The Government has sought urgent meetings with Saudi authorities both in Colombo and Riyadh to secure the release of 14 Sri Lankan seafarers aboard the Saudi-flagged MV Al Nisr that was hijacked by Somali pirates, after their captors had reportedly threatened to harm them, relatives and a senior External Affairs Ministry official said yesterday.
Somadasa Wijeysundera -with the Consular Division at the Ministry told the Sunday Times that a meeting has been arranged with Saudi Embassy officials in Colombo early next week, while Colombo’s mission in Riyadh has sought an appointment with the Interior Ministry in that country.
The Saudi Interior Affairs Ministry has blocked the ransom payment of $ three million to the pirates even though the ship owner (International Bunkers Company) had agreed to pay the sum, Mr. Wijeysundera said.
Saudi authorities are delaying the approval of this payment since they suspect the pirates and their handlers to be linked to al Quaeda and other extremist Islamic groups, he added.
Another concern is that the oncoming Muslim Ramazan fasting period, which begins next Tuesday or Wednesday, would affect negotiations as work at public institutions slows down to almost a snail crawl in that country, Mr. Wijeysundera further said.
Director General of Merchant Shipping A.W.H.S.S.R. Weerakoon said his department was handicapped in this matter since the group of Sri Lankans had failed to register with a shipping agent sanctioned by the Ports and Aviation authority.
“There is an agreement that has to be signed between the agent and the seafarer before he leaves on a voyage. But this was not followed in this particular case,” Mr. Weerakoon said.
Tudor Jayasinghe whose son is a hostage said according to latest reports from Somali, the pirates were getting impatient and were meting out harsh treatment to the seafarers. “The meals have been reduced to one a day, and the Lankans have been forced to sleep out on the open deck at night while the pirates occupy the cabins”, Mr. Jayasinghe said. His son Iranga Jayasinghe is the Chief Engineer of the vessel. His concerns were also echoed by Mrs. A. Robinson and Mareena Soysa whose son and husband respectively, are also on board the same vessel.
Meanwhile Palitha Athukorale- President of the Sri Lanka Seafarers Association said the local authorities had failed in their diplomatic efforts to seek the release of the seamen.
He added that although Colombo does not maintain a diplomatic mission in Somalia, the authorities should, nonetheless activate some sort of diplomacy from a neighbouring country or even reach out to an international rights forum to settle the issue. “Passing the buck from Colombo to Riyadh and vice versa is not the proper way to go about solving it. We are talking about human lives that are at risk here,” he further warned.
The Saudi-flagged MV Al Nisr was seized by Somali pirates on March 1, this year from the Gulf of Aden and later taken to the pirate stronghold of Garacad where it continues to be anchored to date. |
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