Spain's Deputy PM on Alakrana hostage crisis: We knew exactly where the crew were at all times

Spain's Deputy PM on Alakrana hostage crisis: We knew exactly where the crew were at all times
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By m.p. - Nov 25, 2009 - 3:27 PM

The Deputy Prime Minister in Congress on Wednesday - EFE

De la Vega said the government used all the means at its disposal which are permitted by law to obtain the crew's release

The Deputy Minister has appeared in Congress to explain the government’s management of the Alakrana hostage crisis and told the chamber this Wednesday that the government’s actions were coordinated and were at all times in accordance with the law. ‘Complying with the law is not an option for the government’, she said, ‘it is an obligation’.

María Teresa Fernández de la Vega told the house that from the first day of the situation the government had two objectives: to bring the 36 sailors home safe and sound, and to do that using the means at our disposal which are permitted by law. That, she said, is what we have done.

She gave compliance with the law as the reason why the two pirates who were captured shortly after the Alakrana was taken were brought to Spain. The other controversial issue the Deputy Prime Minister referred to was the announcement from the pirates that three of the crew had been handed over to the families in Somalia of the pirates held in Spain, saying the government always knew exactly where all the crew were at every moment.

Without giving any details, she said action taken that day aimed to guarantee the crew’s safety, adding that all those affected – the families, the ship owner, regional governments and the opposition Partido Popular – were kept informed in detail over the 47 days.

De la Vega concluded that ‘If the effectiveness of any action is measured by the results and means employed, we could say that we are reasonably satisfied’.

Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría responded for the Partido Popular by saying the whole situation could have been prevented if the government had followed her party’s recommendations 10 days previously to assign military from the Spanish Navy on board the trawlers to protect the crew from pirate attacks.

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