No talks, no ransom, and President wants Abu
Sayyaf exterminated
NO TALKS.
No ransom.
This was
Malacañang’s reply yesterday to the Abu Sayyaf bandits’ threat to kidnap and
execute more foreigners if the military assault against them were not halted.
At the same
time, President Estrada ordered an intensified campaign to finish off the Muslim
extremists this weekend.
Reacting to a
threat aired over radio by self-proclaimed Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Sabaya, Press
Secretary Ricardo Puno demanded the immediate release of the remaining 17 mostly-Filipino
hostages as a condition for the cessation of hostilities on Jolo island, where the Muslim
extremists maintain camps.
If they would
immediately free the hostages, then, perhaps, the military assault launched on Saturday
would be stopped, he said.
In answer to an
appeal of American hostage, Jeffrey Edward Schilling, for a halt in the assault and
negotiate his release, Puno quipped: “It’s too late now to stop the
military campaign.” “For now, the government’s stand is no negotiations, no
ransom,” he said.
Schilling is held
by a faction of Khadaffy Janjalani and Sabaya, while the 16 Malaysian and Filipino
captives are held by the group of Ghalib “Robot” Andang and Mujib Susukan, who
earlier freed Western hostages in exchange for a $15 million to $25-million ransom paid by
the Malaysian and Libyan governments.
Fair trial
The Malacañang
official also said the government is willing to give Andang a “fair trial once he
decides to release his hostages and surrender to the authorities.”
“If it
is true that Commander Robot is seeking a fair trial, then the government would grant his
request since under the Constitution, even an accused has a right for such,” Puno
said but added that the bandits must immediately free their hostages.
A lawyer, Oliver
Lozano, claiming to represent Andang, said the bandit chieftain wanted a six-month
ceasefire as a prelude for his surrender.
Chief government
negotiator Robert Aventajado, however, doubted if Andang had hired Lozano as a counsel,
saying that the bandit had earlier told him to ignore parties presenting themselves as his
representatives.
In the House of
Representatives, Speaker Manny Villar said he would oppose any grant of amnesty to the Abu
Sayaf bandits.
Amnesty
Reacting to
speculations that the bandits might be granted amnesty in exchange for an early surrender,
the House official said it should not be considered at all, stressing: “They should
all pay for what they did.”
Villar also urged
government troops to continue the offensive.
Besides evangelist
Wilde Almeda and his 11followers in the Jesus Miracle Crusade (JMC), the Robot-Susukan
faction also holds in captivity three Malaysian nationals recently kidnapped from a
Malaysian resort, and Roland Ullah of the so-called Sipadan hostages.
Two French
journalists—Jean Jacques Le Garrec and Roland Madura—held by the faction escaped
Tuesday night and are now back in France.
--Joel R. San Juan, Mirasol Ng-Gadil, Maricel V. Cruz
Back to Sipadan/Pandanan Hostages News
Back
to This Week's Borneo News |
