Friday, August 10, 2012

April 28, 2000

April 28 , 2000, Bernama, Negotiations with Emissary of Kidnappers Set For Today,
April 28 , 2000, Bernama, Sulu Governor Refutes Hostage Release Reports, by Ali Mamat,
April 28, 2000, Bernama, Probe shows local people involvement in kidnapping,
April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, Malaysians fed information to Filipino Muslim captors: police,
April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, "Snipers" block rescuers' path in Philippine hostage drama,
April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, Eight Malaysians expected to be freed shortly: Philippine sources,
April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, Philippine emissaries negotiate with captors of resort holidaymakers,
April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, For hostages' relatives false hope brings more agony,
April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, Porous border, lack of surveillance expose islands to pirate raids,
April 28, 2000, Reuters, Kidnappers may have had local aid-Malaysian police,
April 28, 2000, Reuters, Philippines says hostage talks could drag on, by Raju Gopalakrishnan,
April 28, 2000, Reuters, U.S. backs Philippine bid to end hostage crisis,
April 28, 2000, Reuters, Hostages kept in Philippine hills far from law,
April 28, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] Sulu ringed: Philippine military cordon off island where the 21 hostages are held,
April 28, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] No news on release, says IGP,





April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, Porous border, lack of surveillance expose islands to pirate raids,

SEMPORNA, Malaysia, April 28 (AFP) - 12:38 - Malaysia's outlying islands have few equals in terms of tropical beauty. But unfortunately for the country's tourist industry they are also highly vulnerable to pirates.

Analysts and military experts say a lack of surveillance equipment and a porous border with the Philippines are key factors in laying the islands open to attack.

The weekend abduction of 21 people, including 10 foreign tourists, from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan near southern Philippines also reflects poor security ties between the two countries, they say.

Six masked gunmen armed with assault rifles and a bazooka seized nine Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two Filipinos, two South Africans, two Finns and a Lebanese woman during a raid late Sunday.

Philippine emissaries were Friday moving to secure the release of the hostages who had been taken by their Muslim captors from the Abu Sayyaf group across the maritime border to Jolo island.

A senior military official who declined to be named said Filipino immigrants have easy access to Malaysian waters due to a porous border.

"They can just come and go. Security personnel stationed on the island are not well equipped and there is no radar equipment to monitor boats coming in and out," he told AFP.

At the same time, Malaysian patrolmen do not have night goggles that allow them to see in the dark, he said.

The two countries need to enhance their security cooperation to ensure they would be able to cope with such incidents in the future, he added.

M.Rajendran, an Asian expert with Japan's Iwate Perfecture University, said the hostage-taking incident highlighted ASEAN's weaknesses in handling security crises.

"ASEAN seems to be impotent when it comes to be handling such issues. This is a threat to national integrity. It reflects the weaknesses of ASEAN to resolve such crisis," he said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Chandra Muzaffar, a Malaysian opposition leader who also heads rights group International Movement for a Just World, said Sabah had "always been a bit of problem" for Malaysia and the Philippines.

"Thousands of people cross illegally. I do not think Philippines is able to enforce border crossing as the border is porous," he said.

Despite the existence of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), he said the episode showed there was no "actual mechanism for security cooperation."

The ARF, which involves ASEAN and the world's military powers, is Asia's only forum for security issues but has no enforcement mechanism.

"They are not able to get their act together... they do not have the experience. We have not given much attention to security issues in this region," Chandra added.

A policeman in Semporna, which is 45 minutes away by boat to Sipadan, said it was tough to chase Filipinos entering Malaysian waters due to shallow waters.

"It is difficult to pursue them with big vessels. When we patrol at night, we only use our ears to find out where they are. We just follow the sound of the engine and often, they always get away," he said.

"When we neutralise one group, another group appears."

But local fisherman Wah Majah Bakkan, 60, blamed poor enforcement for the large Filipino presence.

"They come from the Philippine islands of Bulu-bulu and Manukan which is just two hours away," he said. "They live on islands off Semporna such as Buaya Dalang and Mabul and even build homes above reefs illegally."

"We do not know what they are doing. It is very intimidating when I go out fishing. I am always armed with a shotgun," he said, adding that pirates often stole the engines of fishing boats.

Shafie Apdal, Malaysia's deputy defence minister, maintained late Thursday that the incident was an isolated case.

"This is (actually) a very secure place but incidents like this tend to happen and not only in Sipadan," he told reporters here. "It is more secure to be in Sipadan than to be on the street of New York."

