Deft diplomacy freed Thai hostages
Thailand’s use of every possible diplomatic pressure point to secure the release of its hostages from Hamas custody may also provide pointers to Nepal as it seeks to free one of its students believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.
Thai negotiators used Shia Muslim politicians including House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha and Leaprong Sayed to approach the Iranian backers of Hamas directly. They made several trips to Tehran in the past weeks.
The fact that the Thai Muslims were non-political and were sympathetic to the Palestinian cause is said to have helped secure the release.
In addition, the Thais also worked with Qatari and Egyptian mediators and managed to get their workers released in a deal that was not part of the overall ceasefire agreement and the Israeli and Palestinian prisoner exchange deal.
There were an estimated 30,000 Thai farm workers in Israel, but about 7.500 of them have returned to Thailand after the war started on 7 October. More than 1,200 Israelis were killed in the attack, and 257 were taken hostage.
More than 15,000 Palestinians, most of them children, have been killed in heavy Israeli bombardment of Gaza until the ceasefire on 26 November. The ceasefire has been extended till Thursday.
The highest number of foreign hostages held and killed by Hamas were Thai agriculture workers, and so far 17 have been released in three phases. Fifteen are still held by Hamas, and 39 Thais were killed in the 7 October Hamas attack.
Ten Nepali agriculture students working in Kibbutz Alum were killed, and one of them, Bipin Joshi, 21, was reported to have been led away by Hamas militants along with the Thais.
Later CCTV videos captured by the Israel Defence Force from Al-Shifa Hospital purportedly shows Joshi being led down the corridor by Hamas along with an injured Thai in a stretcher.
In a statement on Monday, the Thai foreign Ministry said: ‘We thank all parties involved in the efforts towards this latest releases, and the Royal Thai government continues to exert all efforts towards the safe release of the remaining 15 Thai hostages.’
Meanwhile, in Nepal Bipin Joshi’s family has appealed to the Nepal government to strengthen its efforts to get his release by Hamas. They said they had been hopeful that he would be freed along with the Thais, but have been disappointed so far.
Joshi, along with the ten students who were killed were all university agriculture students selected by the Israeli Embassy in Kathmandu for its ‘earn and learn’ program in farms in Israel.
Last week, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal met visiting Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, and asked him to use his good offices to secure Joshi’s release.
Foreign policy analysts say Thailand has been much more engaged in the hostage release negotiations because many more of its nationals are involved compared to Nepalis. Also, Thailand has more clout in the international community, and has also strategically used its Muslim leaders, which Nepal has not.