Five hostages, one media blackout
Updated on 29 May 2008
Inside the morning meeting...
A year ago to the day five British men were seized from the Iraqi Ministry of Finance in Baghdad and taken hostage by a group calling itself the Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq.
Twelve months on, all five men remain captive.
But you'd be forgiven for registering only the barest recognition of this story because it has hardly featured in the media at all. A near blackout has meant you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times it has made the news.
Intriguingly, it is being reported today that the kidnappers themselves were keen to keep this operation relatively quiet.
Indeed only one of the men - Peter Moore, a computer consultant from Lincoln - has been named. The other four - Moore's bodyguards - are referred to by their first name, if at all.
Last December, the captives releaseda video featuring Jason. Another video featuring Peter Moore was released in February.
Apart from that, very little. Until this month.
At the beginning of May, the father of one of the hostages complained that the Foreign Office was keeping him and other family members out of the loop.
On 17 May, the former archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey made an appeal via the Times newspaper.
And today, friends and family of all five have marked their unwanted anniversary by speaking to broadcast media. The British ambassador in Iraq has also recorded a video message.
So why the pre-May silence? The obvious answer is that the Foreign Office has wanted to deal with this away from the glare of publicity, in keeping with the wishes of the men's families.
Both believe - or believed - a happy outcome necessitated silence. (Indeed it's understood that officials were none too pleased with Lord Carey's 'freelance' operation.)
Intriguingly, it is being reported today that the kidnappers themselves were keen to keep this operation relatively quiet.
Inevitably, much of today's meeting is taken up with discussion about what we can and cannot say about the case. A foreign affairs correspondent has an interesting line on the negotiation process but it's unlikely this will make it to air.
Equally there is much chat about the pros and cons of publicity in this case. Compare it for example with the cases of Brian Keenan, Terry Waite and John McCarthy or, indeed, more recently those of Margaret Hassan and Ken Bigley.
And how about the case of BBC Gaza correspondent, Alan Johnston, successfully freed from the Gaza strip last July?
Some argue that if this was played out in public there would be real pressure on the government to make something happen.
Others maintain that there are "real fears" for the men's safety and nothing should be done to destabilise efforts to free them. If that means reporting restrictions, so be it.
Once again, a debate about media freedom and transparency rages. Prince Harry in Afghanistan, anyone?
