May 6, 2000, The Straits Times, All 21 hostages alive in hut with captors, by Luz Baguioro,
May 6, 2000, AP / The Straits Times, Philippine troops pursue escaping Sipadan kidnappers,
Issue 6th-12th May 2000, The Economist, UK, A hostage crisis confronts Estrada,
May 6, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] Syed Hamid: Manila yet to accept our help,
May 6, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] Poser over bearded foreigners,
May 6, 2000, Reuters / ABC News, Philippines hostages alive, food on way,
May 6, 2000, AFP, Muslim rebels again threaten to behead two Sipadan hostages,
May 6, 2000, Bernama, No End in Sight For Hostage Crisis, by Azman Ujang,
May 6, 2000, Bernama, Negotiators given time to resolve kidnap crisis, by Abdul Muin Abdul Majid,
May 6, 2000, The Sunday Times, Thirst is now biggest enemy for hostages, by Richard Beeston in Jolo,
May 6, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] Officer's wife pleads for his safe return, by Yap Yoke Leong,
May 6, 2000, AFP, President Estrada to meet negotiator to break hostage impasse,
May 6, 2000, Reuters, Philippines to Send More Medicine to Hostages,
May 6, 2000, Bernama, Philippine Army Giving Time to Negotiators to Resolve Kidnap Crisis,
May 6, 2000, Bernama, Do Not Withhold Information on Pirates, Sabah Folks Told,
May 6, 2000, CNN.com, Contact Resumes After Fight,
May 6, 2000, CNN.com, African Diplomat Says Philippine Hostages Are Alive,
May 6, 2000, New York Times, Innocents in Web of Philippine Terror, by Seth Mydans,
May 6, 2000, International Herald Tribune, Philippine Rebels Call Unilateral Cease-Fire; Military Is Skeptical of Move by Moro Front, by Thomas Fuller and Rajiv Chandrasekaran, 700+ words,
May 6, 2000, AP Online, Philippine Troops Try To Block Rebels, by Jim Gomez, Associated Press Writer;
May 6, 2000, AP Online, Two Philippine Headless Bodies Found, by Jim Gomez, Associated Press Writer, 700+ words,
May 6, 2000, Albany Times Union (Albany, NY), Philippines Independence Seekers Call Cease-Fire,
May 6, 2000, Manila Bulletin, Pope Appeals to Abu Sayyaf to Release All Their Hostages, 700+ words,
May 6, 2000, Manila Bulletin, MILF Ceasefire Declaration Studied by Malacanang; AFP Officials Voice Opposition, by Diego C. Cagahastian, 700+ words,
May 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, Martyr's welcome awaits slain priest in Zambales, by Bebot Sison Jr.
May 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, We do this for our country',
May 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, Editorial, An evil blight,
May 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, Sayyaf eludes military dragnet, Roel Pareño, Aurea Calica,
May 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, It was hell out there, Sayyaf hostages say by Roel Pareño,
May 6, 2000, The Birmingham Post (England), Philippine Hostages Are 'Found Alive', 469 words,
May 6, 2000, Chicago Sun-Times, All Philippines hostages are confirmed alive, 700+ words,
May 6, 2000, New Straits Times, IGP: Safe release of hostages a priority, by Adrian David; 602 words,
May 6, 2000, BBC News, Hostages beheaded in Philippines,
May 6, 2000, The Straits Times, All 21 hostages alive in hut with captors, by Luz Baguioro, Philippines Correspondent
But they may be starving and many are suffering from dehydration, diarrhoea, urinary tract infection and hypertension because of their ordeal
MANILA -- All 21 hostages kidnapped by Muslim radicals from a Malaysian diving resort on Easter Sunday are alive but may be starving in a dense and mountainous southern Philippines jungle, government emissaries said yesterday.
