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Negotiators return to Philippine capital as hostage talks stall
JOLO, Philippines, June 1 (AFP) - 19:44 - Government negotiators were
returning to the Philippine capital for consultations after talks
stalled
with Muslim rebel leaders for the release of 21 mostly foreign hostages,
officials said Thursday.
There has been no momentum since the first formal talks betwen the
negotiators and the Abu Sayyaf leaders took place last Saturday as both
parties held their cards close to their chest.
Malaysia, which has the most number of hostages among the 21 captives
being
held in southern Philippines' Jolo island, has expressed frustration
over
the slow pace of efforts to end the six-week old hostage drama.
Chief government negotiator Roberto Aventajado and Abdusakur Tan, the
governor of Sulu province which covers Jolo, were to fly to Manila on
Friday to assess the progress of the talks supposed to have resumed on
Wednesday.
Two other negotiators, former Libyan Ambassador Rajab Azzarouq and
Parouk
Hussin, are already in Manila and the fifth, Islamic scholar Ibrahim
Ghazali, remained in Jolo.
"The panel will sit down and assess where we are now. Then we will plot
our
next move," Aventajado told reporters in the southern city of Zamboanga.
"I think the negotiations are proceeding well but we cannot lay down all
our cards on the table," he added.
Aventajado declined to give a time frame for the release but recalled
that
previous kidnapping incidents involving the Abu Sayyaf Muslim rebels
lasted
between three and six months.
He said he was hopeful for an early resolution because "this time the
attention and the resources of the government are focused on hastening
the
release of the 21 hostages."
The three Germans, two French people, two Finns, two South Africans,
nine
Malaysians, two Filipinos and a Lebanese were abducted April 23 from the
Malaysian resort of Sipadan and slipped across the sea border to Jolo.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has expressed
frustration
over the pace of negotiations.
The official Bernama news agency quoted him as saying the negotiations
were
"too slow probably because it was very complicated" and called for a
change
in strategy if there was no sign of progress.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said the talks could not be
speeded up because the issue was complicated.
Chief negotiator Aventajado said his panel was dealing with five Abu
Sayyaf
leaders "each with his own personality, each with an objective in mind."
"You have many things to learn before you can become effective
negotiators
in this kind of situation," he said.
During the first formal talks, the rebel leaders demanded an independent
Islamic state, protection for Filipino immigrants in the Malaysian state
of
Sabah and ban on foreign fishing vessels in Jolo waters.
Aventajado immediately ruled out independence but left open discussions
on
the two other demands.
No ransom has been publicly discussed but aides privately admit money
remained the key to hostages' release.
"These political demands are just icings on the cake. It all boils down
to
money," a source close to the negotiators said on condition of
anonymity.
Foreign Secretary Siazon also announced Thursday that Ezzedine Laraki,
the
head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, canceled a planned
trip
to Manila amid warnings against dealing directly with the kidnappers.
Laraki spoke to a Filipino diplomat in Tokyo, where he is on a visit, to
and said "that he is not coming here anymore," Siazon said.
Aventajado said opening direct links with the kidnappers would "muddle
the
talks."
"They are foreigners. They cannot just learn the culture, the dynamics
of
the people (in the Abu Sayyaf)," he said.
Meanwhile, a German doctor on Thursday obtained government clearance to
visit the hostages. It was unclear whether Hort Hytlaus would make it
from
Manila to Jolo on time to join a medical mission scheduled to visit the
hostages Friday.
_______
http://www.lycos-asia.com/my/asia/philippines/000601110605.pq2owkir.html
OIC head cancels planned Philippines trip
MANILA, June 1 (AFP) - 19:06 - The Organization of the Islamic
Conferencesecretary general Ezzedine Laraki has cancelled a planned
visit
to the Philippines to help Manila deal with Muslim guerrilla kidnappers,
Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said Thursday.
