Author:
Publication: Mea.gov.in
Date: July 4, 2014
URL: http://www.mea.gov.in/media-briefings.htm?dtl/23559/Transcript+of+Media+Briefing+by+Official+Spokesperson+July+04+2014

Official Spokesperson (Shri Syed Akbaruddin):Good afternoon friends and thank you for coming here this afternoon.

It has been a day of dramatic developments. It has been a day when we started with some of you thinking that we were moving towards a hopeless end, but there were others like us who were full of endless hope. Ultimately, it is hope that has triumphed.

I can confirm to you that those Indian nurses who were yesterday moved against their will are now free. They are in touch with our Embassy officials who are positioned in Erbil for just this eventuality.

We had envisaged this earlier and, therefore, had sent our officials from Baghdad to Erbil to ensure that if this option was going to happen, they would be available to receive them. They are now in contact with those Indian nurses. The process is under way for their return to India.

This process did not happen just like that; it happened because there was an enormous amount of effort that was put in both within Iraq and outside Iraq. We have not shared those details with you previously for the simple reason that when there is an operation under way we cannot share those details. Yet, some of you thought this was a hopeless situation. Let me tell you, there are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about situations.

The success that we have had in extricating those 46 Indian nationals makes us redouble our efforts for those who still are in captivity. And I can confirm to you that as of yesterday we have received confirmed reports of them still being in captivity.

As regards those 46 nurses, our estimation is that they will move to Erbil tonight. Even as we speak, an Air India plane has taken off from New Delhi and we expect it to land late tonight following which it is expected that the 46 nurses along with 70 others who have come to Erbil from Kirkuk will be brought back. The plane will first fly to Kochi and will drop the nurses there. And if there are any who want the nearest airport to be Delhi, they would come to Delhi. So, the plane will fly from Erbil to Kochi first following which, if required, to Delhi. A senior Indian diplomat, a Joint Secretary level officer, is on that plane, and he will ensure the coordination between us and the Kurdish authorities as well as aviation authorities.

I would like to repeat the plea that I made last time. That is, it is time now for us to turn to each other and not on each other. Friends, please have hope and faith that the Government is doing all it can to ensure the return of Indian nationals in extremely difficult circumstances.

These are circumstances where conventional tools of diplomacy no longer exist on the ground because these are conflict areas. So, we are working at two levels. There is one level where the External Affairs Minister herself is leading the diplomatic effort and that is she is interacting with a host of her counterparts. Some of you have written today that she is in touch with a certain group of counterparts. Let me tell you that the engagements and the interactions of the External Affairs Minister go far beyond what has been written about. We do not want to make public what our diplomatic effort is at the international level. In fact, the number of discussions that she has had is perhaps three to four times what has been written about.

At this stage there are other issues on the ground and we are unable to share those details with you. We will certainly share those with you once the entire picture is clear. At this stage we have succeeded in extricating 46 of our nationals from the zone of conflict, but there remain several others. Those of you who are following us are aware that there remain a significant number of them who are still in the zone of conflict. We are working on those. In fact, the resources that now will get freed from this effort will be pushed into that other effort.

Let me assure you that we will leave no stone unturned in trying to get back our nationals from an extremely difficult position where, as I said, on the ground conventional instrumentalities of diplomacy are not available. Yet, we are in contact using very unconventional methods. All I can tell you is, have trust, have faith; ultimately waiting and hoping is the best that you can do in these circumstances.

My plea to you is, please do not run stories which have no factual basis. This morning it was extremely disturbing to see a quotation from a person who was in captivity. Obviously when people are in captivity they would say a lot of things. But to highlight that and to try and trash whatever hope is left, is hardly the best way of trying to help our nationals. So, may I request you again, please do not turn on each other; let us turn to each other and work together.

I will answer any questions that you have on any of these aspects.

Question:Sir,kya aaj aap is situation mein hain ki hamein yeh bataa sakein ki kya vaaqayi ISIS ke log thei jinhon ne inko kabze mein rakha tha Hindustaniyon ko? Aur kya inki kuchh shartein bhi maanni padi hamein inki release ko secure karne ke liye?

Official Spokesperson:Ashish, jaise ki aap jaante hain aur maine bataaya hai, 46 log nikal chuke hain kabze se, lekin kayi aur kabze mein hain. Aap thoda dhairya rakhiye, thoda dheeraj rakhiye.As I said, please wait and hope with all of us that we will be able to succeed in this endeavour. It is a national endeavour, it is not an individual or a group. So, please wait. Once this is over, we are willing to share information like I have shared now with you that the contacts were not only at the diplomatic level - they were very extensive at the diplomatic level, some have proved successful – but also at the ground level there are contacts under way. So, it is a multiplicity of contacts that help in such an endeavour. And rest assured, all those are under way. India after all has friends not only in Iraq but outside Iraq. Rest assured that the support that we are getting from within and outside is very substantial.

