| JOLO HOSTAGE
TALKS ON HOLD By Joel R. San Juan and Maricel Cruz and Charmaine
Deogracias
MALACAÑANG
slammed the Abu Sayyaf yesterday for its “unreasonable” demands and warned
rebels holding 21 Asian and western hostages in Sulu island they would no longer be
allowed to dictate the pace of negotiations.
Even as national officials tried to downplay the
latest setback in the 50-day hostage saga, European envoys expressed alarm over the sudden
disappearance of Caucasian captives. The Malaysian Red Crescent confirmed that guerrillas
had split their hostages into two groups. The aid team was able to check on the health of
Asians but, as of press time, was still trying to work out a visit to the 10 Caucasians
and their lone Filipino woman companion.
The governments of Finland and Malaysia, meanwhile,
reiterated their warnings against any military rescue attempt as this could lead to the
deaths of hostages and a congressman bared that rebels had pledged P100,000 as
“syping fee” for families across Sulu.
Rep. Antonio Dequiña (LAMP, North Cotabato) said
rebel sources told him residents were passing on vital military information to guerrillas.
Dequiña, chair of the House committee on national
defense, said he got the information during a recent visit to an Abu Sayyaf Camp.
Disappointment
German Ambassador to the Philippines Wolfgang
Gottleman also expressed disappointment over the slow-pace of the negotiations and raised
concern for ailing Renate Waller and her husband and son.
At the Independence Day Vin D’Honneur in
Malacañang, Gottleman told reporters the hostages were increasingly despondent.
“I think they are a little bit impatient now
that nothing has really happened and we are, I must confess, disappointed that the second
round of negotiations which was supposed to take place on Saturday did not take
place,” Gottleman said.
The Palace announced a three to four-day recess in
the release talks, saying officials had to review rebels’ new demands.
“We decided we are going to take 3-4 days
off” to review the situation, Zamora said Monday. “Then we will see what has to
be done. Basically we decided yesterday it may be a good idea to let things cool off, for
us to examine these new demands they have made.”
Puno, reacting on Gottleman’s statement, said
the Philippine government should bear no blame for the delayed talks.
Officials could not rush negotiations to the point of
alarming rebels, he stressed.
“The reality is they hold the lives of the
hostages in their hands so we would like to do nothing that would jeopardize the safety
and the welfare of the hostages even if it is taking a longer period of time,” Puno
stressed.
‘Unreasonable’
Puno admitted the situation in Sulu “is
sensitive and somewhat dangerous.”
“There’s a certain unpredictability about
the Abu Sayyaf at this point,” he said, adding that the rebels’ demands were
“rapidly becoming unreasonable and repetitive.”
The Press secretary said Malacañang would not be
cowed. But, at the same time, he opened the door to the replacement of government chief
negotiator, Robert Aventajado, which is the newest Abu Sayyaf demand.
Puno said members of Cabinet Cluster E, which
oversees national security, met Sunday night and agreed the chairmanship of the government
panel was “not a critical issue.”
“In fact you don’t even have to have a chief
negotiator as long as there are people talking to them,” the Press secretary
stressed. Aside from Aventajado, President Estrada’s flagship adviser, the other
negotiators are Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, former Libyan ambassador Rajab Azzarouq and
Professor Farrouk Hussein.
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