Child appeals for release of father

"Please, release my father, we feel his absence sharply," said the minor son of one of the abducted Europeans in a fervent appeal as administrative efforts so far failed to free his father.

As the emotion-fraught urge of the six-year-old Christianu, son of Torben Mikkelson reverberated through the hills the most venerable tribal leader, Chakma Raja, and the hill district council chairman also issued humanitarian appeals for the kidnappers to set the three hostages free.

"We want our father back home, we are intensely feeling his absence, please let me meet my father and another two abducted meet with their families," the little Christianu, who celebrated his sixth birthday without dad, sent the appeal through audio and letter.

The local authority is sending this appeal to the abductors through mediators transcribing it into local language, said Divisional Commissioner Mobaidul Islam.

However, in a positive turn of the 29-day hostage episode, a message on Thursday reached from the abductors through mediators to the government negotiators that was being discussed among the authorities.

"We got a message and it is being discussed; all reasonable demands will be met," an official said. "We hope to resolve the issue as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, government authorities at a public meeting again assured the abductors that no action would be taken against them if they released the captives safely.

"Release the captives, if they come unhurt, you will be treated like under general amnesty," said Chakma Raja barrister Debashish Roy in public for the first time since the abduction of the three engineers on February 16.

"Hand over the abductors to law-enforcing agencies of the government or any of the representatives of the area; the government won't take any action against you," urged Ching Q Roaza, Rangamati Zila Parishad chairman at the rally held in the Kawkhali Upazila headquarters yesterday.

The speakers from public representatives and top officials of district administrations again assured the abductors in the meeting that the authorities were still hopeful about solving the matter peacefully, that is without ordering the standby military stormtroopers into action.

Meanwhile, the security personnel who have cordoned off the area yesterday again created a safe passage at the desire of the abductors so that they could talk to the go-betweens easily.

However, brushing aside shifting of the hostages from the security ring high officials late on Thursday night said that the three are all together and "very much within our cordon.

"We sent three different questions to the three abducted people and they returned answers with their signatures. It means the abducted are within our cordon and staying all together," he said on condition of anonymity.

The three new troubleshooting experts who came to Rangamati, one each from Britain, Denmark and Commonwealth, to help the rescue process of the abducted European engineers are working on their own plan.

Negotiations are on as the mediators who established communication seemed have maintained communication with the abductors and settling the issue now is "a matter of time", a local source said.