Emissaries sent by the government's chief hostage negotiator, former rebel chieftain Nur Misuari, restored contact with extremist Abu Sayyaf guerillas on Thursday. The emissaries said all 21 captives were in the same hut as their Muslim captors outside a troop cordon, debunking earlier reports that the hostages had been split into five separate groups and that some had either died, escaped or been wounded during a gunbattle with the military.
The emissaries' account confirmed earlier reports that the kidnappers succeeded in slipping through what the military has described as a tight security cordon.
Local officials said a convoy carrying food and medicines would travel yesterday close to the Abu Sayyaf's jungle hideout in Talipao town on the southern island of Jolo, about 930 km south of Manila.
The military said the hostages and their kidnappers were in an area with a radius of about 1.6 km. But they said the jungle is very dense, making it difficult for 2,000 soldiers and 800 policemen tracking down the kidnappers to maintain the troop cordon.
Meanwhile, fears are growing for the health of the hostages, many of whom are suffering from dehydration, diarrhoea, urinary tract infection and hypertension because of their ordeal.
Intense clashes with government troops on Tuesday and Wednesday cut contact with the kidnappers, who were forced to flee deeper into the jungle, their captives from seven nations in tow.
The fighting also blocked the delivery of food, medicines and clothes, making the state of the hostages even more precarious.
Local officials reckoned the intermittent rains on Jolo island in recent days have been a boon for the hostages, who have been slaking their thirst with impure mountain water since they were brought to the southern Philippines on April 24.
Malaysia, meanwhile, offered to help in negotiating for the release of the hostages as the crisis entered its third week, with no apparent end in sight.
Manila has given no indication it was willing to take up Malaysia's offer, but assured it would not use force to free the hostages.
A team of negotiators sent by Mr Misuari was to arrive in Jolo later yesterday. The authorities said they had not decided whether to go into the mountains to meet the kidnappers directly, or to continue indirect contacts through emissaries.
Formal negotiations have yet to begin as the chief negotiator has laid down a number of conditions for the government and the kidnappers to comply with.
Mr Misuari, whom the kidnappers wanted replaced with representatives of the countries with captive nationals -- twice threatened to quit unless the military pulled back to a safe distance.
Troops have encircled the area around the Abu Sayyaf's stronghold on Mount
Bayog to prevent a possible breakout despite international concern that any military action could endanger the lives of the hostages.
The Jolo hostages include tourists from Finland, France, Germany, Lebanon and South Africa as well as resort workers from the Philippines and Malaysia. --Straits Times
Issue 6th-12th May 2000, The Economist, UK, A hostage crisis confronts Estrada,
MANILA
Guerrillas have provided new reasons to worry about the president's competence
AN EXPLOSION of violence in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao is proving a severe test of President Joseph Estrada’s impatient approach to dealing with Muslim separatist rebels. Troops opened fire this week on gunmen holding two groups of hostages, including children and foreigners, calling into question his government’s ability to handle such delicate incidents.
In the first, on the island of Basilan, Muslim guerrillas of the small but vicious Abu Sayyaf group were holding at least 27 Filipinos, mostly schoolchildren, whom they had kidnapped. The government had tried to negotiate and the kidnappers had made a number of demands, including the release of some Muslims imprisoned in the United States for their part in plots to blow up buildings in New York. When most of these demands had been rejected, Abu Sayyaf responded by saying that it had beheaded two of its captives, both men.
Without waiting for confirmation of the killings, the armed forces were ordered to rescue the hostages. After bombarding Abu Sayyaf's main base for several days, using artillery and helicopter gunships, the army eventually rescued 15. Four were killed in the fighting; others are missing.
The heavy-handed action increased concern for a second group of captives. These are the 21 people abducted by Filipino gunmen from a diving resort in the Malaysian state of Sabah. They include German, Finnish, French, Lebanese and South African tourists, along with resort workers from Malaysia and the Philippines. They were taken by boat across the Sulu Sea to the Philippine island of Jolo, not far from Basilan. The kidnappers are Muslims and some say they are members of Abu Sayyaf. Several government officials, however, believe they are simply criminals with no political motives.
