Latest update: 13/04/2009 

- kidnapping - Netherlands - Yemen


Dutch hostages ask their govt not to use force
Dutch hostages ask their govt not to use force
A Dutch couple kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen on March 31 urged their government not to use force to free them in a video broadcast by a local television station on Sunday, saying: "We want to survive".

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AFP - A Dutch couple kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen urged their government to refrain from violent methods to release them, in a video broadcast by a local television station Sunday.
   
"We call on the government not to use force to free us but to do it in a peaceful manner," hostage Jan Hoogendoorn said in the broadcast.
   
"We want to survive," said his wife, Heleen Janszen, adding she hoped their "stay" with their abductors "would be as short as possible."
   
The pair, who had been kidnapped March 31 near the Yemen capital Sanaa, appeared in good health and relatively relaxed.
   
Hoogendoorn also sent a message to his family "that everything is okay with us, we are treated very well (and) we are in a hospitable environment."
   
Security forces encircled the area where the couple are believed to have been abducted, but negotiations for their release broke down earlier this month.

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