Paul and Rachel Chandler contact UK by phone
- Wed, 16 Dec 2009
- Comments (12)
Kidnapped British cruisers, Paul and Rachel Chandler, have begged the Government to free them 'by whatever means' before Christmas in their first contact with the outside world for five weeks.
A Somali journalist let the couple use his mobile phone to call the Sunday Times over the weekend.
Paul, a retired surveyor from Tunbridge Wells simply stated:
'We are captive. We are provided with food and water. But we are not allowed any communication.'
The couple were kidnapped just off the coast of the Seychelles on 23 October and set off their EPIRB. Their yacht, Lynn Rival was spotted towing two skiffs in the direction of the Somali mainland and although they were within sight of a Royal Navy ship, they were transferred to a larger vessel and held before being moved to land, it's thought near the town of Harardheere, north of Mogadishu.
In the latest recording, Paul Chandler doesn't mention his wife's health, which has been reportedly poor since capture. He also doesn't mention any specific threat to their own lives, which was the case during their last recorded message five weeks ago.
The new recording is a direct message to the British Government, which has been criticised for refusing to pay any ransom despite reports that the pirates were prepared to accept as little as £100,000 of the £4 million they had originally demanded.
Chandler says: "when you have a criminal gang carrying out a kidnapping they (the government) should not be averse to negotiating with that gang and then following it up by whatever means.'
Listen to the recording here
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6954600.ece
Latest comments
December 22 11:08
Trish Morgan
I prayed this morning that this couple would get released together. They are not forgotten many who do not know them are thinking of them and truely God knows where they are and will answer prayer.
January 12 11:50
Marchant
How can the British Government condemn Paul Chandler and his wife to what must be unbelievable hell. Our Government have no backbone - I travel a lot with my husband, and as British Citizens we expect our Government to rescue us when we are in trouble abroad. What is the British Navy for if they can't protect us??
January 14 15:25
Siobhain
Whilst I think their sailing route was an absolute gamble with their lives and they should have heeded the warnings of the damgers of piracy, I just can't believe the British government can condem the Chandlers to death by their lack of action! You can be sure that if they were politicians or business people, it would be much more high profile and the government would not sit back and watch. As a traveller and a citizen I would hate to be british with a government like that. The Irish government invested huge time and money to free our captured Aid worker and ensured her safe return. Everyone has a right to life and god knows they paid their taxes to warrant some effort by the British government!
March 03 10:52
James
Dare I say it, we should follow the french governments example.
The British Government cannot pay ransoms.
However, the Royal Navy Vessel should never have allowed them to be transferred to the larger ship. This should have been sunk after good warning, and the yacht seized by marines.
I believe the French Govt extracted one kidnapped crew. We should do the same.