Church in Philippine hostage island casts
doubts on military drive
CEBU, Philippines, Sept 29
(AFP) - Roman Catholic leaders in the southern Philippine island of Jolo on Friday cast
doubts on the military's ability to finish off a Muslim extremist group as a hostage
rescue drive entered its 14th day.
Father Romeo Villanueva, of
Jolo's apostolic vicariate which guides the island's Christian minority, likened the
military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf group to "finding needles in a
haystack."
He was referring to the group's
mobility in the island's jungles.
Villanueva said the operation,
launched on September 16 to rescue a group of Filipino, American, Malaysian and French
hostages, had overshot its timetable.
"Considering the thick
forest and massive mountains, can the military, with all its might, locate and finish the
Abu Sayyaf once and for all?," Villanueva said following a religious seminar attended
by other Jolo Catholic leaders.
"How long will the
suffering be? The first estimate was three days to one week. We are near the end of the
second week," he said.
Only two French hostages have
been freed so far but the military says it has reason to believe all 17 other hostages are
alive and in Jolo.
Military spokesmen said at
least 111 rebels and four soldiers have been killed in the clashes, which has also
displaced some 62,900 people.
The continuing "rain of
bombs" has taken a heavy toll on the evacuees with up to six municipalities affected
by the fighting, Villanueva said.
"In the meantime, the
tremendous amount of money being spent and the growing antagonism of the suffering people
against (the military offensive), must be considered."
Human rights activists have
also denounced alleged abuses by government troops, including alleged arbitrary arrests
and killings of suspected Abu Sayyaf sympathizers as well as a travel and communications
ban imposed earlier.
Following public pressure, the
military has allowed reporters on a guided tour of Jolo and lifted a ban on commercial and
passenger ferry to the island on Friday.
Meanwhile, the influential
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which earlier endorsed the
military offensive, vowed to intensify its missionary work in the troubled south despite
threats of possible reprisals from Muslim militants.
"The ongoing war between
government troops and the Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Jolo, which some sectors fear may lead
to a Christian-Muslim conflict has not dampened the resolve of the Philippine
church," it said in a statement.
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