The kidnapped await their fate
The government has also tried to engage these kidnappers in negotiations, but before they could begin in earnest the kidnappers exchanged fire with troops who had surrounded their hideout. The kidnappers said two of the hostages had died, although officials were sceptical. On May 4th, the kidnappers moved their captives elsewhere on Jolo.
Adding to Mr Estrada’s problems was an upsurge in fighting between government troops and guerrillas of the main Muslim separatist movement in Mindanao, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). A ceasefire was supposed to be in place while peace talks were going on. But when government troops stopped some guerrillas from exacting tolls on traffic near their main base, the MILF reacted by suspending the peace talks and went on the counterattack. A series of bomb blasts in towns and cities elsewhere in Mindanao has been blamed by military officials on the MILF. On May 3rd, rebels were reported to have grabbed about 100 hostages from vehicles near Cotabato, but many escaped. Several people were also killed in attacks on the southern Mindanao city of General Santos.
In Manila, Mr Estrada has tried to maintain his reputation for standing no nonsense from either rebels or common criminals. The distinction is blurred, since rebels often use their weapons for profit rather than political gain. Mr Estrada said the safety of both groups of hostages was paramount. But he also echoed the tough guys that he used to portray during his previous career as a film actor when he said that Abu Sayyaf would be "pulverised into ashes".
That may not be so easy. The president’s approach will face its hardest test in the Jolo kidnapping, because several foreign governments are anxiously scrutinising every action. Some of the countries whose citizens are involved have cautioned against doing anything that might endanger the lives of the captives. Worries about what the Philippine government will do about the Jolo hostage-taking have been exacerbated by the outbreak of shooting around the kidnappers’ hideout and the rescue operation on Basilan.
Most concerned is Malaysia, which is worried not only about the safety of the ten Malaysians the group is holding, but also of losing its reputation as a safe place for tourists. If that happens, it will be only because of the proximity of the Malaysian state of Sabah to the most lawless region in the Philippines. If Mr Estrada’s government fails to win the release of the remainder of the hostages, or if some die in attempts to secure their freedom, the reputation for incompetence that his administration has earned will only grow worse. So will the Philippines’ already prickly relations with Malaysia. --The Economist
May 6, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] Syed Hamid: Manila yet to accept our help
KUALA LUMPUR: The Philippines has yet to take up Malaysia's offer to help in negotiations for the release of 21 hostages, including nine Malaysians, who were kidnapped from Pulau Sipadan two weeks ago.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia made the offer at the beginning of the crisis but there had been no indication from Manila to take it up.
"What we like and what we can do are two different things. We recognise the fact that the hostage-takers are Philippine nationals and that the hostages are being held on Philippine territory.
"If they (the Philippines) allow us to be directly involved, we are quite happy to provide assistance, but there is no way for us to tell them to include us in the negotiation team,'' he told a press conference at Wisma Putra yesterday.
He said Malaysia was not in a position to do more than register its interest to participate in whatever way the Philippines deemed necessary.
However, Syed Hamid said the Philippines had shown understanding by allowing Malaysia to send a team, food and medical supplies.
To a question about the often conflicting reports from the Philippines about the hostages' safety, Syed Hamid said Malaysia was verifying all news with its mission in Manila and consul-general in Davao.
"We don't take everything that is being reported as gospel truth, but we also cannot discount any information, especially at this point,'' he said.
On the status of overlapping claims by Malaysia and Indonesia over Sipadan island, Syed Hamid said the hostage crisis did not change the status quo. --The Star
May 6, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] Poser over bearded foreigners,
JOLO: At least five bearded foreigners suspected to be of Pakistani or Afghan origin have been seen in the midst of scores of Abu Sayyaf gunmen guarding the 21 Sipadan hostages at various mountain hideouts near here.