Question:Sir, aapne kaha ki jin logon ki madad se yeh sab kuchh sambhav ho paaya un logon ko aap ek baar phiruse karenge taaki 39 Indians ki bhi vaapasi ho. Toh kya hum sakte hain ki donon groups ko ek hi logon ne apne kabze mein rakha tha?

Official Spokesperson:Behatar hai ki is baare mein kuchh der baad aap savaal karein. Kaun kisko kabze mein rakha hai aaj,this is not proper for me to respond. I can tell you, they are in captivity. We are aware of the captors. We are engaged on the ground and at a diplomatic level on all these aspects. At this stage our primary goal is to ensure that they are brought out of captivity. This is a war situation.

Again let me repeat, we do not have the capabilities that ordinarily you would have in a situation where there is no conflict. These are extremely tenuous links that we are building. Anything that we do to undermine them is not going to help us in the long run. At this stage, as we build those tenuous links and linkages, please rest assured that every effort is being done. I will not get into who are the captors because once this is done we will reveal all those elements to you and you will have a clearer picture. Like you had trust in us yesterday - and I am grateful for those of you who had trust - please have trust yet again. We are working on this.

Question:Syed, sabse pehle toh bahut mubaarak dena chahungi apko ki itni badi upalabdhi aapko mili. Is release se joh 39 log hain unki families mein bhi bahut ummeedein jagi hongi. Aap baar-baar kehte hain ki hamaare unke saath contact hai. Yeh contact aapka ISIS ke saath hai ya unse bhi baat-cheet hoti hai?To console their families ...

Official Spokesperson:Hum jaante hainhow worried those family members are because they are in regular touch with us, and we understand the circumstances that they are going through. All we can do is to counsel them, to try and work with them rather than get involved in at this stage a public display of where we are. A little success we have achieved, we have still a long way to go. We are not satisfied with this outcome and we will not be satisfied until we reach the culmination of this effort. As I said, we are using now all the tools that will be freed up from the present effort to redouble our efforts on the other effort. And in that may I request all of you to please join in this collective effort, please do not turn on us. Let me repeat again, let us turn to each other, let us not turn on each other.

Question:Would it be possible to reveal exactly when and from whom did the Government first get to know that the nurses were going to be released, since we had beforehand sent officials there to receive them?

Official Spokesperson: We were always in contact with what was happening. Yesterday evening, even while many of you had said that when they sat in the bus there was contact lost, I indicated to you at that stage that we had got in touch last evening. We remained in touch all through. We have other means to keep in touch, other than the means that some of you are adopting. And it is normal for governments to have other tools at their disposal and those tools are, as I said, national assets and all national assets are being used in this endeavour.

Question:Sir, what were the conditions or demands put forward by these insurgents to release Indian nurses?

Official Spokesperson: When a situation is under way, you would please understand that we are not able to say who said, what was said, where it was said, and how it was said. This is an ongoing situation, a situation where we have won a small little battle. However, there is a war still on and we are engaged in that endeavour. So, we are not resting on any of our achievements that have happened. Please understand that anything that we say may possibly impact on other elements. Therefore, understand that I will not be able to say who we worked with, what we worked at, how we worked it, and when we worked on that.

Question:Could you give us a sense of the state of health and being of the nurses, and is there anybody going to provide any counselling or that sort of facility there?

Official Spokesperson: My understanding is that the nurses are all safe, unharmed, unhurt. Obviously they have gone through a traumatic experience. Therefore, it will be our endeavour that once they are in civilian areas, if there are local facilities to assist them we will certainly provide them. We are also making arrangements for their comfort and their wellbeing. But we expect that this is going to be for a short duration and, therefore, the best antidote for them is to be with their near and dear. That is the antidote that we are working on, and we hope the balm of being with their friends and family would be the best solution for their travails.

Question:Did the National Security Advisor have any role in these negotiations?

Official Spokesperson: I explained to you two things. At the diplomatic level these negotiations were involving the External Affairs Minister herself. At the ground level, obviously we will not be able to share, and I had repeated it previously, because diplomacy works through the front door. I had said, we are using other doors. How those doors were used and knocked on, how they were opened up, is a story for another day. The story for today is that one of those doors opened and we were able to extricate our nationals. Hopefully we will bring them back tomorrow.

Question:…(Inaudible)… several engagements with several of the Gulf counterparts. Could you give us the names of a few countries and at what levels have these been made?