--AFP



April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, For hostages' relatives false hope brings more agony,

SEMPORNA, Malaysia, April 28 (AFP) - 11:42 - Relatives of the 21 people abducted from a Malaysian resort island off Borneo were given a glimmer of false hope that some of their loved ones had been released.

Some 200 relatives and friends turned up late Thursday at the jetty at Semporna, which is 45 minutes away from Sipadan island, after hearing local news reports claiming eight of the captives had been freed.

Confusion set in after police denied the reports and tried to calm the emotional crowd.

After waiting for three hours until about midnight and no sight of the hostages returning, the crowd finally turned in for the night.

Lee Wan Shan, a niece of Malaysian dive instructor Vincent Kwong, said she rushed to the pier with her family members, including Kwong's mother-in-law, when her friends informed her of the news on television.

"We are holding daily prayers for Vincent. I feel sad that he has been kidnapped. I just hope they will return safely," said Lee, 18.

She said Kwong's wife, Lu Siew Fang, "cries everyday" since her husband was seized along with 20 others on Sipadan, east of Sabah, during a raid by masked gunmen late Sunday.

The couple have a two-year-old child.

Chau Han Sioong, 22, who is a friend of Malaysian cook Kua Yu Loong, criticised the local media for the false news.

"I am dissappointed they are not here. I am angry the news is wrong," he said, adding that Kua's family members called the police daily hoping for good news.

Fisherman Wah Majah Bakkan, who was also waiting at the jetty with several grandchildren, said he knew one of the captive, policeman Abdul Jawah Salawat.

"I feel sorry for all the families, but I am confident they are safe," he added.

The gunmen seized nine Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two Filipinos, two South Africans, two Finns and a Lebanese woman.

Philippine authorities said the hostages had been taken by their Muslim captors from the Abu Sayyaf separatist group to Jolo, the biggest island in the Sulu group close to Sabah.

--AFP



April 28, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] No news on release, says IGP,

SEMPORNA: Malaysia has not received any word of the possible release of between seven and 10 of the 21 hostages being held by heavily armed gunmen on a southern Philippine island.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai said yesterday they had yet to receive any information about wire reports from the Philippines claiming that at least eight Malaysians might be released.

"We have no information yet. As at now, there is no information," Norian told reporters on arrival in Tawau some 100km from here.

He said the co-operation between Malaysia and the Philippine and Indonesian authorities was smooth in their efforts to obtain the safe release of the 21 who were abducted from Sipadan on Sunday.

Norian declined to comment further.

The hostages included nine Malaysians and two Filipino nationals working at resorts on Sipadan island while the remaining 10 foreigners were a German couple and their son, two French nationals, two South Africans, two Finns and a Lebanese.

There were seven women and 14 men though their ages could not be ascertained.

One victim is said to be suffering from asthma.

Police and the military continued a state of alert since Sunday's incident which enters Day Six today.

They have also beefed up their presence at strategic islands and shorelines besides stepping up patrols along the coastline of Sabah's east coast.

Tour operators said yesterday that they were taking bookings for Pulau Sipadan after an initial doubt whether the place was closed or otherwise.

Visitors to Sipadan and neighbouring Pulau Mabul saw tourists going about leisurely on the islands.

In Kuala Lumpur, Philippine ambassador to Kuala Lumpur Jose Brillantes said the number of government agencies from Malaysia and the Philippines getting involved in the handling of the Sipadan abduction did not pose a problem.

He told Bernama in a telephone interview that it "does not really complicate matters."

Brillantes said the co-operation between the authorities of the two countries in the handling of the case had been close.

--The Star



April 28, 2000, Bernama, Negotiations with Emissary of Kidnappers Set For Today,
12:27PM

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (Bernama) -- Mindanao Autonomous Muslim Region governor Nur Misuari will start formal negotiations later Friday with the emissary of the armed group which kidnapped 21 people in Sipadan island off Sabah last Sunday.

Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) information chief Ibrahim Omar when contacted in Manila today said Misuari was expected to meet the emissary at 4pm in Zamboanga City in the Philippines.

"The emissary was supposed to have met with chairman Misuari this morning but it had to be delayed to 4pm today," he said but did not give any reason for the delay.

Misuari had been mandated by President Joseph Estrada to establish contact and negotiate with the kidnappers to ensure that the captives are released unharmed.

