| CHIEF
NEGOTIATOR SAYS HE IS WILLING TO STEP DOWN JOLO, Philippines (AFP) - Chief Philippine hostage negotiator Roberto
Aventajado said on Sunday he was willing to step down after Muslim rebels holding 21
mostly foreign hostages on this southern island demanded his removal.
Aventajado and other members of
the government negotiating panel flew back to the capital, Manila, on Sunday without
making any clear headway into the hostage crisis, which has entered its eighth week.
"We are currently
analysing the situation, but the important thing with me is the safety and the lives of
the 21 hostages and (if) my being out of the picture would have the ability to save the
lives of the captives then I am willing to step down as head of the government negotiating
team," Aventajado said in a telephone interview.
He said, however, that the
"final decision is with the president."
Aventajado's statement came
after he flew in from from Zamboanga city, where he earlier had a brief meeting with other
members of the negotiating panel.
The meeting was prompted by the
Abu Sayyaf's demand on Saturday for Aventajado to be replaced by President Joseph
Estrada's chief aide after remarks that the government was not ruling out a military
option to solve the crisis.
Shortly after arriving in
Manila, Aventajado and the team immediately engaged senior security officials in a
meeting.
One of the negotiators, former
Libyan envoy to Manila Rajab Azzarouq, told reporters that re-establishing contacts with
the rebels "will take some time".
Asked when the next round of
negotiations would take place, Azzarouq said the government would first "review the
situation" before making any decisions.
He added that he did not have
"any idea whatsoever" who would take Aventajado's role should the president
decide to replace him.
Earlier Sunday, Sulu police
chief Superintendent Candido Casimiro said maritime police, the navy and the coast-guard
were put on full alert to block any attempt by the Abu Sayyaf to move the hostages to
another island.
In a statement on Saturday, the
Abu Sayyaf said they wanted Aventajado replaced by President Estrada's chief aide,
Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora.
The group said it "shall
talk only" with Zamora and the three other members of the government panel.
Back to Sipadan Hostages News
Back
to This Week's Borneo News |
