| Father of dead SKorea hostage blasts church |
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| Thursday, 30 August 2007 | ||||||
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He said he felt "deeply irritated" at the recklessness of the church in pushing through with the humanitarian project in Afghanistan despite concerns over the safety of the volunteers and warnings from the government. SEOUL: The father of Shim Sung-Min, one of the two South Korean hostages killed in Afghanistan, on Thursday welcomed the release of other captives but said it revives the pain he feels for his son. Shim Chin-Pyo also strongly criticised the Seoul church which had organised the ill-fated aid trip. His son Shim Sung-Min, a 29-year-old former engineeer, was among 23 volunteers sent to the war-torn country by the Saem-Mul Church who were taken hostage by the Taliban on July 19. The insurgents killed Shim and Pastor Hyung-Kyu in July to press their demands to swap the Koreans for jailed Taliban members. Earlier this month they freed two women and on Tuesday, after apparently dropping demands for a swap, agreed with South Korean government negotiators to release the remainder. Twelve were freed Thursday and the remaining seven may be released on Friday. "This is very good news not only for the families of the hostages but for the whole country and the government as well. But personally, it brings me fresh sadness over my lost son," Shim Chin-Pyo said. "I don't know why my son was there and why he was singled out to be killed even through he was just an ordinary fellow among the group," said Shim, a member of the local assembly in the southern town of Goseong. He said he felt "deeply irritated" at the recklessness of the church in pushing through with the humanitarian project in Afghanistan despite concerns over the safety of the volunteers and warnings from the government. "I wonder why the church was so reckless in taking them to the dangerous country. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time, moving in such a conspicuous manner. They travelled on a dangerous road at night in a bus." Shim said he did not know his son had gone to Afghanistan until his acquaintances told him they saw Sung-Min's picture on TV about 24 hours after the news broke of the hostage-taking. "The church should have informed us about the trip to the dangerous place in advance," the father said. He also said he wanted to see a written waiver allegedly given by his son to the church before leaving on the trip. A senior official of the Saem-Mul Church said all the 23 had volunteered to serve in Afghanistan. The official, who declined to be identified, would not give further details pending the release of all the remaining hostages. "Leaders of the church tried to console me in Christian ways, saying my son was brought to Heaven by God. But it was far from a consolation for me as I am a Buddhist to the bone," Shim said. http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1118641
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