On the health condition of the 21 captives, Ibrahim could only say that the area, where they were being holed-up, "lacked facilities".

Yesterday, Ibrahim said the victims were being held in Talipao, a municipality in the province of Jolo in southern Philippines.

In last Sunday's incident, six men armed with AK-47 rifles and a bazooka kidnapped 10 Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two Finns, two South Africans, a Lebanese and a Filipino. ---BERNAMA



April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, Philippine emissaries negotiate with captors of resort holidaymakers,

JOLO, Philippines, April 28 (AFP) - 10:52 - Philippine emissaries on Friday moved to secure the release of 21 people from seven nations abducted by a Muslim extremist group amid speculation the captors are planning to initially free the Asian hostages.

The hostages were abducted Sunday by the Abu Sayyaf group in a Malaysian tourist resort off Borneo island and taken across the maritime border to Jolo island in the southern Philippines.

Two emissaries are scheduled to return to nearby Zamboanga city from Jolo on Friday to update the top government negotiator, Nur Misuari, on the newest developments, his chief of staff Jusuf Jikiri told AFP.

He said the envoys were presumed to have held talks with the gunmen overnight Thursday.

Meanwhile soldiers and police units cordoned off a Jolo village overnight where some of the captives have been seen, said the provincial police commander, Senior Superintendent Candido Casimiro.

"Last night the army moved into the area," he told AFP. "This is also a form of routine security as we are preparing the ground for negotiations."

Four hundred army troops and policemen are engaged in the operation, he added.

Misuari, a former rebel leader who is now governor of an autonomous Muslim region in the southern Philippines, said late Thursday that the Abu Sayyaf planned to release at least eight Malaysians but aborted the plan when their boat broke down.

The authorities said nine Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two Finns, two South Africans, two Filipinos and a France-based Lebanese woman were abducted from the Sipadan resort on Sunday night, and that one Finnish hostage was ill.

"I heard from scattered information that they were thinking of reducing the number of people in their possession," Misuari said.

"It's not easy to keep 21 people especially in a small place," he said, adding the kidnappers may not be able to command a high ransom for the Asians.

The government insists the gunmen have not made a cash demand and that Manila would reject ransom.

"The governments of the foreign hostages all maintain a no-ransom policy," acting Filipino armed forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Jose Calimlim said Friday.

"They have entrusted the task of securing the release of the captives to the Philippine government," he said in a radio interview. "They are being updated regularly on developments."

The Abu Sayyaf, believed to have a thousand members, is the smaller of two guerrilla groups waging a campaign to set up an Islamic state in the southern third of largely Roman Catholic Philippines.

The rebels are holding another 27 local hostages in the nearby island of Basilan.

Calimlim said Friday he had rejected the government negotiators' calls to lift a military assault on the Basilan hideout.

Troops were ordered to hold their fire in Jolo, but "we did not agree to suspending military operations on all fronts," he said.

"We don't want other units to link up with them or for other groups to exploit the situation."

Government forces mounted an assault on the Basilan camp on Saturday after rejecting the rebels' offer to swap their Filipino captives for Ramzi Yousef, the convicted mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing in New York who is serving a life term in a US jail for the 1993 attack.

Calimlim said there will be no more negotiations in Basilan.

"This is now a purely military operation. We will try to end the Basilan crisis in five days," he said.

He admitted the assault was being slowed by landmines and the weather, along with the rebel tactic of "using the captives as human shields."

--AFP



April 28, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] Sulu ringed: Philippine military cordon off island where the 21 hostages are held,
Friday,

KOTA KINABALU: Philippine military personnel have cordoned off the island of Sulu where the 21 hostages abducted from Pulau Sipadan on Easter Sunday are being guarded by as many as 350 gunmen.

The spokesman for the Philippine military's Southern Command, Col Hilario Atendido, said a special unit called Task Force Sultan had been set up to secure the island.

All vessels in waters around Sulu, about 100 nautical miles from the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga, would be scrutinised, he added.

Other Philippine government officials said that the hostages, who were being kept in an area called Bualnangka near the town of Talipao on Sulu, were in the hands of four local Abu Sayyaf commanders--Galib Andang, Ratulan, Mujid Susukan and Sangkula.

The officials said they had learnt that the commanders had agreed among themselves on the amount of ransom to be asked for the hostages.

However, they had yet to sort out their other demands ahead of negotiations with Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao governor Nur Misuari.

