The 15 men and women in the British navy, who were captured in Iran and are accused of 'trespassing' in Iranian waters are to be freed. They have been held captive for nearly two weeks. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6525905.stm There was talk of a trail in Iran, in which if found guilty they could be executed. The Iranian president says "We have every right to put these people on trial," he asserted. "But I want to give them as a present to the British people to say they are all free." I don't believe in war in the slightest, but they were not attacking or being hostile so to capture young women and men and keep them from their families then saying he is returning them 'as a gift' is just disgraceful. They are human beings and do not belong to others to take and give back in a political war. I hope they are returned safely!
These people should have been released from the get-go. It was unnecessary what Iran did and these are innocent people. I'm glad everything is sort of getting back to normal.
Trespassing international boundaries without permission is punishable by whichever way the country deems, it it their land, their jurisdiction, unreasonable as it might seem, this is excercising national sovereignty and everyone is entitled to their own perspectives on issues such as this.
I'm glad to see that this is over. It was redic, and unnecessary. I too hope they get returned home without a hitch.
But the point is that it is suspected that they were never trespassing in the first place and that the confessions were forced. During the televised confessions, you could clearly hear someone telling them what to say, and the first co-ordinates Iran gave as to where they found the soldiers suddenly changed to somewhere completely different. Now when you're talking about something that is considered to be so serious that it can be punished by death, you, as a government, would surely get your facts right.. Also, the ship that the soldiers were searching was, and is still, anchored in Iraqi waters. All the arguments aside, I suppose we should just be glad that they have been freed. My point is that it can be disputed whether Iran actually had the right to arrest them in the first place.
Us Canadians didn't keep the Spanish ship crew here for as long as Iran did. I'm refering to when the Spanish were fishing in our waters way back, we simply took hold of their ships, captured their crew and then sent them back to wherever they came from. Iran could have been reasonable instead of using such tactics as capturing the British.
I think this will be the end of the matter now. The Iranian president looks good in front of his ppl and Blair handled the situation calmly and looks good to the brits so thats will be the end of it.As it was the second time this has happened I wonder if they will larn there lesson and only send in well armed and well backed up personel to dothere jobs, if those personael had better boats and betterarms i doubt the iranians would have tried but they were a soft target.
Im playing Devil's Advocate, cuzz I dont like to follow everyone elses opinions, but think about it like this. If the US found some Iranians in a navy boat or w/e like the ones the british were in, dont you think the US would so the same thing?
It needed doing. The UK and america need to stop thinking they rule the world. Why are we allowed nuclear missiles but their not? why are we allowed to hold prisoners without anyone blinking an eyelid but we lose 15 and the whole world is angry. I dont think it'll be long before the rest unite to war USA or usa/Uk. Either way both have brought it on themselves. I just hope it happens while im not around
Hell yeah, I hope they are returned safely. Hope. Prior to that I don't know how many videos were taken of Caucasians being decapitated and all that. *barf* Iran will probably say something about them being British spies and then detain them again, and more conflict will happen. Or not.
ummm, they were returned today I think. Iran said it was an Easter present! I think the US is very unjust in the way they do things!!
I think it was to make a point. Our goverment thinks everything is going to be fine and dandy and democracy there is such a great thing. I think they will soon discover it is not what they thought it would be. Simply by capturing those 15 people the president made a point in clearly stating that things are not at ease. that our countries are not allies.
I think this has all occurred for several reasons. Probably, Iran is looking to be recognized from a global perspective as an influential country. This has not been the first case whereby Iran has stood up against the glaring lights of the world. Remember the issue over nuclear weapons? Clearly, the country seeks to improve its position. Secondly, it is a matter of enforcing the rules. Although I agree that they were rather unreasonable, I agree fully with their basis for retaining those Brits. In a society faced with ever-encroaching globalization, we cannot afford to forsake a country's rules or regulations simply to "ease tensions" or to make a show of affability. Indeed, such a thing is already being done in cases where the US ignores Russia's authoritarian moves against its own citizens, and even China's human rights issues which have mostly been brushed aside to prevent conflict. Thus, I believe Iran had reason for doing what it did although they could have done this in a less antagonizing manner (e.g. not airing the captors over TV). The one thing I find awry, though, is the President of Iran's long silence before asserting his power. Any thoughts on this?