| EUROPEAN
MINISTERS LEAVE RP, ASSURED ON SULU CRISIS QUEZON CITY, (ABS-CBN) - Three European foreign ministers will
return to their respective countries this Friday after getting a commitment from
government negotiators that there will be no use of force in solving the Sulu hostage
crisis. The ministers came from Germany, France and Finland.
The German foreign minister said they gathered a lot of
information that they did not have before but refused to divulge them.
Government negotiator Robert Aventajado also said that
possible solutions were discussed Friday morning, but would not give any details.
Aventajado said the French ambassador expressed impatience but
it was a result of pressure from the families of the hostages and the French people in
general.
Also, the Finish foreign minister gave out copies of a letter
from a Finish hostage dated July 8 which spoke of the sufferings of the hostages. The
hostage also appealed to Filipinos, particularly Muslims, to do all they can to get them
released.
On Thursday, the foreign ministers said they had successful
talks with rebels holding their citizens hostage in the Southern Philippines and we were
hopeful that they would be released soon.
It was the first-face-to-face meeting between negotiators and
Abu Sayyaf guerillas in their jungle hideout in Jolo island after a month-long
"cooling off" period.
French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrime and German Foreign
Minister Josehka Fischer were due to leave for the Philippines for a Group of Eight
ministerial meeting in southern Japan. Finnish Foreign Minister Errki Tuomioja on the
other hand, would arrive separately.
Vedrine said in Tokyo
Wednesday, France would urge negotiators to do nothing that might endanger the hostages'
lives. He said this in reaction to calls for a military rescue attempt.
Meanwhile, Libyan mediator Rajab Azzarouq, who led a five
member team for "make or break" talks Thursday with the Abu Sayyaf leaders gave
the thumbs up sign when asked if the meeting went smoothly.
"In the coming days, we might have a release,"
Azzarouq told reporters.
Azzarouq, the former Libyan ambassador to the Philippines who
had previously secured the release of several kidnap victims from the Abu Sayyaf, was
accompanied to the meeting by local peace advocate Parouk Hussein and two Muslim priests.
Asked about the prospect of hostage releases soon, Parouk
said, "We are very hopeful."
The hostage crisis began on April 23 when the Abu Sayyaf
seized nine Malaysians, three Germans, two French, two Finns, two Filipinos, two South
Africans and a Lebanese national from a Malaysian resort and took them to Sabah.
Although the kidnappers released one Malaysian, they have
since seized 13 Filipino Christian preachers who went to the kidnappers' camp to pray over
the hostages, and a German magazine reporter and three French TV journalists who were
seeking to interview the kidnappers and hostages.
Three Filipinos kidnapped earlier in the nearby island of
Basilan have also been taken to Jolo.
Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora admitted Thursday that new
abductions had worsened the situation saying "we started with 21 and then people
entered there (the Abu Sayyaf camp)."
"I don't know why they cannot understand that those they
want to interview are not reasonable people. They will abduct you whether you want it or
not, no matter why you went there," he said.
"We know there is a huge possibility that they will harm
their hostages," Zamora said.
The Abu Sayyaf is demanding different ransoms for each of
their hostages.
Sources close to the rebels said that the Abu Sayyaf had
lowered their ransom demand for the French TV journalists from $2.3 million to one million
dollars.
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