21 July 2000 - The Manila Times

‘Hostages only given to Abu’

By Charmaine Deogracias

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr.  yesterday blamed the April 23 kidnapping of 21 people from Sipadan island on Malaysian nationals, saying the hostages were passed on to Sulu’s Abu Sayyaf rebels.

As Siazon disclosed information reportedly shared by Malaysian intelligence officials, Muslim rebels released the child of a government soldier who was killed in a clash with the guerrillas and four of the seven Malaysians, officials said yesterday.

The boy, Richard Sintos, 17, was taken by helicopter from remote Jolo island to Zamboanga City, Vice Governor Munib Estino said.

Government negotiators were also expecting the release of two other Filipinos and seven Malaysians after reaching agreement with the Abu Sayyaf rebels on the ransom amount, officials said.

Belated reports said the bandits have turned over the four Malaysian captives to negotiators.

Malaysia knows

Siazon’s statement was the first official acknowledgement of the original kidnappers’ identities, although military sources had earlier hinted at this.

“Malaysia knows it,” Siazon told reporters as he traced the connection to Sabah, a disputed island that hosts scores of thousands of Filipino Muslims.

“They (kidnappers and Malaysians) have a Sabah connection and a shared religion.

The one who masterminded the kidnapping is from Sabah. That was just passed on to us. The Malaysian government knows that. They know it’s not just Robot involved. We know this, because they have shared information with our intelligence service,” Siazon stressed.

The Foreign Affairs chief also emphasized that the Abu Sayyaf will receive the pledged aid from Philippine, European and Malaysian government only after the release of the hostages.

“Formal discussions on community and livelihood projects demanded by the Abu Sayyaf would only commence once the hostage crisis is over,” Siazon said.

He confirmed that governments of European countries with nationals among the captives of the Muslim band and Malaysia have firmed up their pledges of providing assistance for development projects in Sulu.

But, he added, “we must solve first the hostage problem before we can start talking on projects (sought by the Abu Sayyaf).”  

Optimism

Chief negotiator Robert Aventajado said he expected the Abu Sayyaf rebels would first release several Filipinos kidnapped from nearby Basilan island, and then a group of seven Malaysians held since April.

Retired Maj. Gen. Guillermo Ruiz, the negotiating team’s security adviser, flew with two helicopters to remote Jolo, where the rebels are holding several dozen hostages, to await the expected release.

The Filipinos include two teachers abducted from a Basilan school on March 20 and Sintos.

Sintos’ father was killed in a clash with the rebels on neighboring Basilan island. Chief government negotiator Robert Aventajado said he expects the rebels will also release  the two female teachers.

Bigger ransom

The seven Malaysians, among a group of 21 mostly foreign hostages kidnapped April 23 from a Malaysian diving resort, were originally scheduled to be freed Monday, but a last-minute demand by the rebels for a larger ransom blocked the release.

The Abu Sayyaf demanded that the earlier-agreed P3-million  ($67,500) ransom for each Malaysian be raised to P15 million ($337,500), or a total P105 million ($2.4 million) for the seven hostages, negotiators working for their release said.

On Wednesday, the two sides reached agreement on a revised figure somewhat higher than the original amount, they said.

The rebels are demanding $1 million for the release of each European hostage, negotiators say. The Philippine government has an official no-ransom policy, but negotiators have confirmed that ransoms were paid for two Malaysian hostages who were earlier released.

On Monday, the rebels released their first European captive, an ailing German woman.

37 hostages

Since the 21 hostages were abducted, Muslim extremists on Jolo have kidnapped several other groups and now hold about 37 people.

The remaining hostages consist of six French, including one of Lebanese background, three Germans, two Finns, two South Africans, seven Malaysians and 17 Filipinos. All but a German journalist are believed to be held by the Abu Sayyaf, a band of Muslim extremists accused of a wide range of kidnappings and attacks on Christians in the past.

The Malaysian government has also promised to provide development assistance through the Philippine government for Jolo.

Negotiators said Ghalib Andang, the Abu Sayyaf commander holding most of the hostages, is no longer demanding that an independent nation be created in the southern Philippines for the country’s Muslim minority. But other rebel commanders reportedly continue to want an Islamic state. -- AP

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