British couple held by pirates appeal for negotiations
21/11/2009 - 11:26:34The British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates spoke on camera for the first time to warn their captors are “losing patience” and could kill them within a week.
Surrounded by men brandishing machine guns – some pointed directly at them - Paul and Rachel Chandler calmly described their plight on the footage, which was filmed for Channel 4 News on Wednesday and broadcast last night.
Mr Chandler said they were “unharmed and in reasonable physical health” but that the “kidnappers were losing patience”.
He urged the British government to start negotiations over a ransom and said: “I have no doubt that they will not hesitate to kill us, perhaps between a week or so of now if there is no response.”
Rachel Chandler said: “We are very concerned about the future. Our captors are very impatient.”
Mrs Chandler went on: “We are also feeling very much under threat now that these people themselves won’t hesitate to take our lives.”
The couple said their captors had told them that a terrorist cell was looking for them and that they could “sleepwalk to a tragic end”.
Mr Chandler said: “This is our 27th day in captivity. So far we have been provided with adequate food and water and facilities and so we are unharmed and in reasonable physical health. Mentally we are under great stress and threatened.
“Our kidnappers are losing patience, they are concerned that there has been no response at all to their demands for money.
“We ask the government and the people of Britain and our families to do whatever you can to at least open negotiations with these people about money so that perhaps our lives can be bought back.
“We have been threatened that there is a terrorist gang at large in the country looking for us. We are also concerned that these people will lose patience and will not feed us and I have no doubt that they will not hesitate to kill us, perhaps within a week or so of now if there is no response.
“So please, somebody get in touch otherwise we just sleepwalk to a tragic end.”
It was not clear whether the words were their own, and the couple appeared nervous and subdued but were not tearful.
Channel 4 said that their family had agreed that the film should be broadcast.
Mrs Chandler said: “We are under threat and we are told that we will not be fed and given water. So we are very concerned about the future. Our captors are very impatient now that nobody has been in touch to enter into negotiations.
“So we ask the Government and the people of Britain and our families to do whatever they can to enter into negotiations with these people to buy back our lives.
“As Paul has said, we are told that there is a terrorist cell, or a fanatic cell, searching for us and we are also feeling very much under threat now. These people themselves won’t hesitate to take our lives.”
The Chandlers disappeared on October 23 as they sailed from the Seychelles in their 38ft yacht Lynn Rival towards Tanzania.
Four days later a news agency was contacted by a pirate called Hassan who said he had the couple captive and ransom demands would follow.
The pair were allowed to speak to journalists on the phone, and during one conversation Mrs Chandler’s brother Stephen Collett made a direct appeal to the pirates to release them.
Staff at the BBC received a call demanding a ransom of $7m (€4.7m), but the British Foreign Office said it would not make concessions to hostage takers.
A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said last night: “We are aware of the video. Any such video will be distressing for the family.
“The UK government’s policy is clear: We do not make substantive concessions to hostage takers, including the payment of ransoms.
“These are innocent tourists. We seek the immediate release of Paul and Rachel.”
In a statement released through the Foreign Office, the couple’s family said: “The family have seen the video of Paul and Rachel. They miss them deeply and urge their release.
“The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this time. They will not be making any further comment.”
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