PHILIPPINE REBEL: HOSTAGE MISCARRIES, SOME LOSING WEIGHT
JOLO, Philippines (AP)--A South
African woman held with 19 other mostly foreign hostages in a jungle in the southern
Philippines suffered a miscarriage this week, a leader of the Muslim rebel group that
kidnapped them said Friday.
Galib Andang, known as
Commander Robot of the extremist Abu Sayyaf group, said Monique Strydom suffered bleeding
on Wednesday.
"It was a pity, she had to
treat herself," Andang said. "That is Monique's problem. That is the
government's problem."
Other hostages, particularly
Lebanese Marie Moarbes, were losing weight because they only ate cassava most of the time,
he said.
The Abu Sayyaf seized three
Germans, two French, two Finns, two South Africans, a Lebanese, nine Malaysians and two
Filipinos on April 23 from a Malaysian diving resort and brought their captives by boat to
Jolo, about an hour away.
The rebels released Malaysian
Zulkarnain Hashim last week in what government negotiators described as a gesture of good
will.
Filipino reporters who spoke
with Andang said he and another rebel leader, Mujib Susukan, met them in the village of
Bandang in Talipao town near Jolo, where government negotiators and Abu Sayyaf leaders
held their only formal meeting so far, on May 27.
Sulu provincial health officer
Dr. Nelsa Amin, who has visited the hostages several times, has expressed concern about
their health, including their psychological state. Strydom was believed to have been
several months pregnant.
Andang said the hostages will
blame the government, not the rebels, for any harm that they might suffer.
"If any one of them dies,
they have written relatives to file a complaint against the government to the Organization
of the Islamic Conference and the United Nations," Andang said. "They will not
complain against the Abu Sayyaf."
Negotiators suspended talks
more than two weeks ago in a "cooling-off period" declared by the government
after rebel demands began escalating, chief negotiator Robert Aventajado said.
Andang has sent a letter to
Philippine President Joseph Estrada demanding that an undetermined number of teachers in
Jolo be paid their salaries. The government has failed to pay the teachers' salaries from
as far back as 1996, Andang said.
The rebels so far have focused
on political demands, including a separate Islamic state, protection of traditional
fishing grounds from large trawlers, many of which are foreign-owned, and the formation of
a commission to examine the problems of Filipino Muslims living in neighboring Malaysia.
At least two of five Abu Sayyaf
leaders, including Andang, however, are interested primarily in a large ransom, government
representatives say.
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