Government negotiation with terrorists
No negotiation with terrorists refers to a policy followed by most Western countries to not negotiate with terrorists. This policy is often applied during hostage crises. Often the policy is limited to not paying ransom demands, and doesn't apply to other forms of negotiation. There are multiple motivations for such policies, including a lack of guarantee of the hostage's safe return upon payment, as well as not creating an incentive for future hostage-takings. As long as a country consistently applies this policy on a no-exception basis, terrorists can anticipate that there will be no reward for trading hostages.
Background
On June 18, 2013, G8 leaders signed an agreement against paying ransoms to terrorists.[1]
By country
United States
The United States has a policy of no negotiation with terrorists for hostages.[2][3] There have been heavily criticized incidents in which U.S. government leaders were found to have negotiated with terrorists, with the most notable being the Iran–Contra affair and Barack Obama's negotiation with the Taliban Five.
- In the Iran–Contra affair, the Reagan administration sought to free seven American hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah, a paramilitary group with Iranian ties connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, by selling them weapons. The scandal led to the resignation of several high ranking US government officials.
- In May 2014, the U.S. government secured the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held in Guantanamo. His release led to attacks by Republican lawmakers, who claimed President Barack Obama had abandoned the decades-old U.S. policy of not negotiating with terrorists.[4]
Israel
Israel generally does not negotiate with terrorists.[5]
- Israel in 1993 secretly negotiated the Oslo accords with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), even as the PLO continued its campaign and refused to recognize Israel's right to exist.[5]
- Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, where Hamas released Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 prisoners held by Israel.
Japan
In January 2015, hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto were beheaded by ISIL after Japan refused to meet ISIL's demand of $200 million for the release of the hostages.[6][7]
United Kingdom
- The British government maintained a secret back channel to the Irish Republican Army, even after the 1991 Downing Street mortar attack.[5]
Spain
- In 1988, the Spanish government negotiated with the ETA six months after the group had killed 21 shoppers in the 1987 Hipercor bombing.[5]
By terrorist organization
Al Qaeda
An investigation by The New York Times found that Al-Qaeda and its affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008. These payments were made almost exclusively by European governments, which funneled the money through a network of proxies, sometimes masking it as development aid.[7][8]
Criticism
Some Western countries such as the United States, Canada, and Britain tend to not negotiate or pay ransom to terrorists, and other Western countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland are more open to negotiation and ransom payment. That creates tension between governments with opposing policies.[1][7] Another area of criticism is that even if not negotiating with terrorists is the announced policy of a country, a country at times may still negotiate with terrorists, depending on which political party rules the country.
References
- Meyer, Josh. "Why the G8 pact to stop paying terrorist ransoms probably won't work—and isn't even such a great idea". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
- U.S. Department of State Public Affairs Bureau (October 17, 1995), Fact sheet: International terrorism–American hostages, p. 1076, Public Affairs Bureau file B91219207B, retrieved 2017-03-22 – via Evolution of U. S. Counterterrorism Policy by Alexander Kraft (2007)
- Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (November 2001). "Fact Sheet: International Terrorism: American Hostages". U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda. 6 (3): 32–33. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- Powell, Jonathan. "We must negotiate with terrorists: The dirty secret our government does not want to admit". Salon. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- Neumann, Peter R. (2007-01-01). "Negotiating With Terrorists". Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
- "ISIS Beheads Haruna Yukawa: Why The Japanese Hostages Were In Syria". International Business Times. 2015-01-24. Archived from the original on 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
- "Where Exactly Is the Rule That Says Governments Can't Negotiate with Terrorists? - VICE". Vice. Archived from the original on 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
- Callimachi, Rukmini (2014-07-29). "Paying Ransoms, Europe Bankrolls Qaeda Terror". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2017-03-08. Retrieved 2017-02-26.