Laraki spoke to a Filipino diplomat in Tokyo, where he is making a
visit,
to inform the Philippine government "that he is not coming here
anymore,"
Siazon said.
The Filipino official speculated that the OIC official "has other
business"
in Jeddah, adding: "If he has other business, he knows his priorities."
Siazon made the announcement after Philippine government negotiators
dealing with the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers made blunt warnings to deter the
influential bloc of Muslim nations from dealing directly with the
gunmen.
The gunmen hold nine Malaysians, three Germans, two French, two Finnish,
two South African, two Filipino and one Lebanese in Jolo island. The 21
were seized from the Sipadan resort in Malaysia on April 23.
Siazon reiterated Thursday that Laraki "did not express intention" to go
to
Jolo himself.
"Initially, in the beginning, the OIC volunteered to assist in the
negotiations because they were approached by some of the (European
Union)
countries. The EU thought they would be able to help.
"But when they were confronted by political demands, that's another
matter
already," he said, adding that the Abu Sayyaf might use the occasion to
press their claim for OIC recognition. "It would get complicated,"
Siazon
said.
_______
http://www.lycos-asia.com/my/asia/philippines/000601082928.ygwwaony.html
German doctor cleared to visit Philippine hostages
JOLO, Philippines, June 1 (AFP) - 16:29 - A German doctor on Thursday
obtained Philippine government clearance to visit 21 mostly foreign
hostages held by Abu Sayyaf extremist guerrillas as talks to free them
stalled, officials said.
The doctor, Hort Hytlaus, was still in Manila Thursday and it was
unclear
whether he would make it to the southern island of Jolo on time to join
a
medical mission scheduled to visit the Abu Sayyaf guerrilla camp on
Friday
morning.
A German couple and their teenage son are among 21 people who are into
their sixth week in captivity in the Jolo jungle.
A French couple, two Finns, a South African couple, nine Malaysians, two
Filipinos, a Lebanese and the Germans were seized April 23 from the
Malaysian resort of Sipadan and slipped across the sea border to Jolo by
boat.
Three carpenters would join the medical mission to build a hut for the
hostages to shelter them from heavy rains, said provincial governor
Abdusakur Tan, who is also a member of the government negotiating team.
At present, the hostages are living in tents.
Tan left Jolo on Thursday for medical treatment in Manila, clouding the
prospect of a resumption of formal negotiations between the government
and
the Abu Sayyaf Muslims this week.
German special envoy Cornelius Sommer, in Manila from Berlin to monitor
the
hostage crisis, said no decision had been taken on the doctor's Jolo
trip.
"We are looking at the possibility but no decision has been taken yet,"
Sommer told AFP.
Provincial health officer Nelsa Amin, who is to lead the mission, told
reporters Tan had given permission to the German doctor to go with them.
She told reporters that German hostage Werner Wallert was running a high
fever when the hostages last received medical attention a week ago.
Wallert's wife Renate had back pains but her blood pressure was normal,
while one of two Finnish captives had gastric pains, she added.
"There is no guarantee. This is big gamble for us," Amin said of her
role
in providing medical aid to the hostages.
Sources close to the negotiators said the German doctor's safety was now
assured because communication lines with the kidnappers had been
established.
"There is now more regular communication," one source said.
The gunmen have tabled several political demands, including a bid for an
independent Islamic state in the south.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is sending its
secretary
general Ezzedine Laraki to Manila shortly to weigh on the Abu Sayyaf.
But
the Philippine government bluntly advised him to stay away from Jolo.
"He understands that there are risks involved in going to the place
where
the abductors are," President Joseph Estrada's chief aide Ronaldo Zamora
said.
"They can come and talk to the Philippine government and not talk to the
hostage takers. It will muddle up everything," said provincial governor
Tan.
The foreign department said Laraki was not going to negotiate with the
Abu
Sayyaf.
