Some Things We Will Never Know

PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu said that the details regarding the freeing of the Romanian hostages in Iraq are classified and many of the people involved in the operation will never be known to the public.

Tariceanu’s list of people and institutions responsible for the successful operations included the Presidency, the domestic and foreign intelligence services, the Romanian ministries of foreign affairs and defense, various Islamic organizations and persons whose identity will never be made public.

He restated that Romania did not pay ransom and did not negotiate its foreign policy in exchange for the journalists’ lives, repeating thus what President Traian Basescu stated in an earlier speech.
He also commented on the requests made from various quarters for a public debate on the issue of the Romanian military presence in Iraq. Tariceanu said that such requests are unwarranted because these could seriously damage Romania’s image as a committed NATO member state. "Those that put forth the idea for such a debate should think twice on the long term consequences for Romania," said Tariceanu.

So far, the Social Democrat Party [in opposition, which dispatched the military in Iraq, when holding power] asked for an urgent parliamentary debate on a schedule for withdrawing the troops from Iraq. Mircea Geoana, the SDP president, stated that "Romania and its tax-payers cannot afford to station troops in Iraq indefinitely." The Conservative Party [until recently the Romanian Humanist Party] and the Greater Romania Popular Party made the same request as the SDP did.

Romanian journalists should rejoice for their colleagues’ release and not plunge into imagining scenarios with political ramifications, said Ayman Jalabah, deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Jazeera television. The Arab TV station sent a team of journalists to cover the return of the Romanian journalists for professional reasons only, with no intent of associating the network to any vested interests, Jalabah said. "It came natural for us to appeal for the release of our fellow professional journalists held captive. I do not understand why people keep asking me "why". "Because", this is how our job is being done," said Jalabah.

The well-known Italian pop musician, Al Bano, offered to host the three Romanian journalists on his property in Cellino San Marco, the Brindisi province, for a recuperation period. Al Bano was deeply moved by the events, particularly since one of the three Romanian hostages, Marie-Jeanne Ion of Prima TV, conducted a lengthy interview with him and stayed friends with him ever since. Al Bano searched for years for his daughter, Ylenia Carissi, who went missing in the United States. He made a public televised appeal for the release of the Romanian hostages, while the crisis was still unfolding.