PM denies deal freed reporter.

This is from the Star. So far there seem to be few details of exactly how the release took place and if any of the kidnappers are arrested. If there were a deal it is unlikely that the government would admit it. False denial is hardly considered lying in these circumstances, rather it is standard protocol! Of course the denial could be true but we certainly do not have much evidence to support it so far just the word of two politicians. Harper may be more reliable than Karzai but maybe not by much! There is a lot of murkiness about what happened. Reports seem to indicate the kidnappers were not Taliban but then why would Taliban be released in exchange or were they also of a different group or was there no quid pro quo at all? Then how come the release? Was it just that authorities had intelligence about where she might be and the kidnappers fled? Maybe more detail will be released or else the whole episode will fade into history.

PM denies deal freed reporter

REUTERS/National Directorate of Security
Freed Canadian journalist Mellissa Fung, left, is seated next to Amrullah Saleh, the head of the Afghan National Directorate of Security, after being released in Kabul, Nov. 8, 2008.
Says no ransom paid, no prisoners released or exchanged to free CBC journalist
Nov 11, 2008 04:30 AM
Tonda MacCharles Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper has denied reports Taliban prisoners were exchanged for the release on Saturday of CBC journalist Mellissa Fung, who was kidnapped outside Kabul four weeks earlier.
"I think I've said already there've been continued reports about ransoms or money being paid," Harper said yesterday of a story in the Pakistan Observer and referred to in many Canadian reports. "That was not done in this case. Likewise, there's been no release or exchange of political prisoners.
"This matter is being handled according to the laws of the government of Canada and the government of Afghanistan and that's all I'll say in that regard."
The report in the Pakistan Observer, and a similar one by the Afghan Islamic Press Online, said Fung was released only after two Taliban leaders were freed from jail.
Fung, 35, was kidnapped by armed men Oct. 12 after doing interviews at a refugee camp on the outskirts of the capital of Kabul.
The Pakistan Observer's website said Fung "got freedom after intense negotiations with a Taliban source in Afghanistan and abroad."
The paper cited an Afghan source denying initial reports that she was freed "as a result of an operation."
"An Afghan source Sunday confirmed that she was released only after Canadian and Afghan governments had agreed to release the two `dangerous militants.'"
The pair was being held on charges of terrorism and the murder of foreign troops, the Observer report said. It also said the journalist was expected to leave Kabul yesterday for "home."
However, CBC media relations spokesperson Jeff Keay said in an email reply to the Star that Fung's arrival "in Canada is not imminent; i.e., not for several days at least."
Keay also added she was not expected to speak to media yesterday or today.
Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, Ron Hoffman, also denied any prisoner exchange occurred.
"I've been very close to this and there was no such exchange," Hoffman told The Canadian Press yesterday. "I am more than reasonably confident that there was no exchange of Taliban prisoners."
A spokesperson for the Afghan government also denied any sort of swap had taken place.
"There is absolutely nothing, no exchange, nothing," said Ahmed Wali Karzai, the chairman of Kandahar's provincial council and younger half-brother of President Hamid Karzai.
Karzai credited the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan's often controversial secret police, for securing Fung's release.
Fung has not yet spoken publicly to Canadian news outlets, which suppressed news of her kidnapping at the request of her employer, the CBC, as part of an international effort to try to ensure her safe release.
Canadian news editors have defended the decision, but readers' comments on the websites of several news organizations have raised questions about whether the same regard would have been shown for another kidnap victim who was not a member of the media.

The price of Fung's release

Although most recent articles mention nothing about any negotiations or deal for Fung's release a recent article in a Pakistan paper suggests that there was. This is from the Pakobserver. Nothing about this in a recent Star article or the Nationalpost.
Hower in Spector's Globe Blog he notes the Pakistan article. A commentator also notes that inspite of the blackout in Canadian newsmedia, in Afghanistan the kidnapping had been reported on October 13. A portion of the comment is printed beneath the excerpt from the Pakobserver.
The commentator thinks the blackout has something to do with worries about what effects the news might have on the Canadian election. This could be. Some say that news about the kidnapping might lead to more danger for Fung but I am not really sure this would be the case. But perhaps the kidnappers prefer to negotiate without publicity. There is no sign that they tried to create publicity as some kidnappers do. Most reports indicate that the kidnappers had nothing to do with the Taliban and the Taliban have denied responsibillity I believe, so it is a bit strange that Taliban rather than some other militants were released in the bargain. We should be learning "the rest of the story"in the coming days.

2 Taliban leaders swap for Canadian journalist
Akhtar JamalIslamabad—Two Taliban leaders held in Afghanistan on charges of terrorism and murder of foreign troops have been released in exchange of a Canadian journalist kidnpapped about a month ago and was freed on Saturday. According to reports reaching here from Afghanistan Ms.Mellissa Fung, a journalist working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) in Afghanistan, was freed on Saturday only after two Taliban leaders were freed from jail and taken to the mountains West of Kabul. NATO and Afghan officials were not ready to make any comment.Ms. Fung is expected to leave Kabul Monday for home after undergoing a medical checkup. Canadian news women Fung had been working on a Special Assignment in the southern city of Kandahar before her abduction.Fung was abducted by “armed men” presumed to be supporters of Taliban at a UN refugee camp in the outskirts of Kabul on October 12 and got freedom after intense negotiations with Taliban source in Afghanistan and abroad.Afghan forces in Afghanistan initially claimed that the Candian journalist was freed as s result of an operation while other sources suspected that a “heavy ransom” was paid for her freedom. However an Afghan source Sunday confirmed that she was released only after Canadian and Afghan Governments had agreed to release the two “dangerous militants”.Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Sunday said that “hundreds of Canadian and Afghan officials had been involved in the effort to free Fung” but did not give any further details. Canadian Prime Minister also called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to thank him for his cooperation in the release of the journalist.Canadian PM also thanked media organizations for agreeing to a request from the CBC to respect a news blackout until the case had been resolved............

What gives? Would the fact that the Globe endorsed Harper have anything to do with their dutiful black out compliance?And how would a partial time delay, as you are suggesting, have served any purpose, unless of course the sole purpose was to keep Harper's "election bubble" in tact? After all, October 12, 2008 was when Harper stopped taking questions from reporters on any topic, as reported by Steve Chase in the Globe. More black out behaviour that would never be tolerated in any other western country.Here's what Afghans were told but Canadians weren't:Afghan Islamic Press Online http://www.afghanislamicpress.com/site/home/detail.asp?iData=15318Canadian journalist abducted in KabulKABUL (AIP): Unknown gunmen kidnapped a Canadian female journalist in Kabul yesterday (Oct. 13), sources said Monday. Informed sources told Afghan Islamic Press that the Canadian journalist was capture in Char Rahi Qanbar area, western part of Kabul City after she visited a refugee camp. Security officials are tight lipped over the incident and avoid giving any details to media. The 27-year old female Canadian journalist was working for a Canadian magazine and had also visited the cam several times in the past. There was no word by security officials and armed groups in this regard. Ends Posted @ 06:20 GMT