Philippine leader vows no let up in hostage
rescue
DAVAO, Philippines, Oct 27
(AFP) - Philippine President Joseph Estrada on Thursday handed over to Kuala Lumpur three
Malaysian hostages rescued from Muslim extremists and vowed to free the remaining captives
soon.
The trio, rescued Wednesday by
government troops after a firefight with the gunmen in a mountain area in southern Jolo
island, were handed over to Malaysian ambassador Arshad Hussain in a brief ceremony in the
southern city of Davao.
Dive resort manager Mohamed
Noor Sulaiman, 43, divemaster Joseph Ongkinoh, 40, and contractor Kan Wei Chong, 35,
looked reserved but well rested.
They had spent 46 days in
captivity in Jolo's rugged jungle terrain after being taken hostage by the rebels in a
cross-border raid in the Pandanan resort in the neighbouring Malaysian state of Sabah last
month.
"I would like to commend
our soldiers for their bravery and dedication to their job of rescuing the hostages and
flushing out their captors," Estrada said.
"Seventeen down, two more
to go," Estrada said, referring to the 17 hostages the military had helped free from
the Abu Sayyaf after launching a massive military operation in Jolo island on September 16
to end the six-month-long hostage drama.
The two still in the hands of
the Abu Sayyaf are American Jeffrey Schilling, abducted on August 28, and Filipino Roland
Ullah, who was snatched in April along with more than a dozen Asian and European hostages
from the Malaysian resort of Sipadan.
"I assure you there will
be no let-up in the military's efforts to resuce the remaining hostages," Estrada
said, adding that troops were under instructions to "pulverize the Abu Sayyaf to
ashes."
Estrada branded the Abu Sayyaf
as "plain cowards" who would often retreat into the jungle amid military fire
and who claim bravery only "if they have the security of numbers and when the
adversaries are unharmed civilians."
Two Frenchmen and 12 Filipino
Christian preachers were rescued earlier in the assault.
Filipino Ullah is the last of
the original Sipadan hostages.
The other hostages were freed
after ransom payments worth millions of dollars were paid to the captors, according to
sources close to government negotiators.
Malaysian ambassador Arshad,
who spoke on behalf of the freed Malaysian captives, thanked the Philippine government for
its "unflinching efforts" in securing the hostages.
He said the only "positive
outcome" of the kidnappings was that it strengthened efforts by Malaysia and the
Philippines in "combating and preventing such transnational crimbes in the
future."
"I have no doubt that we
have become wiser now, and while there is no guarantee that such incidents will not be
repeated, the chances of a repeat performance are slim," Arshad said.
The freed Malaysian captives
would return to Sabah state today.
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