President Joseph Estrada yesterday appointed Misuari to head his country's negotiating team to secure the safe release of the hostages.

The officials said although they were informed that all of the hostages were safe, at least one Asian and a Caucasian were ill.

"From what we gather, they have some sort of fever," a Zamboanga official said.

The officials said they had learnt that the nine Malaysian hostages--a police lance corporal, four Sabah Wildlife Department rangers, a dive instructor, two assistant cooks and an electrician as well as two Filipino nationals working at the Pulau Sipadan Resort were faring slightly better than the foreign tourists as they were accustomed to the food that the abductors were giving them.

The other hostages are three Germans, two French nationals, two Finns, two South Africans and a Lebanese.

In Zamboanga, AFP quoted Philippine officials yesterday as saying that the Abu Sayyaf militants are demanding the protection of ancentral fishing grounds as part of demands for the release of 21 people.

They were also seeking wide media coverage, said Nur Misuari, said the Philippine government's chief negotiator.

Nur Misuari said the two emissaries he sent to Sulu told him that they had seen most of the hostages.

"Yes," Nur Misuari said when asked if his emissaries had contacted the gunmen.

At the Semporna police jetty last night, more than 50 family members of the hostages turned up to wait for their arrival, after a TV station quoted a report that eight of them had been freed.

Arguments ensued when policemen told them there had been no official report on anyone being released.
--The Star



April 28, 2000, Reuters, Hostages kept in Philippine hills far from law,
02:43:00 ET

TALIPAO, Philippines, April 28 (Reuters) - Philippine security forces can see misty, fortified hills where Islamic gunmen are holding 21 hostages but it's a no-man's land they fear to enter.

"This is the last secure point," said Rudy Abdullah Yusop, police chief of Talipao town, in the interior of Jolo island in the southern Philippines. "There are snipers and perhaps landmines ahead."

He said the rebels had automatic rifles, machine guns and mortars and had planted home-made mines, fashioned from fertiliser and blasting caps and set off by trip wires or slowburning anti-mosquito coils.

The hostages, including 10 foreign tourists, were kidnapped from a Malaysian resort island on Sunday and brought to Jolo by speedboat.

Yusop, an M-16 rifle slung across his chest, spoke to reporters in a jungle clearing on the outskirts of the town, 960 km (600 miles) south of the Philippine capital Manila, as a steady drizzle came down.

"The hostages are kept about three km (two miles) from here," he said, pointing to a forest-covered hill shrouded in mist.

THREE OR FOUR GROUPS

Other officials said the hostages were divided into three or four groups to prevent an assault by security forces.

An attack is the last option and will be used only if negotiations fail. Typically, negotiations for hostages in this remote area, where kidnappings are commonplace, take weeks rather than days and involve ransom.

"It may take days, maybe weeks, maybe months," said Abdusakur Tan, the governor of Sulu province of which Jolo is the capital. "I cannot give you any time frame within which this can be resolved."

Yusop said the guerrillas, who belong to the Abu Sayyaf militia, outnumber security forces in the immediate area and had the advantages of rugged terrain and more powerful weapons.

Officials estimate the number of Abu Sayyaf guerrillas on the island at around 70 men but they get support from most of the 420,000 local population, 95 percent of whom are Moslem.

There are also some 200 bandits in Jolo who could side with the rebels to get a share of any ransom money, they said.

The security forces move with great caution even though the military says it has 600 soldiers, backed by 1,000 former Moslem rebels fighting alongside the army on the island.

ARMED ESCORT

Reporters taken on the 45-minute drive along a rutted road from Jolo town, the seashore capital, to Talipao were escorted by an armoured car fitted with four machineguns and a dozen policemen armed with M-16 automatic rifles and grenade launchers.

There was no fighting but security forces fired a few practice rounds in the air and set off a mortar, the thud reverberating around the surrounding hills.

Along the road to Talipao, chickens clucked and scurried away from jeeps and armoured cars, while women washed utensils and cooked on wood fires out in the open in front of huts on stilts.

"The hostages are probably kept in huts like this," said Sulu police chief Candido Casimiro. "We hear they are being well looked after and are in good health."

Alongside police and military, some 260 armed volunteers from among local villagers were also being mobilised, officials said.

They are a rag-tag bunch of men, some obviously in their teens, and most had only single-shot rifles.

But Yusop said they were determined, because their livelihood was threatened by the Abu Sayyaf, one of two groups fighting for an Islamic state in the south of the largely Roman Catholic Philippines.

