Allawi refuses to abide by demands of the British hostage kidnappers

The interim Iraqi prime minister Eyad Allawi refused to abide by the demands of the kidnappers of the British hostage Margaret Hassan who is threatened to be killed unless the British government withdraw its forces from Iraq.

Allawi said in an interview with the American Fox News to be broadcast today that "we should stay very tough and not to give up the issue of bringing terrorists before the judiciary." He expressed his hope to release Hassan ( 59 year old) who is working for a humanitarian organization in Iraq.

This came after the British hostage appealed in a video tape broadcast by al-Jazeera TV to the British prime minister Tony Blair to withdraw his forces in Iraq and not to redeploy them in Baghdad so as she will not have the same fate as the British Hostage Kenneth Begley who was killed in Iraq earlier this month.

In the first British official reaction to the appeal, the British foreign office secretary Jack Straw said that the video tape which includes the appeal is shocking and called for her release. He expressed his hope that all the Iraqis will join the call to releasing her immediately.