According to Jolo villagers living close to Talipao, the bearded armed men had been living in the hilly areas of Mount Tumantangis for several years now and were believed to have trained the Abu Sayyaf members.
The villagers said the bearded men came to Jolo from Manila and had been frequently spotted roaming the Bandang villages with Abu Sayyaf leaders, who have considerable influence among Muslim villagers.
However, both military and police officials disagreed that foreigners were directly involved with the Abu Sayyaf group.
They believe the real leader of the Abu Sayyaf group in Jolo is a 25-year-old political science and criminology graduate of Zamboanga University.
The other key kidnap leaders with him are digruntled former Moro National Liberation Front fighters who have been carrying out many kidnappings for ransom on Jolo island, 200km from Sabah.
According to sources, the identity of the five Sipadan hostage-grabbers were known as they have relatives working in the Philippine police and armed forces.
In Manila on Thursday, Philippine Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado released the names of five of the key leaders.
He identified the leader of the group as Mujib Susukan, and said he was slightly injured in the firefight with government troops on Wednesday.
Among the others is Ghalib Andang @ Commander Robot, a former member of the Moro National Liberation Front, who parted ways with Nur Misuari when peace negotiations started with the government.
Andang joined Abu Sayyaf in the late 1980s and was blamed for the abduction of two Hong Kong men and a Malaysian. The three were released after an undisclosed ransom was paid.
The others are Dr Abu, known as Abdin Jundain, who provided medical treatment to injured Abu Sayyaf members, Sajid Hayudini @ Sujaid Hayudini and Radullan Sahiron.
Sajid is believed to be responsible for the killing of the Roman Catholic bishop of Jolo, Benjamin de Jesus, in 1997 while Radullan is believed to have been involved in the 1995 attack on Ipil town in which 50 people were killed.
Radullan and Commander Robot are believed to have worked together in the kidnapping of the two Hong Kong men and Malaysian.
Military sources said yesterday either Commander Robot or Susukan or even both of them were injured by mortar shrapnel following military shelling of their hideouts near Talipao.
Three other Abu Sayyaf gunmen and two of the foreign hostages were also believed to have been wounded during the attacks. The Star
May 6, 2000, Reuters / ABC News, Philippines hostages alive, food on way
01:03:00 ET
JOLO, Philippines, May 6 (Reuters) - Hostages held by Islamic rebels in the jungles of a southern Philippine island are alive and have been supplied with antibiotics and slippers for their bloodied feet, a negotiator said on Saturday.
Habib Jamasali Abdurahman, a representative of chief negotiator Nur Misuari, told reporters his aides had met the kidnappers and the 21 mostly foreign hostages on Friday at their camp on Jolo island, 960 km (600 miles) south of Manila.
"They are OK," he said. "Even yesterday (Friday), I sent them tsinelas (slippers) and antibiotics. It's not true anybody died or escaped."
Previous radio reports had said two of the hostages had escaped and two others had died during gunbattles between troops and the kidnappers.
Another meeting with the kidnappers, from the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf (Father of the Sword) group, was expected later on Saturday and Misuari told reporters he was hopeful of receiving written demands which he could relay to President Joseph Estrada.
"I think I will know more about the demands today ... (but) I cannot disclose to you the content," he said.
"I'll have to send somebody, probably my wife, to Manila to see the president ... I would like to get the advice of the president should I be able to get the written demands," he added.
The Abu Sayyaf are fighting for an Islamic state in the south of this largely Catholic country and the Philippine military estimates their strength at more than 1,000.
MEETING PLANNED
A Philippine doctor and a consignment of medicines, food and bottled water are set to be taken to the hostages, other officials said.
About 2,000 troops are surrounding the kidnappers' camp to prevent the rebels escaping and there have been scattered skirmishes this week.
There were no reports of fighting overnight but flights to Jolo from nearby Zamboanga city will be suspended indefinitely because of security concerns, an airline official said.
