Paris insists hostages safety must remain
priority for Manila
PARIS, Sept 18 (AFP) - France
has reminded Philippine authorities that the safety of hostages still held by Abu Sayyaf
guerrillas must remain a top priority, the French foreign ministry said Sunday.
The reminder came on the second
day of a major military operation launched by Philippine armed forces against the rebels
on the island of Jolo, which France had not been made aware of in advance.
"We are in constant
contact with political and military authorities in the Philippines, with whom we do not
stop insisting that the hostages' safety must remain a priority," the ministry said
in a statement.
President Jacques Chirac also
expressed his concern for the two French hostages held in Jolo, saying that he took the
matter "very seriously", the presidential palace said.
In a phone conversation on
Sunday, Chirac told his country's ambassador to the Philippines, Gilles Chouraqui, that
the safety of the two French hostages was "an absolute priority to France", the
palace said in a statement.
Chirac said he hoped that
"the Philippine authorities understand that it is a matter France takes very
seriously", it added.
Authorities in Manila had
advised that two French journalists, Jean-Jaques Le Garrec and Roland Madura were no
longer in the camp which the army raided, the ministry added.
A foreign ministry crisis team
met early Sunday but was unable to give any further information about the fate of the
hostages since the military operation began.
"We are also in contact
with US authorities, and we are asking them to relay our hopes and fears for our two
compatriots," the statement said.
Le Garrec and Madura, a
cameraman and sound engineer for public France 2 television, were taken hostage on Jolo by
the Abu Sayyaf rebels on July .
They are being held with 20
others -- 16 Filipinos, three Malaysians and a US national.
France 2 said Saturday that its
two employees were safe and sound following the military operation.
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