Eight months after 13 Sri Lankans were taken hostage from a Saudi Arabian cargo vessel by Somali pirates, their fate still remains unclear.
The External Affairs Ministry will summon the Saudi Ambassador Abdulhazis Abdulrahman Al-Jammaz for further talks on the issue next week.
This meeting follows an assurance by the Saudi authorities to Sri Lankan diplomatic missions in Jeddah and Riyadh that they would extend their fullest cooperation to seek the release of the Sri Lankans.
Though the owner of the Saudi vessel has agreed to pay the ransom of three million US dollars (Rs 335 million) demanded by the pirates, legal snags are causing a difficulty.
Reports from Riyadh say that while the Saudi Arabia Monitoring Agency (SAMA) has agreed to the payment of the ransom, the Saudi Interior Ministry has blocked the move saying there was no provision in the law for such payments.
They had also voiced concern that the hijackers might be connected to Islamic radical groups such as al Qaeda and that such monies would be pumped into terrorist activities, the official said.
Sabarullah Khan Lanka’s Head of Mission in Jeddah told the Sunday Times on the telephone that even Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had instructed his Government to address the issue without delay. |
E-mail