"We are ready at any time (for an assault)," he said. "But we need clearance from higher authorities."

Earlier on Friday government negotiator Nur Misuari said he had received a guarantee the military would stay out. He also said he was trying to get the kidnappers to free their captives in small groups.
--Reuters



April 28, 2000, Reuters, U.S. backs Philippine bid to end hostage crisis,
02:13:00 ET

MANILA, April 28 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday backed Philippine efforts to end hostage dramas involving the kidnapping of 21 people from Malaysia and 27 Filipinos from local schools.

"The U.S. government supports the efforts of the Philippine government to end these hostage situations," the embassy said in a statement.

It also hailed cooperation between Manila and Kuala Lumpur in dealing with the taking of hostages by Islamic gunmen from the Sipadan beach resort in Malaysian Borneo, saying "international cooperation is essential to defeating terrorism."

The hostages seized in Sipadan -- 10 Malaysians, 10 foreign tourists and a Filipino -- are now being held in an Islamic stronghold on Jolo island, 960 km (600 miles) south of the Philippine capital, Manila.

On Basilan island, close to Jolo, Abu Sayyaf rebels are also holding 22 Filipino school children, a Catholic priest and four adults abducted on March 20.

Philippine government representatives have established contact with the Jolo guerrillas to try to win freedom for the captives but the military has launched an assault on a guerrilla lair in Basilan to rescue the Filipinos.

The U.S. said in a statement it was "deeply concerned" with the two hostage dramas and repeated it would not accept any demands.

"We and the Philippine government have rejected (the Abu Sayyaf's) demands for the release of convicted terrorists imprisoned in the U.S."

The Basilan gunmen are demanding the release of three Islamic militants held in the United States, including the convicted mastermind of the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Centre.

"The United States does not concede to threats or demands made by terrorists," the embassy statement said.
--ABC News


April 28, 2000, Reuters, Philippines says hostage talks could drag on, by Raju Gopalakrishnan,

JOLO, Philippines, April 28 (Reuters) - A former Moslem rebel leader negotiating for the Philippine government said on Friday he was trying to get Islamic gunmen holding 21 hostages to free their captives in small groups.

But a police chief whose territory includes Jolo island, where the hostages are held, warned that talks could drag on for a month since ransom would probably be discussed.

"This time, maybe 15 days to one month," said Superintendent Candido Casimiro, chief of police for Sulu province, referring to a drama which began on Sunday when the 21 were snatched from a Malaysian resort island. Ten hostages are foreign tourists.

Government negotiator Nur Misuari told Reuters Television he was sending word to the kidnappers to release hostages in batches "as part of... Islamic persuasive diplomacy".

"I am trying to see whether it's possible for me to get the release of some people bit by bit," Misuari said.

"Segregate them from the rest, put them in another place, then I would work on that first, step by step."

The hostages are 10 Malaysians, three Germans, two French, two South Africans, two Finns, one Lebanese and a Filipina.

They were held in separate hideouts on Jolo, in the Sulu Sea, 960 km (600 miles) south of the Philippine capital Manila.

The island is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, one of two groups fighting for an Islamic state in the south of the mostly Roman Catholic Philippines.

APPEAL TO RELEASE HOSTAGES IN STAGES

Two representatives from Misuari, appointed as main negotiator for the government by President Joseph Estrada, made the first contact with the kidnappers on Thursday.

Misuari said the representatives reported to him that they had seen 17 hostages, including "six white men", and they were safe and well.

More emissaries were on their way to make contact later on Friday, Misuari confirmed, although he warned of tough bargaining ahead.

Local officials said the Malaysian hostages could be released first because they were Moslems and because they were unlikely to be able to pay any big ransom which may be demanded.

Misuari, governor of a semi-autonomous Moslem region comprising four provinces, said on Thursday the Malaysian hostages were to have been released but a boat due to take them home broke down.

Police chief Casimiro said troops and police were securing the road to where the hostages were but no military action was planned.

Misuari said he had received a guarantee the military would stay out. "That's the assurance from the Malacanang (the presidential palace)... if the assurance comes from the commander-in-chief, everyone should comply with that.

"You cannot persuade people when you put a dagger on his heart or on his neck," he added.

Acting armed forces chief General Jose Calimlim earlier told local radio the military knew the exact area where the hostages were and foreign governments were leaving it to the Philippines to resolve the crisis.

"They said they are leaving it to the Philippine government to do what is best to recover the hostages."

