
