DATE=8/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=AFGHAN PLANE / TUESDAY (L)
NUMBER=2-258937
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The Taleban's supreme leader in Afghanistan
has criticized what he calls international silence
over the hijacking of an Afghan airliner. As V-O-A's
Jim Teeple reports from Islamabad, Taleban authorities
there say talks between British negotiators and the
hijackers are moving forward positively.
Text: As the standoff continues between hijackers
holding the Ariana Airlines plane and British
authorities at Stanstead Airport outside London,
Taleban Supreme Leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is
criticizing what he calls international silence over
the hijacking.
In an interview with the Afghan Islamic Press -- an
independent news agency based in Pakistan -- Mullah
Omar says the hijacking is an act of terrorism, which
must be condemned. However, he says the world has
been silent over the hijacking. The Taleban leader
says, if a plane from another country had been
hijacked, there would have been a chorus of
condemnation from countries around the world.
Mullah Omar also says British authorities are -- in
his words -- "well equipped and capable of bringing an
end to the hijacking." Also on Tuesday, The Afghan
Islamic Press quotes the Taleban ambassador in
Islamabad as saying British diplomats have informed
Taleban authorities discussions between the hijackers
and British negotiators are moving forward positively.
In his interview, the Taleban leader said there will
be no negotiations between the Taleban and the
hijackers and no consideration given to any demand the
hijackers make. Hamid Gul is a retired Pakistani
general who once directed Pakistan's Interservices
intelligence bureau. He says Taleban authorities are
unlikely to ever consider dealing with the hijackers.
// GUL ACTUALITY //
Not at all. They do not care. You see these Afghan
people are very different. People do not seem to
understand that they will not succumb to pressure
because giving life and taking life is just sort of a
game for all these people
// END ACTUALITY //
In his interview, Mullah Omar says the Taleban have
not yet received any demand from the hijackers. The
Afghan Islamic Press says hijackers have asked for the
release of Ismail Khan -- a former governor of Herat
Province and a key military commander under former
President Burhanuddin Rabbani, whose forces were
defeated by the Taleban in 1996. Even though they are
unlikely to release Ismail Khan, some Taleban
officials have praised his abilities as a commander
who helped to defeat the Russian Army after it invaded
Afghanistan in 1979. (Signed)
neb/jlt/wd
08-Feb-2000 06:41 AM EDT (08-Feb-2000 1141 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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