Ransom for hostages may be flexible matter

OTTAWA – The Canadian government publicly says it does not negotiate with terrorists, but the private reality may well be more flexible.

Canadians abroad are not immune to being kidnapped for financial gain or for political or propaganda purposes, says Public Safety Canada’s 2014 report on terrorism.

“Ransom money is often used to help fund terrorism-related activities, including recruitment, arms procurement, training camps, terrorist attacks and furthering political agendas.”

The report insists the federal government’s approach to kidnapping respects firm principles: no policy changes, no prisoner exchanges, no immunity from prosecution and no ransom payments.

The Abu Sayyaf militants who murdered Canadian John Ridsdel in the Philippines had demanded a huge ransom for him and three others.

The federal travel advisory website says that if a Canadian abroad is the victim of a hijacking, hostage-taking or kidnapping, Canadian consular officials can “work closely with local authorities to facilitate an early and safe release,” and maintain contact with a designated family member to keep them informed.

Even so, in a statement Monday, Global Affairs Canada said “we do not pay ransoms to terrorist groups.”

“Kidnap for ransom is a significant source of terrorist funding, fuelling violence and instability. Canada in good conscience cannot contribute to this. Paying ransoms perpetuates the actions of these groups, encouraging terrorists to put new victims and their loved ones through similar ordeals.”

An al-Qaida letter obtained by The Associated Press three years ago suggests about $1 million was paid for the release of Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler in Niger in 2009.

Fowler, the highest-ranking United Nations official in the African country, and his colleague Louis Guay, were kidnapped and held for four months before being released.

The news agency did not indicate who provided the $1 million for Fowler and Guay.

In a published memoir, Fowler said he did not know if a ransom was paid.

However, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported the deal — brokered by several Western nations working through African intermediaries — involved a prisoner swap and multimillion-dollar payment.

A leaked U.S. diplomatic cable from February 2010 lent credence to the notion Canada makes payments, quoting Washington’s then-ambassador to Mali as saying “it is difficult to level criticism on countries like Mali and Burkina Faso for facilitating negotiations when the countries that pay ransom, like Austria and Canada are given a pass.”

Journalist Amanda Lindhout, a native of Red Deer, Alta., and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan were seized by young gunmen near strife-torn Mogadishu, Somalia, in August 2008. Both were released in November 2009 after their families paid a ransom.