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Git or die, interpreters for British Army told
All the interpreters have to leave Basra because these militia will never let them rest. They will kill everybody they know [who worked for the British], Colonel Saleem Agaa Alzabon, who leads Basras special forces, said. The interpreters have to leave. They have no choice. Colonel Saleem and the two targeted interpreters told The Times that the militiamen almost certainly members of the Shia al-Mahdi Army had stepped up their pursuit of so-called collaborators since the British withdrew from Basra city 11 days ago. The latest attacks are further evidence of the extreme danger that the 91 interpreters for the British military face now, let alone when the troops leave Iraq for good. They will intensify the pressure on Britain to reverse its refusal to grant them asylum. Gordon Brown ordered a review of that policy after The Times highlighted the interpreters plight last month. The target of the first attack was Ahmed, 25, a student who has been working for the British Army for three years, first in a base in the Shatt al-Arab hotel and now at the al-Shaibah base outside Basra, where the Irish Guards are training Iraqi troops. Ahmed (not his real name) said that last Friday his 22-year-old cousin borrowed his car to fetch his sister, who lives near the al-Shaibah base. The cousin used the route Ahmed normally takes to work. He was stopped by four masked men at a makeshift checkpoint and whisked away. When the kidnappers realised that they had the wrong man they telephoned the cousins family to say that he would be killed if Ahmed did not give himself up. The family lied, saying that Ahmed had left Iraq. The kidnappers then demanded a $15,000 (£7,500) ransom. Ahmed handed over all the money that he had saved over three years. The family asked a tribal leader to give it to the kidnappers and bring back the cousin so that they would not be cheated. The cousin returned home with a message for Ahmed: If we find you anywhere in Basra we will kill you, but if you come to us and give us information we will let you live. Ahmed has now sent his wife and one-year-old daughter to a relatives house far from Basra and intends to stay on the al-Shaibah base. He said that if the Government did not grant him asylum in Britain he would have to seek refuge in another country. Im very frightened, he said. The militias know all the interpreters in Basra. They waited for the British to leave so they could attack us . . . If the British dont give me asylum I will have big problems because if I stay in Iraq I will be killed. A British officer, who declined to be named, confirmed Ahmeds identity, and saw no reason to doubt his story. It would not be the first time something like this has happened, he said. The second attack came late on Sunday night. Mohammed Motlag, who has worked as an interpreter since 2003, told The Times that he was working at the British base at Basra airport when his wife telephoned to say their house was being attacked by about 40 militiamen. They were shouting: We have come to kill your husband. Hes a spy for the British forces. Mr Motlag, 46, said that his two children, aged 6 and 3, were also in the house. He could hear the militiamen trying to break down the door. Weeping at his helplessness, he told his wife to get his gun and start firing. He then called Colonel Saleem, an old friend, who rushed a police detachment to rescue the family. The militiamen later blew up the house with grenades. Mr Motlag said that his family were now in hiding. Colonel Saleem corroborated Mohammeds story when contacted by The Times. That's right, he said, and then repeated it himself. The Ministry of Defence said it was aware of the interpreters claims, took the safety of its Iraqi employees very seriously, and was reviewing the assistance it provides to them. It continued: The total number of Iraqis who have worked for us since 2003 with a claim to assistance could be at least 15,000. We therefore need to consider the options carefully. Senior politicians, diplomats and army officers have urged the Government to grant the interpreters asylum. The Times has learnt that the Government privately accepts that it has a moral obligation to help them, but ministers are still debating how many of the thousands of other Iraqis and their dependents who have assisted the British should be allowed in. Posted by: 2007-09-15 |
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