Negotiation is underway but the process could take time, says MEA.
The case of abducted priest Father Tom Uzhunnalilin is one of the few instances where the external affairs ministry has failed in the negotiation table.
Now, a new video of Father Tom, whose can be seen visibly weak after a being kept as a hostage for close to a year, has surfaced. In the video, Father Tom can be seen appealing to Pope Francis and Union government to secure his release from his abductors.
In the video, a disheartened Father Tom can be seen questioning the global priesthood for their apathy towards him. In a weak voice, Father Tom asks the Christian society if they would have remained mum if the abducted priest was a European?
“If I were a European priest, I would have been taken more seriously. I am from India. I am perhaps not considered as of much value,” said priest Father Tom Uzhunnalilin says in the video.
He pleads Pope Francis to help him get out of the misery that he is currently going through after volunteering to help the bereaved people in Yemen. Father Tom is an Indian priest from the Bengaluru province of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
“Dear Pope Francis, dear Holy Father, as a father please take care of my life. I am very much depressed. My health is deteriorating,” he begs in the video that appeared in a Malayalam News Channel just a day after Christmas.
Father Tom can be seen in the video reading out from a written text placed before him. Like the video of Father Tom that appeared a few months back, there is no evidence of neither the place nor the period when the video was shot.
According to reports, the Father who hails from Kerala was abducted by a group having allegiance to Islamic State.
In the video, he claims that his abductors have contacted the Indian government including the President and the Prime Minister.
“I am very sad that nothing has been done seriously in my regard,” he said.
The external affairs ministry had earlier said that they have done the needful for the immediate release of Father Tom, “but in reality, nothing” has been done yet, says Father Tom.
He further says in the video that another captive, a French woman news reporter abducted from the Sana along with him was earlier released after the intervention of the French government.
A very emotional Father Tom can be seen pleading the international community for facilitating his release from the abductors. He says: “I am from India and not considered. Dear people, I pray you all, ask you all, beg you all to do your might to help me to save my life. I need hospitalization soon. Please come to my help quickly.”
According to the Ministry of External Affair, the efforts for the safe release of Father Tom is still underway but the process could take time.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj herself had informed the Parliament that the government is doing everything possible to bring back Father Tom. She also said that Modi himself has spoken to various country heads to establish contact with the abductors who are believed to be hiding in Yemen.
Father Tom Uzhunnalil, 56, was abducted by gunmen who are believed to be ISIS militants after they attacked the old age facility killing more than 15 people including the four Indian nuns. The incident happened in Aden, southern Yemen on March 4.
Soon after his abduction, IANS reported that priests at Vatican were shocked by the incident and agencies including the FBI are doing everything possible rescue the Indian priest.
“We have various other sources in Yemen, Aden and other Catholic institutions and we are confident of his release. All the calls that I am getting are from the international media and well-wishers of the priest.
“Till this moment, we have no reason to disbelieve our sources and our mission is on the right track,” the official said.
The then Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy had met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to discuss about the efforts to bring Father Tom back to the country.
“Fr Tom Uzhunnallil – an Indian national from Kerala was abducted by a terror group in Yemen. We r making all efforts to secure his release,” she wrote after the meeting.
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…especially Saudi Arabia and also the local Yemeni authorities. Our efforts continue in this regard: MEA
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2016