RANSOM REPORTS

Casimiro did not specify the ransom amount but said negotiations for the hostages had been further complicated because there are 70 Abu Sayyaf rebels on Jolo island and around 200 gunmen not aligned to the movement.

The police chief said the bandits could side with the rebels to get some of the ransom money.

The island's population of 420,000 population is 95 percent Moslems, and most of them support the Abu Sayyaf.

Facing the guerrillas on the island are some 600 soldiers, backed by 1,000 former Moslem rebels now fighting alongside the army.

Casimiro warned that should a ransom be paid, it would be used mostly to buy guns and "for operational use in the next kidnapping".

Some official sources have said the kidnappers were demanding 30 million pesos ($720,000).

But a relative of the Filipina hostage said the family's information was there had been a demand for 10 million Malaysian ringgit ($2.6 million).
--Reuters



April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, Eight Malaysians expected to be freed shortly: Philippine sources,

JOLO, Philippines, April 28 (AFP) - 15:37 - Up to eight Malaysians among a group of 21 people held captive by extremist Filipino Muslim gunmen are expected to be freed shortly, sources close to the ongoing negotiations said Friday.

Nine Malaysians, two Filipinos and 10 foreign tourists were seized from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan off Borneo on Sunday by the Abu Sayyaf group, who later took them across the maritime border into their hideouts in this southern Philippine island.

The sources, who asked not to be named, said that "eight hostages believed to be Malaysian nationals may be released by their kidnappers at any time" to a local aide of the top government negotiator in the hostage crisis, Nur Misuari.

The rebels held talks with a former colleague, Mali Sulaiman, to discuss the release of some of the hostages, the sources added.

Misuari, himself a former Muslim separatist rebel leader, said late Thursday that the gunmen had aborted an earlier attempt to free eight Malaysian hostages after their boat broke down.

He speculated that the gunmen would offload their Asian hostages as they would not be able to command a high ransom, though he stressed that no ransom demands have been made.

Three Germans, two French nationals, two Finns, two South Africans and a Lebanese woman were also abducted in Sipadan.

The sources said an agreement was made on Thursday to release eight hostages to Abuharif Usman, an official of Misuari's former rebel organization Moro National Liberation Front in nearby Talipao town.
--AFP



April 28 , 2000, Bernama, Sulu Governor Refutes Hostage Release Reports, by Ali Mamat,
15:00PM

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (Bernama) -- The Governor of Sulu Province in the Southern Philippine Abdul Sakur Tan today refuted reports by certain agencies that the kidnappers, allegedly from the Abu Sayyaf Muslim separatist group had decided to release some of the 21 hostages abducted from Sipadan Island on Sunday.

Infact he outrightly denied reports that the kidnappers had attempted to free 10 of the hostages, all Malaysians, but aborted it when their boat malfunctioned.

"Ridiculous and illogical...no kidnappers in their right frame of mind would do so without any assurance of a safe passage such as taking along with them government officials as a guarantee."

"Moreover, at the time the reports went into circulation, no official contact had been established yet between the kidnappers and the authorities, apart from intelligence gathering efforts. It could have been obtained from loose information," Abdul Sakur told Bernama when contacted by phone in Jolo, the provincial capital of Sulu.

He suspected that such reports could have originated from "loose information" obtained in the streets of Jolo and elsewhere in Southern Philippine where "everybody seems to be anxious to discuss and speculate about the latest kidnapping incident".

Abdul Sakur said although he had not been officially requested by Prof Nur Misuari to participate in any effort to secure the release of all the 21 hostages, he was closely monitoring the development of the case because the area where the kidnappers kept their captives was within his jurisdiction.

Misuari who is the regional governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was mandated by President Joseph Estrada to lead the negotiation with the kidnappers and take what ever steps deemed fit to solve the hostage crisis.

According to Abdul Sakur, since Jolo is now the centre of the whole drama, it was only proper that he extended all the necessary assistance to ensure the safe release of the hostages, even if he was not invited to be part of the crisis management team.

He confirmed earlier reports that from feedback he had gathered so far, all the hostages, believed to be confined to Talipao, a densely forested hill village some 20km from Jolo, are fine and well.

