News-Info-Alerts

Re: 18 Free Kuwaiti POWs False Report

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: April 15, 2003

"KUWAIT
Editor-in-Chief: Ahmed Jarallah
Leaflets out on missing, False hope on POW report

KUWAIT CITY, April 14: Reports issued Monday by Abu Dhabi satellite television, which stated 18 Kuwaitis were among hundreds detained in an underground shelter in Baghdad, were denied by Director of Kuwaiti Kinsfolk Association for Hostages and Detainees (KKAHD) Fayez Al-Enezi.

"A special team of Kuwaitis deployed in Iraq with the task of investigating the fate of hundreds of Kuwaiti POWs imprisoned since Iraq's 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait have informed our association that the reports (of 18 Kuwaitis being held at a prison in Baghdad) are completely untrue," Al-Enezi told the Arab Times Monday. The Abu Dhabi channel quoted an anonymous former Iraqi colonel as saying that "the men (18 Kuwaitis) were alive and held in an underground shelter near the military tribunal in Al-Khadra district, Baghdad."

Al-Enezi confirmed the falseness of the reports, explaining that Kuwaiti officials visited Al-Khadra, and after finding nothing there were guided by Iraqis who told them Kuwaiti prisoners might instead be detained in Adel District, Baghdad. "Our team also visited Adel and carried out a thorough search of the area, but affirmed to us that they found no trace of Kuwaiti prisoners," said Al-Enezi. Al-Enezi explained that Kuwait has two teams assigned to locating Kuwaiti prisoners in Iraq, one of which is comprised of representatives from the National Committee for Missing and POWs Affairs, KKHAD and the Ministry of Defense and which carried out a 24-hour mission in Iraq this week. The second team remains in Iraq, covering various areas in the south and the center of the country, and consists of "special units and top officials" which Al-Enezi said he couldn't provide more information about.

However, he said there exists "a constant presence of Kuwaiti investigators in Iraq who are active in their search for Kuwaiti detainees."

Al-Enezi also urged the public not to be hasty in their belief of each report that comes out regarding POWs trapped in Iraq. "Its best to follow the information provided by official sources, such as each Kuwaiti team involved in the mission to find our people. From here on, we expect sporadic news regarding the destiny of Kuwaiti POWs to leak throughout the coming months from various sources, however, not all can be trusted.

We encourage the people to rely on news brought forth by official sources," he said, adding, "we are following the matter closely and will always let the public know about the progress of our operations." Head of the National Committee for Missing and POWs Affairs (NCMPA) Sheikh Salem Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah said on Monday that the coalition forces agreed to drop leaflets issued by the committee concerning Kuwaiti POWs on Iraqi cities and districts.

Sheikh Salem told Kuwait news agency Kuna today that coalition forces will also hand out the leaflets to the Iraqi people at checkpoints. He said that those leaflets are part of the national campaign launched by the country to seek information on the POWs in Iraq, praising the coalition forces efforts in trying to find the POWs. Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah said the forces are putting great humanitarian efforts in helping both the Kuwaiti and Iraqi people, to find all prisoners and POWs in Iraq. The NCMPA prepared a leaflet that calls for the Iraqi people to open prisons and free all those who are imprisoned there and to participate in finding the Kuwaiti POWs. The committee also prepared another leaflet which congratulates the Iraqi people on the occasion of their liberation.

The Ministry of Information will soon launch a full-scale media campaign on Kuwait TV and radio in an attempt to receive information on Kuwaiti POWs locked in Iraqi jails since 1990, the Minister of Information and Acting Minister of Oil Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah announced Monday. Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahd said at today's parliament session the Kuwaiti government was allocated financial awards to anyone giving information on the 605 POWs. Preparations are completed and the campaign could start today, he said, but there are technical issues that have to be completed, he said. The campaign includes a plea for the Iraqi people to cooperate with the Kuwaiti people by providing any information on Kuwaiti POWs and their movements, he said.

Britain's Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon Monday underlined the importance of establishing and identifying the whereabouts of the Kuwaiti detainees, who have been held by the former Iraqi regime since the end of the Gulf War in 1991.

Addressing a news briefing at the Foreign Press Association in London Hoon told reporters in response to a question by Kuna that he has been moved by the plight of more than 600 Kuwaiti and Third Country nationals still missing in Iraq.

The Defense Secretary reaffirmed that a search for these detainees is an important part of the UN process. "It is important to reassure family members of the detainees of the determination to resolve this humanitarian issue," he said.

©Arab Times"