January 24, 2005

Latest on Brazilian Captured in Iraq

It seems the sister of the kidnapped Brazilian has made an appeal to the kidnappers. Notice the sections I have highlighted, in regard to the attitude Brazilians have taken towards the Iraqi confilct:

Reuters AlertNet - Sister says kidnapped Brazilian was friend of Iraq

Sister says kidnapped Brazilian was friend of Iraq
23 Jan 2005 17:33:50 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Carlos A. DeJuana

SAO PAULO, Brazil, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The sister of a Brazilian engineer kidnapped by a militant group in Iraq said on Sunday her brother had great respect for the Iraqi people and she believed his captors would ultimately grant him mercy.

In an interview with GloboNews television, her voice choking back tears, Isabel Vasconcelos said she hoped the captors of her brother Joao Jose Vasconcelos would show him clemency like they did to eight Chinese workers freed this weekend.

"They know that Brazil did not interfere in the Iraqi war, that Brazil did not send troops, that Brazil was not favorable to the attack. The Brazilian people are by nature peaceful," she said from her home in the state of Minas Gerais.

Arab satellite television Al Jazeera said on Saturday a group calling itself the Al Mujahideen Squadrons (Saraya al-Mujahideen) had kidnapped a Brazilian and showed video of Vasconcelos's identification card.

Brazilian construction company Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A. confirmed Vasconcelos, 49, was an employee of the company who disappeared on Wednesday after his convoy was attacked near the central Iraqi city of Beiji.

"He had a great respect for the Iraqi people. We know he was very well-liked in Baghdad and in Beiji," Isabel Vasconcelos said. "So we are sure (his kidnappers) will see all of this and know that Joao is not an enemy of their country."

A spokesman for Brazil's Foreign Ministry said the government remained in contact with its diplomats in the region in an effort to resolve the situation.

Brazil's ambassador in Jordan said Odebrecht would lead any negotiations with the kidnappers, according to local news agency Folha Online.

On Saturday, Odebrecht, one of Brazil's largest industrial groups, said it had not been contacted by the kidnappers and denied another Brazilian who reportedly died during the ambush was part of its team.

Vasconcelos's abduction is the second time a Brazilian has been caught up in the violence plaguing Iraq since U.S.-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein.

Most Brazilians were heartbroken when the head of the U.N. mission in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was killed in a bomb attack in August 2003. The government declared three days of mourning in honor of the well-respected Rio de Janeiro native after his death.

My heart goes out to this man and his family, and I am praying and--and asking all others to pray--for his safe return. I am saddened, however, by the apparent willingness of the Brazilian government to negotiate with the terrorist kidnappers. This is a very dangerous road to follow.

Posted by Andrew on January 24, 2005 12:09 AM.