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PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
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Subject:
[beritamalaysia] M'sia: Have to consider ransom;
Hostage-takers acquire
fresh arms
Date:
Fri, 16 Jun 2000 01:13:53 +0800
From:
"Y.W.Loke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To:
"Berita Malaysia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CC:
"BMalaysia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://www.lycos-asia.com/my/asia/philippines/000615113140.y7e7dynv.html
Malaysia says hostage negotiators would have to consider ransom
JOLO, Philippines, June 15 (AFP) - 19:31 - Malaysian Foreign Minister
Syed
Hamid Albar said Thursday that negotiators would have to consider paying
a
ransom to win the freedom of 21 mostly foreign hostages held by Muslim
extremists in the southern Philippines.
"In exceptional circumstances like this, there would have to be
exceptional
ways of dealing with such matters," he said when asked if Malaysia was
willing to pay a ransom to break the impasse over the seven-week long
saga.
The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, who snatched their hostages from the
Malaysian
resort off Borneo on April 23 and brought them to Jolo by boat, have
demanded one million dollars for each captive.
The Philippine government has maintained a no-ransom policy in past
kidnappings by Muslim rebels but acknowledged paying so-called board and
lodging payments to the captors.
Syed Hamid, who arrived here late Wednesday for a two-day visit, said he
felt the ransom had not featured yet in the talks between negotiators
and
the rebels.
"I don't think ransom at present is one of the matters that is being
discussed or considered," he said, after talks with Philippine President
Joseph Estrada and Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon.
Nine Malaysians are among the hostages being held by the Abu Sayyaf
Muslim
extremist group in the southern island of Jolo.
The other captives include three Germans, two each from Finland, France,
the Philippines and South Africa, and one from Lebanon.
Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang told a government emissary Thursday that
the
medical condition of 57-year-old German woman hostage Renate Wallert,
who
has heart complications and blood in her stool, had deteriorated.
Frenchman Stephane Loisy, suffering from psychological distress, was
"getting worse," Andang was quoted as saying by the emissary who visited
the Abu Sayyaf camp.
The Western hostages were separated from their Asian counterparts last
weekend after reports of a military rescue attempt.
Syed Hamid expressed regret that it had taken a long time to resolve the
hostage crisis.
"If you think of the effort made by the Philippine government, I think
we
are very happy. We are supporting that ... no complaints.
"What everybody is talking about is the time that it has taken," he
said.
Siazon said Syed Hamid discussed with Philippine officials cross-border
patrols, increasing entry and exit points for bilateral travel,
cooperation
of the armed forces, and ways of dealing with "undocumented" Filipino
immigrants in the Malaysian state of Sabah in Borneo.
The possibility of establishing a Filipino consulate in Sabah's capital
Kota Kinabalu was also discussed.
Government negotiators were expected to return to here on Friday to
resume
negotiations suspended since Monday when Manila accused the Abu Sayyaf
of
making "impossible" demands.
But the negotiators are to adopt a lower profile and avoid the
"disruptive"
glare of the media, Estrada's chief aide, Executive Secretary Ronaldo
Zamora said in a radio interview in Manila.
"When you have hostage negotiations, it would be better outside media
coverage. It's not because we're hiding something, but it really becomes
disruptive at times."
Zamora said the gunmen, who style themselves as independence fighters,
have
exploited intense media attention to try to prolong the crisis and win
more
concessions from the government.
Shielding the negotiators from the glare of the media spotlight would
allow
them to "really do something and not have their every move being
announced,
analyzed, or both sides being interviewed," he added.
________
http://www.lycos-asia.com/my/asia/philippines/000615065110.xv9dtq72.html
Philippine hostage negotiators to adopt lower profile
JOLO, Philippines, June 15 (AFP) - 14:51 - Philippine negotiators are to
adopt a lower profile and avoid the "disruptive" glare of the media when
they renew talks with Muslim extremists holding 21 mostly foreign
hostages,
a senior aide to President Joseph Estrada said Thursday.
The government team is due to arrive in this southern island on Friday
in
hopes of ending the nearly two-month-old hostage crisis involving
nationals
from seven countries.
Negotiations were suspended for four days Monday as Manila accused the
Abu
Sayyaf kidnappers of making "impossible" demands.
"It would be better the negotiations were at the lower level, but you
cannot do that if you have media tailing you," Estrada's chief aide,
Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said in a radio interview in Manila.
"We do not think that the actual negotiations should be covered" by the
press, he said.
"When you have hostage negotiations, it would be better outside media
coverage. It's not because we're hiding something, but it really becomes
disruptive at times."
Zamora said the gunmen, who style themselves as independence fighters,
have
exploited intense media attention to try to prolong the crisis and win
more
concessions from the government.
