Abu friction delays hostages' releases
By Faber Concepcion
ZAMBOANGA CITY—Now
the harder work.
Government
chief negotiator Robert Aventajado yesterday said the release of the Abu Sayyaf’s
other captives would be delayed by at least five days as tension among quarrelling rebel
factions mounted in the jungles of Jolo.
As euphoria
settled down following the release Sunday of four Abu Sayyaf hostages, and the freed
captives relaxed in a Visayan resort, Aventajado expressed concern over the fate of 16
other hostages, including two French journalists, 13 Filipinos and an American, who was
being held by a separate faction of the same rebel group.
Despite the new
concerns, praise poured in worldwide for the cliff- hanger release and the governments of
the hostages said they felt vindicated in their insistence for negotiations rather than a
military rescue.
Aventajado said
Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot called up emissaries yesterday, warning them to stay
away from the jungle.
Robot, leader of
the Abu Sayyaf band that held the hostages from Sipadan island, also announced plans to
avenge the Saturday morning ambush in Talipao that killed three of his men.
“We can’t
operate right away after the incident,” Aventajado acknowledged at a press briefing
at the Garden Orchid hotel. “We might be taking too much risk.”
He said
negotiations would not resume until Tuesday.
The chief
negotiator said separatist rebels had been spooked by the internal clash that led to an
ambush shortly before the scheduled release of the hostages.
Eight Abu Sayyaf
bodyguards and more than a dozen civilians were injured in the two-hour roadside battle.
Robot’s partner, Mujib Susukan, earlier reported killed, only suffered light wounds
on one hand, military officials said.
The Southern
Command here said around 100 rebels from another faction, led by a Commander Nandy
Murhadji and Commander Sabar staged the ambush.
Officials have
reported growing tensions among the Abu Sayyaf leaders over the division of millions of
dollars in ransom reportedly paid for the release of other hostages seized April 23 from
Malaysia’s Sipadan diving resort.
Tension from
Saturday’s fighting also increased the guerrillas’ fear of a military assault
once all hostages are freed, Aventajado said.
Schilling’s
appeal
Police and
military officials, meanwhile, worried about the fate of American Jeffrey Craig Edward
Schilling, who is being held in a separate camp by the group blamed for the ambush.
Schilling, who is
said to be mentally troubled, has not been held incommunicado. Rebels are demanding
payment for phone contact between the captive and his Oakland, California-based mother,
Carol. They also want $25,000 payment for an exclusive video footage of the hostage.
Rebel spokesman
Abu Sabaya called a radio station and played a statement he said was recorded by
Schilling.
On the tape,
broadcast over the Radio Mindanao Network, the man appealed to the American and Philippine
governments to negotiate for his release and said his captors were willing to compromise.
He said the rebels
had kidnapped him because they believed he was a CIA agent after hearing he knew another
man in the Philippines suspected by the rebels of being a CIA agent.
Relief
Aventajado said he
was able to report directly to President Estrada, who is still in the United States.
“The
President was not 100-percent happy about the incident and how the releases had taken
place,” he said. Mr. Estrada had earlier said he wanted hostages released in one
batch.
“But the
President understands fully the situation on the ground and retains confidence in our
efforts and asked us to do our best,” the negotiator said.
Press Secretary
Ricardo Puno said Malacañang was concentrating on the Filipino dive instructor and the
two French journalists.
Evangelist Wilde
Almeda “apparently has his own emissaries,” Puno said.
French President
Jacques Chirac, speaking by telephone with the families of Jean-Jacques Le Garrec and
Roland Madura, reaffirmed “France’s determination to obtain their freedom as
soon as possible,” the presidential palace said.
Libya, which
reportedly paid $6 million 10 days ago for the release of six other hostages, has resisted
paying for the French journalists still in captivity, saying their company should foot the
bill.
German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder voiced relief and thanked Libya for its efforts to win the hostages’
release.
with Reuters, AP
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