Posted on 11/14/2003 6:38:06 PM PST by Prodigal Son
VIENNA, Austria -- An Austrian man who was among 17 Europeans taken hostage by Islamic extremists in the Sahara Desert said Friday that he had recently received a friendly call from his main captor, who was concerned about his well-being.
Ingo Bleckmann, a 60-year-old from Salzburg who was held for nearly two months before being freed in May, said the unnamed Algerian man called him at his home to express remorse for his actions.
"At 6 a.m. the phone rang," Bleckmann said in an interview on state television. "He was pleased to hear that all the former hostages are doing well. In that time (during the hostage taking), we managed to build a very good personal relationship. So I was really happy that he called to ask about us and to wish us all the best."
Bleckmann was among a group of tourists kidnapped in March in the Sahara by a group of about 30 Islamic fundamentalists. The hostages - 10 Austrians, six Germans and a Swede - were released unharmed May 13 in an Algerian commando raid. Bleckmann's 25-year-old son Andreas was also in the group.
The kidnappers remain at large.
A second group of 15 Europeans was also taken hostage around the same time. A 45-year-old German woman in that group died of heatstroke in late June, two months before the other 14 were finally freed.
Asked how the kidnapper knew his home phone number, Bleckmann said he had given him a business card while in captivity. Bleckmann has emerged as the main spokesman for the group, in part because he speaks French well, the only common language with the Algerian kidnappers.
He said he was taken aback when he first heard the voice on the phone, but then recognized the distinct accent of the man on the line.
Bleckmann also said the man apologized for what he had done.
"It was clear to him that this was an act of terror against people not involved" in Algerian politics, Bleckmann said.
Algerian authorities blamed the kidnapping on the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, which is fighting to topple the country's military-backed government and has been linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network.
Just days after Austrian members of Bleckmann's group returned home, Bleckmann said the captors told him they were trying to raise awareness that Islamic fundamentalists were being prevented from taking power even though they had won democratic elections in 1992 by a large majority.
He and most of the other Austrians described their captors as humane and religious men who never put the hostages' lives in danger. Many even expressed understanding for the motives of the kidnappers.
Bleckmann was cited Friday by the Austria Press Agency as saying he and his son are making a movie about the hostage crisis to raise awareness of the plight of the fundamentalists.
He said he had met in Vienna with the Algerian prime minister to ask that the kidnappers not be given the death penalty, should they be arrested.
"These are valuable human beings," Bleckmann said. "They are also open to dialogue with the Algerian government."
You are now entering Stockholm. Leave all other reality behind.
Oh, come on. You have no idea if you'd feel any differently after so long in captivity. This is a phenomenom that doesn't strike by nationality. It strikes the human mind. There aren't special Euro receptors that the condition attaches to that Americans don't have.
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