Appeals to Enzo's kidnappers

Italian Stop the War activists have issued an appeal to Enzo's kidnappers: "Baldoni is a journalist who has always openly spoken against the war on Iraq and against Italian participation in the occupation of that country. To harm Enzo Baldoni will in no way further the cause of peace. On the contrary, it will merely serve to strengthen the war "faction", to which the Italian government belongs. Baldoni is part of the vast majority of the Italian population. For a long time now, this majority has demanded the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq. In Italy, huge demonstrations have shown time and again how the people are truly committed to peace. We shall continue in this commitment, calling for the withdrawal of all occupation troops and for the end of the criminal policies pursued by the United States and their allies, policies that spell death and destruction for Iraqi civilians. We ask that Baldoni be allowed to continue to give his contribution to peace and correct information, alongside millions of Italian men and women committed to peace and justice."

Gabriella Baldoni, Enzo's daughter, appealed : "We turn to the Iraqi people, tormented by war, and to the men who are holding our father Enzo, with an appeal simply to tell them that Enzo Baldoni is in Iraq as a man of peace. He was trying to save human lives in Najaf by helping a Red Cross convoy in a spirit of solidarity which has always underscored his thinking and his actions. It is in this same spirit that we ask you to be able to hold him in our arms again, alive."

Enrico Deaglio, editor of Dairio, the magazine for which Enzo is writing, said: "We would like to let the men who are holding Enzo Baldoni know who he is. He is a person animated by human feelings for the people who suffer in the world. He is an independent and absolutely autonomous journalist."

The Italian government had said Enzo was in Iraq in "a private capacity as a journalist and was absolutely not connected to the Italian government" but insisted it will not leave Iraq, although Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told al-Jazeera today that Enzo is a man of peace who is in Iraq "to tell the tale of the suffering of the Iraqi people," and said "we are ready to leave Iraq, even tomorrow, if the government of Allawi asks us."