He was confident that being a former rebel himself, Misuari could handle the issue well because of his vast knowledge of the jungle and the terrain in Jolo and also he commanded the respect of most of the Moro population.
-- BERNAMA



April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, "Snipers" block rescuers' path in Philippine hostage drama,

SAMAK, Philippines, April 28 (AFP) - 14:09 - A no man's land amid untended coconut groves separates a group of hostages held by heavily-guarded Muslim gunmen from government troops waiting to free the captives in the southern Philippines.

Along the three-kilometer (1.9-mile) stretch where forests have reclaimed a former hill farm, lie "hundreds of snipers" waiting to ambush any government rescue attempt, said the Talipao municipal police chief, Rudy Yusuf.

The Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist guerrillas drove a jeep up toward the foothills of Mount Bayog near Samak village in Jolo island two days ago, taking with them a number of Caucasians believed to be among the 21 people abducted from across the border in Malaysia, witnesses said.

"They drove past here at 4 p.m. last Wednesday. We were unable to stop them as they were heavily armed," Malmoktar Sahid, one of a small number of government militia manning the last government checkpoint here told AFP.

Residents said several trucks bearing new Abu Sayyaf recruits later drove up the rutted asphalt road.

On the foothills lie the camp of local Abu Sayyaf commander Mujib Susukan, who the government says is among suspected leaders of the group which abducted nine Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two Finns, two South Africans, two Filipinos and a Lebanese woman.

They were seized from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan off Borneo on Sunday.

"Our informants saw the white captives in the Mount Bayog area," said Haji Ashada, the militia commander in Samak.

The last government checkpoint is only seven kilometers (4.34 miles) from the Talipao town hall, but such is the sway wielded by the separatist guerrillas in the southern island of Jolo that law enforcers dare not cross the invisible boundary.

The military say the Abu Sayyaf has about a thousand members and is using terrorist methods to advance its campaign to set up a pure Islamic state in the southern third of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines.

The group augments its resources by engaging in kidnapping and extortion as well as providing sanctuary to foreign terrorists in return for training and funding, according to a military briefing paper seen by AFP.

"We are ready to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf with the help of these militiamen," said Yusuf the police chief.

"We're just waiting for the go signal."

For now there is none after the government assured countries whose citizens are being held that it will not risk a rescue attempt that would endanger the lives of the captives.

Heavy rain and low-lying clouds blanketed the no-man's land on Friday as the security forces settled in for a long wait.

The government checkpoint here is manned by teenage militia recruits with mismatched fatigue uniforms, sandals and rubber shoes. Most carried assault rifles as well as a short crooked Muslim knife known here as the "kalis."

The sentries fired off several rounds from a machine gun and mortar toward the Abu Sayyaf camp as a small group of journalists arrived, though it was apparently more for the cameras than anything else.

Further down towards the town lie the remains of an Abu Sayyaf camp which government forces overran last week.

The regular government forces are concentrated on the town hall and on the road to the provincial capital. The highway is guarded by three tanks and several small police and militia checkpoints.
--AFP



April 28, 2000, Reuters, Kidnappers may have had local aid-Malaysian police,

WIRE:04/28/2000 03:41:00 ET

SEMPORNA, Malaysia, April 28 (Reuters) - Malaysia's police chief said on Friday local residents were believed to have helped gunmen kidnap 21 people, including 10 foreign tourists, from an island resort by providing captors with information.

Inspector-general of police Norian Mai said seven people were in custody in Semporna town, near Sipadan Island where the abductions took place, on suspicion they provided information used in carrying out the kidnappings.

More people might be arrested, he said.

Police have detained at least 10 locals since the kidnapping, staged by heavily-armed men on Sunday at a resort on Sipadan, a world-famous tropical diving spot about 30 km (20 miles) off Borneo's northeastern coast.

The hostages are now reported to be on Jolo island in the southern Philippines, and provincial authorities there are trying to negotiate their release.

The hostages are 10 Malaysians, three Germans, two French, two South Africans, two Finns, one Lebanese and a Filipina.

The captors are believed to be Filipinos belonging to the Abu Sayyaf militia fighting for an independent state in the southern Philippines, which shares a maritime border with Malaysia.

Norian said his officers did not think any of those they had arrested were directly involved in the kidnapping.

"It's more on providing certain information required by the kidnappers," he told a news conference in Semporna, a tiny fishing village.
The police chief declined to give details about those detained. "They're not working on the island, they're not former workers either," he said when asked about their background.

"We will continue our investigations and make more arrests if necessary."

Malaysian authorities have been tight-lipped about the kidnapping since it was established on Tuesday that the abductors had moved into Philippine territory.

