25 June 2000 - Reuters

MANILA (Reuters) - A Malaysian forest ranger, one of 21 mostly foreign hostages held by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines, was released on Saturday, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the two-month-old kidnap saga.

But violence flared elsewhere in the country's troubled south. One person was killed and 37 injured in a series of bomb blasts in the port city of General Santos.

Police blamed the attacks on the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) -- a charge denied by the Muslim group.

``These two incidents are not related,'' said government spokesman Ricardo Puno. ``One is welcome, the other is most definitely not.''

The government's chief negotiator in the hostage saga, Robert Aventajado, told Reuters that Malaysian forest ranger Zulkarnain Hashim was set free by Abu Sayyaf rebels as a goodwill gesture.

``He is in my custody in Manila, he is in good shape,'' Aventajado said. Hashim was taken by government emissaries from the southern island of Jolo and brought to Zamboanga, the nearest big city, and then flown to Manila, he said.

The Abu Sayyaf, which along with the MILF is fighting for an independent Muslim state in the south of the mostly Roman Catholic Philippines, kidnapped 21 people from a Malaysian diving resort on April 23 and brought them to Jolo.

Jolo, a rugged island 960 km (600 miles) south of Manila, has long been a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, which is smaller than the MILF but is considered more radical.

The remaining hostages include eight other Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two South Africans, two Finns, two Filipinos and a Lebanese.

No Ransom Paid

Aventajado said no ransom was paid, nor had any other rebel demands been met. He said the signs were favorable for the release of the other Malaysians at least.

Government officials have said the rebels are demanding at least $1 million for each hostage and have other political demands, including an independent homeland and a ban on fishing in the seas of the southern Philippines.

The government has said it will not pay any ransom or give more than limited autonomy to Muslim-majority areas in the south. But privately, many officials have admitted that some ransom would have to be paid.

In General Santos, a city 1,050 km (650 miles) south of Manila, suspected MILF rebels let off seven bombs in the space of about 20 minutes in busy commercial areas of the city on Saturday evening, police said.

The targets included at least three commercial banks, a shopping mall, a commercial building, a public market and a college in the downtown area of the mainly Christian city of more than 600,000 people.

``We suspect this is the handiwork of the MILF,'' regional police chief Manuel Raval told reporters. He said a woman waiting for a ride in front of a local bank was the lone fatality and that 37 others were injured.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied his group was responsible. ''The MILF has long condemned these actions,'' he told Reuters. ''We have nothing with do with this.''

Suspected MILF rebels launched bomb attacks in General Santos on May 3 in which three people were killed and more than 50 injured. They have also been blamed for two bomb attacks in the capital Manila.

The government and the MILF have made tentative moves toward peace talks, but both sides have said peace is elusive in the face of the bomb attacks and a government offensive against the rebels in which hundreds of people have been killed since March.

Muslims make up less than five percent of the Philippines' 75 million people but live mostly in the south.

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