Official Spokesperson: The External Affairs Minister extensively interacted with her counterparts. Certainly I am not disputing that she interacted with her counterparts in the Gulf, but what I would like to say is that this did not start yesterday. This process has been under way for quite some time. While you have seen the tip of the iceberg of this process this morning, there has been a lot of ground work done over the last several days. The External Affairs Minister did contact those who are identified there, but she has contacted many more. At this stage I think because these contacts are also related to those who are in difficult situations right now - because the difficulties of a major nature for the nurses are perhaps are much more recent compared to the difficulties the others were facing - she was initially also working on those areas. At this stage, therefore, I cannot share with you how she is approaching this, how India as a country is approaching this at the diplomatic level. Suffice it to say that there is extensive diplomatic contact at a very very senior level led by the External Affairs Minister, also at other levels at a diplomatic level. At the ground level, you would appreciate that it is best we do not get into who, where, when, what and how things are happening.

Obviously you are very intelligent people and know that things do not happen just like that. And that is what I would like you to take away from here that when things happen there is a lot of effort that has gone behind it, there is a lot of patience, there is a lot of quiet work that is being undertaken. In fact if anybody has seen, virtually the External Affairs Minister is like 24 hours focused on this because this is a national endeavour where our nationals, irrespective of which State they are from, are in extreme difficulties.

My understanding is, yesterday she was to go to Bhopal and she went to the airport. When this news came in of they being asked to move from where they were, she had to cancel her visit and come back to chair meetings again in the evening. Some of you have written that there was a meeting or there is a group which it looked like met once. Let me tell you, External Affairs Minister chairs a very high-level group virtually every day, if not every day.

There is another group which is chaired by Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Mr. Wadhwa and that meets twice a day perhaps. And if they want further instructions, they are in touch with the External Affairs Minister. So, the point is that there is a graduated system in place where we are working assiduously, quietly, but with enormous effort that we cannot place that pyramidal group out in the public domain.

Some of you have sometimes caught one or two of their members coming out of South Block and said that oh, this met once. But let me assure you, it met even just now and that is why I came a little late because we wanted to get a sense of where we are after what has happened.

Question:I understand that this kind of a situation where conventional tools of diplomacy did not work, as you said, may have been a huge learning experience for the Indian Government. Would it be possible for you to share at this stage what are the lessons that we learnt from this?

Official Spokesperson: I think lessons learnt, as you are aware, is an exercise that one undertakes at the end of a process. We are in the midst of that process. You would appreciate that a lessons learnt exercise is essential, it is a requirement, and it is what we will certainly undertake. But at this stage all our efforts are to ensure that those who are still in captivity become free citizens and normal people.

Question:Sir, are the 39 Indians who are still captive being held captive by a different set of captors?

Official Spokesperson: Vishal, I do understand your desire to know this bit of information. How does that change the ground level situation except for those who are involved in this task? That they are in captivity is important for you to know. That we are aware of who their captors are is a reassuring thing that you would like to know. But at this stage if we are to break down all these into smaller segments, you will only undermine our efforts. So, please let me repeat, we will not say how we are operating, with whom, where and when. Please understand that this is an operation still under way. I seek your understanding and support in this. After all we are all in this effort together and every bit of work that you can do to help this out, we would be extremely grateful about.

Question:You mentioned that it has been a dramatic day between yesterday and today. How many times was the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister’s Office briefed between yesterday and today and can you just also throw some light on what has been their response and their role?

Official Spokesperson: I think you are new here, I never talk about inter-Ministerial issues. We try and focus on the diplomatic aspects and I would certainly share that information. I can tell you the Prime Minister is hands on all the time. Those of you who are following are aware of it. But I will not get into those details because it is not my practice to go down that path because if I go down that path once you will ask me similar things on other issues. So, please understand.

Question:Sir,kal unko move kiye jaane se pehle tak hum pichhle dus din se aapse sunte rahen hain ki nurses aspataal mein hai, safe hain, unpar koi khatra nahin hai. Toh in dus din ke window ka humne kyon fayda nahin uthaaya aur unko kal ki naubat kyon aane di gayi? Usse pehle unko kyon safe rescue nahin kar liya gaya tha?

Official Spokesperson: I think that is a valid question and let me answer that. Let us trace this issue back to the beginning. You are aware that when this thing happened several of them had even told many of you that they did not want to leave. If you look at some of the reports that have been filed by many of you, you will see that in the initial stages when there were opportunities to leave, at that stage they felt differently. It is a judgment call. Humans make judgment calls. It is not that it is right or wrong but you make a judgment call. Sometimes it proves correct, sometimes things do not work out the way you want. A large majority of them made that judgment call. You are aware of this. This was printed in a large number of papers because they are in regular touch.

