Interview with Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik on the taking of hostages in Tunisia, 14 March 2008 on the Zeit im Bild 2 news programme

Marie-Claire Zimmermann (ORF):

Let me now welcome Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik in our studio.
Good evening. 

Ursula Plassnik:
Good evening.

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
Minister, according to tomorrow’s press reports negotiations are already under way with the kidnappers. Is this true? 

Ursula Plassnik:
That is not true. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
Does this mean that Austria itself is not taking part in the negotiations but is using go-betweens? 

Ursula Plassnik:
No, we don’t negotiate with terrorists. This act of hostage taking is an act of terrorism. The Federal Chancellor also made this clear.

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
What measures is Austria taking, if not negotiation?

Ursula Plassnik:
The safe return of Andrea Kloiber and Wolfgang Ebner to Austria is our uppermost goal. The Federal Government’s crisis team is working round the clock. We are involved in top-class networking at the international level. You too have shown in your programme that there is a lot of solidarity in Europe as far as actions and facts are concerned. We are also maintaining direct contact with the governments of the countries in the region. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
So what is actually being done? You say you aren’t negotiating, but somehow you will have to establish contact with the kidnappers to obtain the release of the two Austrians. 

Ursula Plassnik:
We are maintaining contact with the governments of the various countries in the region. You must remember that this is a very large region, covering a very wide geographical area. Algeria alone is approximately 30 times the size of Austria’s territory. We are doing a lot of networking there.  

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
Experts say that the usual procedure in such a case is to look for influential local people who may then establish contact and act as mediators. Is this what you have in mind?

Ursula Plassnik:
No, because the kidnappers expressed their demands themselves. The demands issued by the kidnappers are political demands, they want the release of their likeminded supporters in Algeria and Tunisia, which means there is no way Austria can meet them. They are addressed to the governments of the countries of that region. Meeting these demands is not up to us. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
Does that mean that you are urging the governments of Algeria and Tunisia to release these Al Qaida prisoners? 

Ursula Plassnik:
We have intensified our contacts with the governments in the region. Let me repeat that the kidnappers’ demands are addressed to these governments. We have presented our own standpoint accordingly. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
Yes, of course, but have you or the Austrian government requested the governments in Tunisia and Algeria to release those prisoners? 

Ursula Plassnik:
We have made it clear to them that the life and physical integrity of the hostages is our uppermost goal, as I told you before. We cannot be blackmailed. A democratic state cannot be blackmailed. There must be no doubt there. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
Wolfgang Ebner’s son, Bernhard Ebner, has appealed to the politicians to do everything they can to ensure the return of his father and his father’s girlfriend to Austria. When you now say that you have established contact with the Algerian and Tunisian governments, is this all you can do? 

Ursula Plassnik:
No, which is why I already explained to you that there is a lot of cooperation and networking going on in Europe. There are some European countries that are highly present in the region, they have a wealth of experience and they also have special relations with the countries involved. 

The French President mentioned the intelligence services. We are working with them on resolving this problem. As I said, the Federal Government’s crisis team, which comprises representatives from different ministries, is holding constant meetings. 

Moreover, we have increased the staff at our embassies in the region by sending them people from the Foreign Ministry but also from the Ministry of the Interior. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
So things are mainly happening at the communication level. 

Ursula Plassnik:
I am sure that you, Ms. Zimmermann, and everyone watching this
programme will understand that we cannot tell you everything the Federal Government knows; nor can we inform you of our plans through the media. This is the usual procedure in such cases. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
The terrorism expert Guido Steinberg just told us in an interview that he thinks that this is all about ransom money. An Algerian newspaper also reports that the group of kidnappers is currently facing financial difficulties. Have you received a ransom demand? 

Ursula Plassnik:
<sound defect> that there are speculations of this kind, but I can only stick to the reality of the situation. And the reality of the situation is the demands, the well-known political demands that you have already described in detail. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
If it becomes known that a demand for ransom has been issued, would the ransom be paid? 

Ursula Plassnik:
I repeat: we are working on the basis of reality. The reality is that political demands are on the table. These political demands clearly cannot be met by Austria, even if we wanted to meet them. They are addressed to the governments of Algeria and Tunisia. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
Finally, I have to ask you the following question: the ultimatum expires at midnight on Sunday. If the demands expressed by the kidnappers are not met by that time, i.e. if the imprisoned Al Qaida members have not been released, what will happen then? 

Ursula Plassnik:
I would not want to raise any speculations. Nor do I want to make the situation easier for the kidnappers, the terrorists, for the main thing here is to make it clear beyond any doubt that we shall not give in to blackmail. We cannot meet their demands. 

Marie-Claire Zimmermann:
Thank you, Mrs. Plassnik.  

Ursula Plassnik:
My pleasure.

The above text is a transcript of an audiovisual programme. On account of the media-specific characteristics of radio and TV programmes there may be formal deviations between the text and the audiovisual original. 
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