He will "come to Manila to express both the OIC's concern for the safety
of
the hostages as well as its support for the efforts of the Philippine
government to secure the release of the hostages," the department said
in a
statement.
The Jeddah-based OIC, a powerful forum of Muslim states, has helped
Manila
previously to resolve Muslim rebel crises in the southern Philippines.
________
http://www.lycos-asia.com/my/asia/philippines/000601044845.w1ai1xtw.html
Philippine government wants OIC to stay out of talks with rebels
JOLO, Philippines, June 1 (AFP) - 12:48 - The Organization of the
Islamic
Conference (OIC), which is sending its top official to Manila, should
stay
out of direct talks with Filipino Muslim rebels holding 21 mostly
foreign
hostages, Philippine government officials said Thursday.
"They can come and talk to the Philippine government and not talk to the
hostage takers. It will muddle up everything," said government
negotiator
Abdusakur Tan, also the governor of Sulu province which includes Jolo
island where the hostages are being held.
Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon announced Wednesday that OIC secretary
general Ezzedine Laraki would travel to Manila to meet President Joseph
Estrada and other officials to help break the impasse in the nearly six
week long hostage crisis.
Siazon said Laraki has no timetable yet for the Manila visit. The
Jeddah-based OIC, a powerful forum of Muslim states, has helped Manila
previously to resolve Muslim rebel crises in the southern Philippines.
But Tan, an influential figure in the negotiations, said Thursday that
the
OIC official should confine his trip to Manila.
"If (he) comes to the province of Sulu, we will be concerned about
security. They can talk in Manila and they need not even come here,"
said
Tan, who leaves for Manila Thursday to undergo medical treatment.
Tan's trip to the Philippine capital clouds the prospect of a resumption
of
formal negotiations between the government and the Abu Sayyaf Muslims
this
week for the release of the hostages from seven nations held in the
jungles
of Jolo since April 23.
President Joseph Estrada's press secretary Ricardo Puno said in a radio
interview in Manila that the OIC chief would meet Estrada and Siazon
"but
it's not in order for them to negotiate.
"For example, it appears there is an indication that they are coming
here
to express their support also for the actions taken by the Philippine
government, and to express their interest in the resolution of this
negotiation. That is all.
"It is not for them to come in and join the negotiating team. That
clearly
is not one of their purposes here," Puno said.
Chief government negotiator Roberto Aventajado was in the southern city
of
Zamboanga Thursday monitoring talks between emissaries of the government
and Abu Sayyaf rebels who are also holding another batch of eight
all-Filipino hostages in nearby Basilan island.
Reports have said Abu Sayyaf may want to free the all-Filipino hostages
first. Aventajado may travel to Basilan to monitor developments there
before resuming talks in Jolo, officials said.
Aventajado and the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo met for the first time last
Saturday,
during which the rebels demanded a separate Islamic state, the
protection
of Filipino immigrants in the east Malaysian state of Sabah and a ban on
foreign fishing vessels in Jolo waters.
Aventajado immediately ruled out independence but said Manila would look
into the two other demands. Ransom was not discussed, he said, although
aides privately admit money would be the main factor for the release of
the
21 hostages from France, Finland, Germany, Lebanon, South Africa,
Malaysia
and the Philippines.
Some of the hostages are reportedly ill.
Officials said a German doctor would join a medical mission to the
guerrilla camp on Friday to check on the condition of the hostages.
Doctor Hort Hytlaus, who is to arrive here later Thursday, is to replace
another German doctor on standby here, Wolfgang Brenkel, who was left to
cool his heels at the provincial capital after the local authorities
vetoed
his bid to join the medical missions due to concerns over his personal
safety.
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Subject:
[beritamalaysia] Hostage talks stall; OIC head cancels trip
Date:
Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:30:26 +0800
From:
"Y.W.Loke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To:
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To:
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CC:
"BMalaysia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://www.lycos-asia.com/my/asia/philippines/000601114439.9533g9yo.html
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