Imphal, March 29: The Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), abductor of Bonn-based social worker Heinrich Wolfgang, is keeping its doors open for negotiation despite its announcement yesterday that the aid worker would remain in captivity till such time as the integrity of his NGO, Evangelicher Entwicklungs Dienst, was established.
A team of NGOs continued negotiations for Wolfgang’s safe release for the fifth day today at an undisclosed place. No breakthrough could be made during the fourth round of talks yesterday. The team left the state capital early in the morning today to resume negotiations.
A spokesman for the outfit yesterday owned up to the abduction and alleged that there was discrimination against the Kukis in the implementation of the programmes.
Refuting reports that the KLA had demanded Rs 1 crore as ransom, the spokesman said cadre of the outfit would question the social worker on the nature of development activities taken up the Evangelicher Entwicklungs Dienst. The investigation may last for six days and Wolfgang will not be freed during that period, he added.
The outfit, however, said the social worker could be released before that if negotiations went well. The spokesman made it clear that no harm would come to the hostage. The KLA, however, warned against any move by security forces to rescue the hostage, saying that this could endanger his life.
The United NGO Mission, Manipur, on whose invitation the aid worker visited Manipur, has not reacted to the charges levied by the KLA.
Wolfgang was taken hostage by six armed militants on March 23 when he was returning to the state capital with his associates after monitoring development activities at the Maphou dam area of Imphal East.
Food and clothes have been sent to the hostage through the negotiating team. To convince the team that Wolfgang is safe and sound some of them were allowed to speak to the social worker through the radio sets of the outfit from time to time. Members of the team were not allowed to meet the hostage.
The All-Manipur NGOs’ Forum, an apex organisation of NGOs in the state, today appealed to the abductors to find an early solution with the negotiators and free the social worker without any harm. Expressing relief at the announcement that Wolfgang was “safe and sound”, the apex body also appealed to the kidnappers to pay special attention to his health.
Forum president K. Paochunbou told newsmen today that all international funding agencies might stop aiding development work in the state if anything happened to the German national. United NGO Mission is a unit of this forum.
In a statement issued by special secretary (home) Santosh Macherla, the Manipur government today condemned the abduction of the social worker, saying that the incident has tarnished the image of the state and its peace-loving people.