| ABU
BANDITS AGREE TO END HOSTAGE ROW By Joel San Juan and
Mirasol Ng-Gadil
CHIEF government
negotiator Robert Aventajado yesterday revealed that the Abu Sayyaf terrorists have
expressed their readiness and willingness to end the 79-day hostage crisis in Sulu.Aventajado
made the revelation a few minutes after one of the terrorist leaders, Ghalib Andang alias
Commander Robot, established contact anew with the government.
“I had just
talked with Commander Robot. He called me up using a satellite phone of a foreign
journalist who entered their camp and is now apparently being held hostage. He
talked to me and expressed his desire to end the hostage situation in Sulu,”
Aventajado said.
He added that
Commander Robot imposed several conditions but he refused to reveal them.
“He mentioned
things that should happened, I could not mention them yet,” Aventajado stressed.
Aventajado,
however admitted that the Abu Sayyaf asked him to send two well-known personalities to act
as their “go between.”
He said he
promised to discuss with the two emissaries the final points that would lead to the
resolution of the hostage crisis.
“Basta yung
dalawang ka meeting na tao, duon niya sasabihin at magkakaalaman na talaga kami kung ano
ang solusyon diyan,” Aventajado disclosed.
Aventajado also
refused to identify the two personalities but said one of them is a Muslim. He said he
would return to Manila to immediately consult President Estrada about the new demands of
terrorists.
If President
Estrada would approve it, Aventajado said he would immediately prepare the two
personalities for their trip to Sulu to be able to beat the July 17 deadline of the Abu
Sayyaf.
Aventajado
admitted that the Abu Sayyaf had warned they would kill the 13 members of the born-again
Christian group led by Wilde Almeda if the government would not give their demands for
their release until July 17.
Aventajado
admitted that the so-called “prayer warriors” are now among the hostages of the
Abu Sayyaf including three French journalists, identified as Maryse Christine Burgot,
cameraman Jean Jaques La Garrec and sound engineer Roland Madura.
“Commander
Robot told me that when the Sipadan hostage taking happened, they were able to get 21
people, but one of the Malaysian hostages had already been released, and they were able to
get the group of Willie Almeda, they are 13 plus the three French journalists, so we have
36 (hostages) with the Abu Sayyaf.
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