ROME, April 15 (Reuters) - An Italian hostage shot dead in Iraq tried to look his killers in the eye and died like a hero, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Thursday.
Frattini told reporters that Fabrizio Quattrocchi, one of four Italian security guards abducted outside Baghdad, was hooded when his kidnappers put a gun to his head.
"When the murderers were pointing a pistol at him, this man tried to take off his hood and shouted: 'Now I'm going to show you how an Italian dies'. And they killed him," Frattini said.
"He died a hero."
Quattrocchi's kidnappers handed over a tape of the killing to the Arab news channel al Jazeera which refused to broadcast the scene, saying it was too bloody. However, an Italian diplomat viewed the tape and relayed the details to Rome.
Quattrocchi left for Iraq in November to work as a security guard. The 36-year-old, who was specially trained to guard oil pipelines, was earning up to 10,000 euros ($12,500) a month and saving to buy a house with his fiancee, Italian media said.
But until his kidnapping, his mother thought the former baker was working in Kosovo.
His kidnappers, a previously unheard of group, threatened to kill the other three Italian hostages if Italy does not withdraw its troops from Iraq and its support from the United States.
Rome has rejected bowing to such pressure.
Italy stands united in face of hostage drama
ROME, April 15 (Reuters) - Italian politicians closed ranks on Thursday following the shooting of a hostage in Iraq, saying Rome would never bow to demands to withdraw Italian troops from Iraq.
However, the murder on Wednesday of Sicilian security guard Fabrizio Quattrocchi fuelled cross-party calls for the United Nations to take charge of operations in Iraq amidst fears that violence there was spinning out of U.S. control.
Iraqi militants are holding a further three Italians hostage and have threatened to kill them too unless some 3,000 Italian troops are pulled from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.
The majority of Italians opposed the U.S. war on Iraq and the decision by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to dispatch troops following the ousting of Saddam Hussein split the nation. However, the hostage crisis appeared to stiffen resolve.
"It wouldn't just be vile, it would also damage us if we pulled out (of Iraq) with the job half done. We cannot give in," Defence Minister Antonio Martino told reporters.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini praised Quattrocchi as a "hero" and dismissed a purported audio tape by Osama bin Laden, aired on Arab television, that offered a truce to Europeans if they withdrew troops from Muslim nations.
"It is completely unthinkable that we could start negotiations with bin Laden," Frattini told reporters.
Opposition leaders, many of them deeply critical of Berlusconi's unwavering support for U.S. President George W. Bush, urged a united front over the hostages.
"The vile blackmail by a band of criminal kidnappers must not be given the dignity of a political response. Italy is and must remain unified and together," said Francesco Rutelli, leader of a centre-left opposition group, the Daisy party.
UN INVOLVEMENT
However, both opposition and government supporters said the United Nations had to play a more active role in Iraq to prevent the situation deteriorating further.
"Some say that this isn't yet Vietnam, but unfortunately facts show we aren't far off," said centre-left leader Clemente Mastella. "Before it is too late, the Italian government must do everything possible to internationalise the crisis."
A blurry image of Quattrocchi taken shortly before his death stared out from the front pages on Thursday as Italy faced up to its first full-blown hostage crisis in recent memory.
Rome's traditional pro-Arab stance shielded Italians from past bouts of Middle East violence. Berlusconi has changed the diplomatic equation by proving a firm ally of U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
While many Italians have criticised this shift in emphasis, few people except for the distraught families of the hostages called for talks with the Iraqi kidnappers.
"I absolutely oppose what is happening in Iraq, but I don't think that the kidnap and murder of one person should be what shapes policy," said Clara Biondo, a 26-year-old student in Milan. "That would be effectively paying them ransom." (Additional reporting by Clara Ferreira-Marques in Milan)
Tarantulas wrote:By all means criticize the tone and content of their reports and criticize the bias you feel they have.Here are a couple of articles about why Al-Jazeera should always be questioned as a source of news.
But to equate them to a propaganda wing for said extremists is false.
They are often sensationalist in nature and their reporting has a tabloid quality but they are not in bed with extremists.
They are not avoiding stories because of issues of heroism and such like you argued.
Quote:As for my "feckless accusation," please note my use of the word "probably." It's only my opinion, not an accusation.
Opinions and accusations are not mutually exclusive. Your accusation was a feckless one and was not contingient on the word "probably".
You said that "They don't want people to know about heroism".
Quote:And they didn't shrink back from showing the security contractors killed and their bodies descrated by the mob in Fallujah. So, as usual, I doubt their motives.
Will you doubt the US media outlet's motives as well? They too published Fallujah mutilation. Will you indict them as not wanting people to know about heroism if they do not broadcast the execution of the Italian?
Not false. Unproven. Unless you know for a fact exactly what goes on in every Al Jazeera office everywhere, you can't know whether they're a propaganda wing or not.
Again, this is your personal opinion, not an established and documented fact. For all we know they could be funded and led by Al Qaeda.
That, too, is my opinion. Let's be crystal clear about this. Unless I say "I know the following statement is an established and undeniable fact because I have seen it and touched it and smelled and tasted and heard it," every statement I make on this board is my personal opinion. When I accuse someone of something, I back it up with facts. Until then, it's nothing more than a personal opinion.
Oh yes, I doubt ALL media outlets. They all have an axe to grind and masters to serve and a spin to impart.
The US media, however, are notorious for being over-sensitive and not showing extremely gory photos. Al Jazeera, it seems, has had no such qualms about showing blood and gore in the past. And that's the difference. In my opinion, that is.
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