Moves to tackle Daesh’s ransom demands

The beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and the negotiations for the release of the Jordanian pilot captured by Daesh (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) has the international media looking for solutions on how to deal with ransom demands till such time as the terrorist organisation can be defeated.

The Christian Science Monitor talks of the vulnerability of news-seekers in this age of terrorism. “Journalists are frequently targeted simply for doing their job of helping others better understand the world,” says its editorial. “Most people want this truth-telling service and might even pay for it. But often those in authority or those with guns seek to jail or kill a news messenger. The latest reporter to be killed by Daesh, Japanese freelancer Kenji Goto, knew the dangers of reporting near a war zone like that in Syria. He had once been captured by Al Qaida and released. Yet that should not prevent a reaffirmation of the journalist’s role in casting a healing light on the darkest corners of the human condition.”

As purveyors of truth, journalists are by default often players in those places where people some prefer to bend or avoid the truth, says the editorial. “As traditional media cut back on the number of reporters in foreign posts, the world must rely more on freelancers like Goto, or even “citizen journalists” who use social media. Protecting them is as necessary as protecting each person’s desire to “live in truth,” as the late Czech human-rights activist Vaclav Havel put it, and in the need to support a desire for peace among the innocent in a conflict.”

The Independent wonders if negotiating with terrorists on ransom makes sense in exceptional circumstances. “This newspaper has long opposed the payment of ransoms, on the grounds that doing so only encourages terrorist groups to seize more hostages, while providing them with the financial means to expand their deadly activities,” it says in its editorial. ”But both the US and Britain, the main proponents of this approach, have been sensible not to insist too forcefully that other countries, including some of their closest allies, do likewise. Now that prisoner exchanges are on the table, such tactfulness is even more sensible.”

Imagine, for example, it says, that Daesh had captured not a Jordanian but an American air force pilot, or was holding a British soldier it wanted to swap for a couple of terrorists held in a UK jail. “Only last year, let us not forget, the Obama administration traded five Taliban fighters from Guantanamo Bay for Bowe Bergdahl, the US army sergeant taken prisoner while serving in Afghanistan. “Isis [Daesh]... will not be going away soon. Equally certainly, there will be many more hostage cases to remind us of that fact,” it says.

The Guardian believes the change of strategy by Daesh in putting out ransom demands indicates it is losing its grip. “What is clear is that Isis [Daesh] is making up for battlefield reverses by this political use of hostages to split public opinion in a country opposed to it [Jordan]. It has lost Kobane after four months of fighting, it has been cleared out of Diyala province in Iraq, and its communication lines with Mosul are threatened. It obviously remains formidable, but air power is taking its toll. “Yet air power cuts both ways when the other side gets their hands on your pilots, as Jordan has discovered to its cost,” concludes the paper.

Japan’s Yomuiri Shimbun says the country’s decision to aid the coalition against Daesh is absolutely right. “Japan’s $200-million [Dh734 million] aid package pledged by Abe for countries in the Middle East is humanitarian assistance in non-military fields. It is intended to be used to provide food and medical services for displaced people and develop infrastructure. Only Isil [Daesh] has ignored international rules and continued nefarious and heinous crimes such as mass executions, looting, abductions and occupations,” says its editorial. “It is the duty of Japan, as a member of the global community, to join the international coalition against Isil. It is also essential for Japan to boost its support to the Middle East. It may take time to annihilate Isil. But Japan should not change its current stance of playing a role in the battle against terrorism and supporting Middle East nations standing at the forefront of the fight.”