Shielding the negotiators from the glare of the media spotlight would
allow
them to "really do something and not have their every move being
announced,
analyzed, or both sides being interviewed," he added.
The gunmen want 21 million dollars in exchange for the captives, along
with
a set of political concessions including an independent Islamic state in
the southern third of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines.
They are also demanding the "return" of the Malaysian state of Sabah to
its
previous rulers -- a Muslim sultanate based in Jolo.
Filipino historians say the sultan of Sulu, which includes Jolo,
acquired
sovereignty over Sabah from the Sultan of Brunei in the 17th century.
Manila contends that Britain illegally annexed Sabah in 1946 and turned
the
territory over to Malaysia after independence in 1963. The Philippines
has
not renounced its sovereignty over the territory.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was holding talks with
Estrada
and senior Filipino officials in Manila on Thursday.
The hostages were snatched from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan
on
April 23. The group includes nine Malaysians, three Germans, two each
from
Finland, France, the Philippines and South Africa and one from Lebanon.
Zamora said the government panel was expected to reopen a "humanitarian
corridor" through which government emissaries have delivered food and
medicine to the hostages throughout most of their 53-day ordeal.
The corridor was shut down after Manila suspended negotiations on
Monday.
"We're obviously concerned about their health," Zamora said.
An Abu Sayyaf demand that chief government negotiator Roberto
Aventajado,
an Estrada aide, be ousted from the government negotiating team, was
rejected by the president.
Zamora reiterated Thursday that foreign governments involved in the
crisis
should realize that "this won't be resolved immediately."
Sources close to negotiations said the government team faced a difficult
task in striking a balance between meeting the political and financial
demands of different Abu Sayyaf factions. The rebels have five senior
leaders, each controlling their own territory in Jolo.
Aventajado was said to be inclined towards paying off Abu Sayyaf leaders
but the effort was stymied by another faction which has been insisting
on
political demands, according to the sources.
________
http://thestar.com.my/online/newsreport.asp?file=/2000/6/15/nation/1507pkjo
.
asp&newspage=nation
Thursday, June 15, 2000
Cooling off period may be extended
Reports by Muguntan Vanar, Ruben Sario and Philip Golingai
JOLO: The Philippine government may extend the "cooling off'' period for
the negotiations with Abu Sayyaf gunmen holding 21 hostages here.
The move comes amid claims that chief negotiator Robert Aventajado's
life
is in danger.
With the protracted talks at a standstill since Sunday, the Abu Sayyaf
group was reportedly trying to initiate backroom negotiations with
so-called "middlemen'' claiming to represent the countries of the
hostages.
Philippine executive secretary Ronaldo Zamora confirmed that
Aventajado's
life was in danger and said Abu Sayyaf gunmen were believed to be behind
the threat.
The assassination threat came after the gunmen demanded the removal of
Aventajado as chief negotiator and be replaced by Zamora.
On Monday, the Philippine government announced a "cooling off'' period
of
three to four days for its negotiating team's talks with Abu Sayyaf to
secure the release of the hostages.
However, President Joseph Estrada's press secretary Richard Puno said
the
suspension of talks had no deadline and any extension was the Philippine
government's prerogative.
Estrada yesterday directed the negotiating team to "exert all peaceful
efforts for the release of the hostages'' as he again ruled out any
military rescue attempt.
A local English Philippine newspaper reported yesterday that the
kidnappers
were holding backdoor negotiations with a third party for the release of
certain foreign hostages at a price of 300 million pesos (RM30mil).
The newspaper, quoting a highly-placed source who is privy to the talks
between the government and Abu Sayyaf, claimed the hostages were divided
into groups to facilitate ransom negotiations with a third party.
Puno said the frequent changes in demands of the Abu Sayyaf had made the
government helpless in the conduct of the talks.
"What can we do? Abu Sayyaf controls the pace of negotiations. They
dictate
when to talk and when not to talk,'' he said, adding that the talks had
dragged long enough, raising concerns on the sincerity of Abu Sayyaf.
________
http://www.lycos-asia.com/my/asia/philippines/000615054105.3gu0u4yn.html
Philippines hostage-takers acquire arms
MANILA, June 15 (AFP) - 13:41 - Muslim extremist gunmen holding 21
mostly
foreign hostages in the southern Philippines acquired a fresh supply of
munitions from abroad early this month, the military said Thursday.
Twenty recoilless rifles, 10 mortars, plus assorted firearms and
ammunition
worth 7.6 million pesos (177,000 dollars) were smuggled into the
Philippines near the southern city of Davao "sometime in the first week
of
June," according to a military report which cited an unnamed "reliable
source."
The shipment, which "originated from Vietnam," eventually made its way
to
Jolo where the Abu Sayyaf is holding Filipino, Finnish, French, German,
Lebanese, Malaysian and South African hostages, it added.
The captives were seized from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan on
April 23.
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