Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=10/20/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=AUSTRALIA IRAQ AID - L-O

NUMBER=2-319784

BYLINE=PHIL MERCER

DATELINE=SYDNEY

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

HEADLINE: Global Aid Agency Suspends Work in Iraq After Baghdad Kidnapping

INTRO: The international aid organization CARE has suspended its work in Iraq following the kidnapping of its most senior official in Baghdad. Margaret Hassan was taken hostage on Monday as she drove to her office in Baghdad. She was employed through the charity's offices in Australia. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

TEXT: CARE Australia says it is not clear who abducted Margaret Hassan or why, but it believes she has not yet been harmed. The aid group's Iraq efforts, which Mrs. Hassan runs, are directed out of Sydney.

The agency's office in Australia said Wednesday that it has suspended its operations in Iraq, although it has not withdrawn its staff.

The Arabic television station al-Jazeera on Tuesday showed footage of the captured aid worker sitting in a room and looking distressed.

Robert Glasser, the head of CARE Australia, says every effort is being made to secure Mrs. Hassan's freedom.

/// ACT ROBERT GLASSER ///

"The fact that there's a video is worrying but fundamentally our concern is for Margaret's safety and, I suppose it goes without saying, that we are doing absolutely everything in our power, everything that's humanly possible, to seek Margaret's release. It's a very difficult situation and you'll appreciate that it's a very sensitive situation as well."

/// END ACT ///

CARE Australia officials say she has been doing aid in Iraq for more than 25 years, working primarily with the "poorest of the poor."

Born in Dublin, she is married to an Iraqi, is fluent in Arabic and has both British and Iraqi nationality.

CARE International is one of the world's largest humanitarian relief organizations, with a presence in dozens of countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Its operations in Iraq have focused on providing medical services and restoring access to clean water.

Many other aid agencies have pulled their foreign employees out of Iraq and have curtailed operations in the past few months because of the series of kidnappings and murders of civilian workers. In September, two Italian aid workers were kidnapped and held hostage for three weeks before being set free. (Signed)

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