After having evacuated almost 5,000 Indians from Iraq, the Government has shifted its focus and resources to bring out people from libya, where the security situation is deteriorating at a fast pace.
Strife in libya claimed an Indian’s life when Kerala’s Solomon Daniel died during a bomb attack last week in Benghazi. The Government is speeding up evacuation to prevent any more casualties.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in the Rajya Sabha that the challenge before the Government is to persuade reluctant Indians to come back while the exit routes are still open. However, like Iraq, many Indians in libya, too, are willing to risk their lives and stay put there. Since most of the Indian workers in libya hail from Kerala, Swaraj has urged Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy to persuade these persons to return at earliest.
“Our priority is to get back all Indians stranded there. Money will not be an issue when it comes to the safety of Indians,” Swaraj said.
The Government is exploring various exit routes like using the Tunisia border or through Malta after being ferried from Benghazi. The Minister said that even though US, UK, France and China have shut down their embassies in Tripoli, the Indian Embassy is working round-the-clock and 70 coordinators have been deployed in addition to existing staff to help Indians return.
The Indian Embassy of Egypt has sent its senior diplomats in Tripoli and Malta to facilitate move of nationals from libya in view of deteriorating security situation. About 44 Indian nurses were to cross over from libya to Tunisia on Monday while on Saturday 68 Indians working in libya were moved to Malta.
However, while replying to a Calling Attention motion in Rajya Sabha on the plight of stranded workers from India in Iraq Swaraj said that Government remains concerned over the 41 Indian construction workers who still are in captivity in Iraq. Even though there is no direct between them and the Government, the minister said she has credible information that these men are safe. She added that the Government will leave no stone unturned for their safe return and that she is knocking all doors, seeking help.
“The safety and security of Indian nationals, especially 41 Indian nationals in captivity in Mosul, is a matter of foremost concern for us. We are leaving no stone unturned for their safe return. I have knocked at all doors which can help bring these Indians back. I am waiting like a mother waits for her children to return,” Swaraj said So far 4,900 Indians have returned from Iraq and the Government has provided air tickets and travel assistance to 3,938 of them. There were about 22,000 Indians in Iraq, out of which 15,000 were living in Kurdistan, an area so far completely safe. She dismissed reports that a Malayali businessman had helped in the return of Kerala nurses from Iraq.
During the discussions Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav taunted PM Modi for not taking his EAM during foreign tours, Swaraj responded sharply: “You are trying to create a rift between me and the PM by questioning why he did not take me along to Brazil for the BRICS Summit or to Nepal. Had I gone, then people would have asked what was the need for both of us to go while the Parliament session was on!”
Meanwhile, Swaraj said the Government is also working through diplomatic channels to get back Alexis Prem Kumar, who was kidnapped in Afghanistan in June. The minister said as per latest information, Kumar was still alive in captivity. The Government is also reworking the present Immigration law to make it more stringent and regulate recruitment and placement agencies.