That said, when things deteriorated and there was no possibility to evacuate them, then maybe some of them started changing their view. But by then it is extremely difficult to extricate them when the land route is not available. Now, you may well ask me the question, well if the land route was not available, how did it happen yesterday? Perhaps it is a valid question but the land route is dominated by the captors and it is the captors who can decide how and where the captives can move. There were no land routes available because the captors were not willing to allow those land routes. Once that decision was taken, it moved on.

Question:Sir, did the captors first inform you that they will release the nurses or is it your initiative to the captors?

Official Spokesperson: I understand this is a very important bit of information that you are keen on. But let me repeat, I have said that ground level operations I will not get into who, when, where, what and how. And that question falls into one of those categories.

Question:I just wanted to make sure I understood you properly on the support India is getting from other countries. Is this a situation of India consulting other countries or is it that other countries are actually being involved in negotiations to get people out?

Official Spokesperson: You would not get anywhere with that. I told you in an operation we are not going to tell you who, where, when, what and how. So, please understand that. Let me assure you that India has many friends and many friends with many assets. We too have assets. If you could recall, some days ago I said all national assets are available for use and this includes the goodwill that India has in the international community.

Question:Sir, given that situation in Iraq is constantly deteriorating according to many reports, can you give us an update about the Indians in the non-conflict areas and what has changed from yesterday?

Official Spokesperson: Thank you for asking that question because in the focus on the conflict area, that slipped my mind.

Today is Friday. It is a Friday in the holy month of Ramadan. Therefore, in terms of official work it grinds to a halt. My understanding is that we now have approximately 1500 Indians who have signed up to leave. This is not including those who have previously left. So, 1500 have signed up to leave, largely from the southern part. However, there are instances of people wanting even from the northern part to leave. That is why I said the plane that is going to pick up the nurses will also pick up 70 Indian nationals who we had separately booked to fly out on commercial flights. But since there is a national asset that is being used, we will provide that and bring them back expeditiously. So, the numbers in the South are larger. However, the numbers in the North also are not insignificant. I have mentioned to you 70, there are also smaller numbers which we are working on.

Let me sum up, 10,000 in the non-conflict zone, I would put it at 2000 so far indicating at different stages from the day we started till today, 2,000 indicating that they were wanting to leave. Again, in conflict situations it is possible that some of them may waiver,they may change their mind. We stand ready to help them. Even if they change their mind it is not going to be held against them should they decide for various reasons that perhaps they would now like to leave. We stand ready to help them. All our assets are available.

Commercial flights will be provided. If required we will book their tickets, we will provide them with any fines that they have to pay because of local requirements, and we will provide them with documents. None of you knew that we had a team in Erbil. We had not said this before. But that does not mean to say that we did not think and plan for this. We are putting out information in the public domain which requires to be put out in advance. There is information with us, for example as I said this team in Erbil did not land up there today. They were positioned there as part of a carefully crafted approach. Similarly we are working on other issues in this. We will share this with you when the time comes for that.

Question:Sir, the Indians who are coming back from Erbil, would they also include the Indians escaped from the construction workers?

Official Spokesperson: I do not know the details. I know the numbers. There are some who have come across from, as I said, I think Kirkuk. I do not know the exact details of who is coming or who is not coming. My focus is on to give you trends, to give you broad issues, rather than go into specific small details which individuals may want to know. But in a broader perspective, I can only give you broad details.

I think we will end our interaction on this. This is an ongoing saga and we will keep reporting to you.

Question:Sir, PM Modi ke Jammu, Kashmir daure se ek din pehle hi Pakistan ne phir ek baar status …(Inaudible)…. Prime Minister ke visit ko lekar ke Pakistan ne bola ki they object to Prime Minister visiting Kashmir.

Official Spokesperson: It does not pay to speak the language of the past. It does not pay to look in the rear view mirror. Prime Minister and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have adopted a forward-looking approach, and it is on that approach that we are focused on. Language of a bygone era does not help anyone.

Question:You just said language of a bygone era does not help. But do you see anything about the timing of the statement? This is something that has been said many times before and you have just said that. But the fact that it has been said yesterday and the Prime Minister is going today, do you see a link between what was said yesterday and the fact that the Prime Minister is going today?

Official Spokesperson: Shrinjoy, Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. The Prime Minister of India can visit any part of India any time he desires. This is not for me to comment on what others say, it is for them to explain to you. I explain our position and that is, Jammu and Kashmir remains and will remain an integral part of India.

As regards language of a bygone era, it does not serve anybody any purpose to look into the rear view mirror and speak in terms which are not in consonance with what Prime Minister and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are working towards.

Thank you very much. With that we end this discussion.

(Concluded)