‘Missing’ in Mosul: Praveen Swami on How MEA Handled the 39 Deaths

Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj called a press briefing in the afternoon on Tuesday, 20 March, to tell the nation that the 39 Indians who went missing in Mosul, Iraq in 2014 have been confirmed dead.

Castigating the Opposition for not maintaining respectful silence when she was attempting to announce the news in the Lok Sabha after having done so in the Rajya Sabha, Swaraj finally got to the point – that the 39 Indians had been confirmed dead through DNA evidence obtained from remains found in a mass grave in Badush, Iraq.

Veteran strategic affairs journalist Praveen Swami spoke to The Quint about the ham-handed way in which the MEA had handled the investigation into the whereabouts of the 39 Indians over the last four years.

From the way it treated Harjit Masih, the lone survivor from the group, to the way in which the families of the dead found out about the news, Swami takes the government to task.

‘MEA Withheld Facts and Reality from the Families’

MEA Swaraj was saying that they had 6 sources saying [the 39 Indians] were alive… I don’t know what was behind her making such statements.   

Praveen Swami, Journalist

The candid thing for the government to do from Day 1 was to say ‘Look, there are these slightly conflicting stories, there’s a war going on, we have no way of knowing what the truth is. And when we can find out, we’ll let you know’. Instead of saying ‘Oh we have these six sources and eight sources’ and whatever else. It would’ve been straightforward and would have spared the families a lot of grief.

Praveen Swami, Journalist

This ‘protective custody’ story is rubbish, because for a lot of that time, he was in India, staying in a RAW facility just outside Delhi. He was kept incommunicado. […] If the government thought he was a useful witness in an enquiry, the rational thing would’ve been to register a murder case and have him as a witness, that’s what the law obliges. In this case, it was handled very strangely. It was almost as if the only intention was that Harjit should not talk to the media.

Praveen Swami, Journalist 

The Treatment of Harjit Masih

The MEA has called Harjit Masih a liar and dismissed his account as untrustworthy. He was in ‘protective custody’ for a year, allegedly because he was in danger after fleeing ISIS.

But the fact of the matter is that the story he’s told is consistent. And the fact of the matter also is, he’s got no motive to lie about these things, it’s not like he was going to make some money by lying about it.   

Praveen Swami, Journalist

How Has Sushma Swaraj Handled the Deaths?

I would definitely cut points for Sushma Swaraj’s handling of the situation, not because they didn’t try – it’s a fact that Swaraj put a lot of effort into this endeavour – but because they weren’t straightforward about all the facts with the public. When I first did the story in 2016, about Kurdish intelligence saying that they had been killed, I remember the kind of pressure that came from the MEA, asking what kind of rumours I am spreading. I had said then that when we know the truth, then what is the use in dragging this out?  

Praveen Swami, Journalist

In any country abroad, they would have notified the family first. They would have made sure a psychologist is in a position to counsel them. To hear it on TV that one fine day, this person you’ve been hoping is alive, is now dead, is savage cruelty.

Praveen Swami, Journalist

'There Are Still Thousands of Indians in Iraq’

If there’s one thing to be learned, it’s this: Even today, there are thousands of Indians working in Iraq, in dangerous conditions. And they are working there, because they pay agents a lot of money to go abroad and until they make that money back, they don’t want to return. In this case, these poor people didn’t want to come back because they hadn’t been paid their full wages, nor was there was any provision for them to return. […] The truth is, in a poor country, there will always be people willing to put themselves in harm’s way to support their families. And maybe instead of making a noise... There should be some kind of insurance policy in place so that they don’t feel they have to stay in a dangerous situation and can come home instead.

Praveen Swami, Journalist