Norian, named as the official spokesman on the kidnapping, has held two news conferences since Sunday, prompting some relatives of the Malaysian hostages to accuse authorities of not doing enough to allay their fears.

The police chief promised a daily briefing from Friday. "The progress in a case like this is so limited that there's usually nothing substantial to say," he said.
--ABC News



April 28, 2000, Agence France-Presse, Malaysians fed information to Filipino Muslim captors: police,

SEMPORNA, Malaysia, April 28 (AFP) - 13:54 - Malaysians were believed to have provided information to the Filipino Muslim rebels who seized 21 people from a resort island off Borneo, police chief Norian Mai said Friday.

"We have confirmed that there was local involvement in the hostage taking," Norian told reporters on a visit here.

"The local involvement is by way of some people providing certain information to the kidnappers. We have detained seven people to help us in our investigation."

Norian clarified that only seven people were detained this week and not 10 as reported earlier, adding that more may be arrested. Police said these were boatmen and former resort workers.

Norian said the Philippine authorities were trying to communicate with the captors but were not yet successful, adding it would take time to establish a direct contact.

"Progress towards securing the release is limited. There is no substantial development," he said.

"We have to depend on their (Philippine's) initiative. We are giving whatever intelligence we have to them. The real operation (to secure the release) is done by the Philippines."

Norian said he had no news of any ransom being made.

He also dismissed local reports Thursday claiming eight of the hostages had been released, as "rumours."

Norian said Malaysia had intensified sea patrols since the incident late Sunday where gunmen seized 21 people including 10 foreign tourists on Sipadan island near southern Philippines.

He said security along the Sabah coast had been beefed up with personnel stationed in 10 islands since 1996 after several cases of pirate robberies in Semporna, which is 45 minutes away by boat from Sipadan.

"We are confident efforts to boost security will be sufficient to handle any future incidences," he said. "We must see this case as an isolated incident. It does not happen all the time."

Norian urged family members to be patient, saying all the hostages were safe.
--AFP
________



April 28, 2000, Bernama, Probe shows local people involvement in kidnapping,
15:09PM

SEMPORNA, Sabah, April 28 (Bernama) --Police investigations into the kidnapping of 21 people from Pulau Sipadan in Sabah waters on Sunday show local people's involvement in the case, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai said here today.

The involvement was more in the form of passing of information to the kidnappers, he said.

Norian said so far police had detained seven people to help them in their

probe.

Asked whether they were employed at the Sipadan Resort, Norian said,"No, they were not even former employees."

"We will continue with out investigations and there can be more arrests. This is the normal procedure in any investigation," he told reporters at the Semporna Police Station here.

Six bandits armed with AK-47 assault rifles and a bazooka launcher abducted 10 Malaysians, three Germans, two French, two Finns, two South Africans, one Lebanese and a Filipino on Sunday from Sipadan.

Asked about the latest developments on the rescue operation, Norian said there had been no major developments.

"So far as we know, there has been no success in the rescue effort and it will be sometime before a direct link is established between the government and the kidnappers," he said.

Norian said police had received reports which could not be confirmed fully that the captives were now in the Southern Philippines and that they were well while the Philippines was making efforts through the Governor of the Autonomous Muslim Region in Mindanao Nur Misuari to secure their release.

"Stories of some of the captives being released and so on cannot be confirmed and there is no evidence to support there has been such release," he said.

"Such claims are rumours which have been picked up as (news) sources by the press and others. But no one has confirmed this matter," he said.

Norian said Malaysian Police had direct contact with the Philippine authorities and were cooperating in intelligence gathering.

He however refused to go into details. "We will use this channel (of cooperation) to get the hostages released," he said.

Asked whether there had been any demand for ransom, Norian said so far there had been none and Malaysian police had no contact with the kidnappers and usually cases involving militants would take sometime before they set forth their demands.

Norian also said there were no joint police operations to secure the release as the victims were now in the Philippines.

"We have to depend a lot on their efforts...we are ready to provide any information which they may require," the IGP said.

Asked about claims that police on the island resort had not been supplied with adequate weapons, Norian said such incidents did not occur every day.

He said the island was an important holiday resort and police presence should be at a minimum level so as not to create a garrison impression. "After the pirate attacks in 1996 and 1997 (in the Sabah east coast) we set up the Eastern Command with the focus on the east coast and since then there has been a drastic drop in the number of such incidents," he said.
--BERNAMA



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