Posted on 10/01/2004 7:11:01 PM PDT by 11th_VA
Italy's adoration of the "two Simonas", the women aid workers abducted in Iraq, began to sour yesterday, as the extent of their sympathy for the Iraqi fight against the allied occupation became clear.
In their first big interviews given since their release in return for a reported $1 million ransom on Tuesday, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, gave their backing to insurgents opposing the allied forces.
Miss Pari, when asked why she and her colleague had not asked on their return for the release of other hostages, said: "We didn't know there were any other hostages. No one told us about the British prisoner, nor about the Americans who were beheaded. I say that every life has to be saved, that the right to life is sacred everywhere.
"If you ask me about terrorism, I'll tell you that there is terrorism and there is resistance. The resistance struggle of people against an occupying force is guaranteed by international law."
The women's comments are likely to cause renewed anger in government circles, following their call soon after their release for Italy's peacekeeping forces to be withdrawn.
Miss Torretta admitted that was now studying Islam, although she denied that was planning to convert.
The two women have also ruffled feathers by thanking Italy's Islamic community for working for their release before thanking the government and the Italian Red Cross.
After they were taken hostage on Sept 7, the two Simonas achieved iconic status in Italy and the conservative government and the opposition put aside their differences to work together for the women's release.
But as the Turin newspaper La Stampa said yesterday, national unity has been short lived since their arrival home, wearing kaftans and thanking their captors in Arabic for their release before the cameras of the Al-Jazeera stellite television network.
Stokholm Syndrome?
Sheesh.....what a pair of traitors.
I now understand that beheading is fitting and proper in certain circumstances.
Their "kidnapping" was probably a setup from the beginning.
I guess I have to be critically skeptical of any British news source that has such difficulty in spelling the English language.
"I said it before the kidnapping and I repeat it today," she told Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview published on Friday. "You have to distinguish between terrorism and resistance. The guerrilla war is justified, but I am against the kidnapping of civilians."
She should be a writer for Kerry with that line ...
BINGO!!!
Ping. :)
Thanks Italy for enabling the terrorists. You will regret this.
Well, Hanoi Jane has some proteges in Italy.
Another ping. :)
That is an interesting theory. A way to get easy money from the Italians. What is a scam.
"Stokholm Syndrome?"
Don't think so. More like Red Diaper Babies looking for a new mama.
And then when they plead for their lives and nobody listens they will finally realize what this is all about!
They were part of their own "kidnapping", like the 3 Japanese "activists" earlier this year.
The left wingers have no conscience and will do ANYTHING to espouse their cause.
Seems likely.
Maybe that is why they want to return to Iraq - to collect their share of the ransom money.
I wonder how many Muslims prayed for their safe release like so many of us Cs & Js did.
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