17 July 2000 - Reuters

JOLO, Philippines (Reuters) - Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines freed an ailing German housewife Monday after keeping her for 12 weeks in a jungle camp but held on to her husband, son and scores of other hostages.

Weeping and waving to reporters, Renate Wallert, 56, boarded a helicopter in the town of Jolo in the southern Philippines shortly after she was handed over by Abu Sayyaf rebels to chief hostage negotiator Robert Aventajado.

Monday was her 34th wedding anniversary, she later said. ''My family didn't come out today so I'm not totally happy,'' Wallert told reporters in nearby Zamboanga city. ``I hope you understand that.''

Dressed in a green shirt and blue batik pajamas, Wallert occasionally leaned on Aventajado for support as she walked across the tarmac at Jolo's solitary airport but appeared to be otherwise healthy.

``Promise me that you will release my husband and son,'' a dazed Wallert said, wiping away tears with a scarf. She was flown to Zamboanga, 150 km (95 miles) to the northeast, from where she boarded a special plane to the Philippine capital Manila.

She boarded a plane later Monday for Frankfurt.

Other hostages may be released in a few days, a Malaysian captive freed Friday said on his return to Kota Kinabalu, capital of the east Malaysian state of Sabah.

Wallert's release came as the army said suspected members of a larger Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), shot and killed 21 Christians, including a pregnant woman, in a mosque in the southern Philippines.

Milf Denies Allegation

The army said the victims were among 29 people kidnapped by the MILF Sunday and added they were executed the same night. A spokesman for the MILF denied the allegation and suggested the military was to blame for the killings.

The war with the MILF and the hostage drama involving the Abu Sayyaf -- both groups are fighting for an independent Muslim state in the southern Philippines -- have presented President Joseph Estrada with his toughest security challenge since he took office two years ago.

Wallert, her husband Werner, son Marc and 18 other people were kidnapped from a Malaysian diving resort on Easter Sunday, April 23, and spirited away by boat to Jolo, a rugged island where the Abu Sayyaf has hideouts in the hills.

Two Malaysians have since been released but the rebels still hold the two remaining Wallert family members, seven other Malaysians, two French nationals, two Finns, two South Africans, two Filipinos and a Lebanese.

Abdul Jawa Selamat, the hostage freed last Friday, told reporters in Kota Kinabalu that Galib Andang, known as ''Commander Robot,'' had said all hostages might be released in a few days.

Abdul Jawa, a police lance corporal on duty at Sipadan resort when abducted, said the rebels had treated the hostages well.

The other Malaysian, forest ranger Zulkarnain Hashim, was released last month.

In recent weeks the rebels have also abducted a German magazine reporter and three members of a French television crew -- all of whom were reporting on the original hostage case -- and 13 Filipino evangelists who went to the rebel camp to pray.

Wallert Set Free As Goodwill Gesture

``She was released purely as a goodwill gesture,'' Aventajado told local radio when asked if any ransom had been paid for Wallert. Asked if more releases were likely soon, he said: ``I think so.''

He later said one more hostage had been identified as the next one to be released but would not give details.

``We'll probably concentrate more on the women and then the men, and Mr. Wallert should be the first one among the men,'' Aventajado told reporters in Manila.

In Germany, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer welcomed the release but declined to comment if any strings had been attached.

The rebels have demanded $1 million for each of the hostages kidnapped from the Malaysian resort but the Philippine government has said it would not pay any ransom. Privately, officials have said some funds would have to change hands.

``I hope the others will be released very soon,'' Wallert said in Zamboanga. ``I have no idea when this might happen. In my case it happened so quickly that I can't say anything.''

Police officers present at the release in the hills on Jolo said Wallert appeared dazed and did not realize she was being set free until Aventajado identified himself.

``Aventajado said: 'You are free now,' and then she broke down,'' said one officer.

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