"The company has ordered the indefinite suspension of our flights because... the ATO (Air Transportation Office) cannot give security to our aircraft," Cesare Ventura from Asian Spirit airline told Reuters.
"The last flight is today, there will be no more flights from tomorrow," he said, adding there are usually four flights a week to Jolo from Zamboanga. Asian Spirit is the only airline to offer services to Jolo.
Contact with the rebels holding the captives had been broken off after gunbattles which began on Tuesday. The hostages were seen by journalists on Monday, when they said they were hungry, sick and frightened.
Several had cuts on their feet from walking barefoot on jungle trails. The hostages, seized from a Malaysian diving resort two weeks ago, are 10 Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two South Africans, two Finns, one Lebanese and a Filipina.
TROOPS ESCORT VEHICLES ON HIGHWAY
Elsewhere, a unilateral ceasefire announced by a larger group of rebels fighting for Moslem self-rule in the south appeared to be holding, although the government set conditions before ordering its troops to avoid conflict.
There were no reports of fresh fighting between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), after the group declared its ceasefire but a provincial governor said troops were escorting vehicles travelling on the main highway on Mindanao island to prevent attacks.
Small explosions were reported in Manila and in Zamboanga on Friday night, but there were no casualties and no indications they were linked to the fighting.
The MILF, the largest rebel group fighting for Moslem independence in the south, announced a unilateral 48-hour ceasefire beginning at dawn on Saturday. But Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado laid down conditions for a similar response from the government.
"Our acceptance of the ceasefire is conditional," he said on television. "We want to verify this and give conditions, first that they show their sincerity by laying down their arms and releasing the hostages in Mindanao.
"These two conditions are important so the people would know that they are sincere."
Fighting between the MILF guerrillas and troops on the main southern island of Mindanao has forced about 114,000 people to flee their homes in the past few days but the violence has tapered off since Thursday.
It is still holding some hostages, who were abducted when the guerrillas attacked a major highway. The MILF held about 100 people on Wednesday and left many of them behind when they withdrew later that night.
Troops are also searching for eight Filipinos held separately by the Abu Sayyaf, on Basilan island, near Jolo. They were part of a group of 27 Filipinos -- schoolchildren, their teachers and a priest -- seized more than seven weeks ago.
Four of the 27 hostages died on Wednesday when the rebels sprayed them with gunfire after troops came upon the group, officials said.
The 110,000-strong Philippine military estimates the strength of the MILF at about 15,000 men. --ABC
May 6, 2000, AP / The Straits Times, Philippine troops pursue escaping Sipadan kidnappers
TALIPAO (Philippines) -- Philippine troops attempted to stop Muslim rebels who had broken through military lines on Saturday and are believed to be escaping with 21 hostages, including 10 foreign tourists.
Military officials confirmed that at least some Abu Sayyaf rebels had been able to escape through a military cordon around the area on Jolo island in the southern Philippines where they had been holding their captives.
The officials said that the Muslim extremists were believed to be taking the hostages, abducted on April 23 from a resort island in neighbouring Malaysia, into the hills of Patikul town.
A team of negotiators attempted to meet with the kidnappers late on Friday, but were unable to reach them because of the rising tensions in the area.
Representatives of the negotiators who visited the rebels on Thursday said that the guerillas were already outside the military cordon and had all 21 captives with them.
Contacts between the kidnappers and the negotiators were cut earlier this week after hundreds of troops encircled the area where the hostages had been held in a simple bamboo hut. A series of clashes erupted on Tuesday and Wednesday as the rebels attempted to escape.
The rebels have threatened to behead two foreign hostages if the military does not remove its troops from the area. -- AP
May 6, 2000, AFP, Muslim rebels again threaten to behead two Sipadan hostages
ZAMBOANGA -- Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremists again threatened to behead two of the 21 hostages being held in the southern Philippines unless the military stops harassing them, reports said on Saturday.
A spokesman for the group, Abu Escobar, told local radio station RMN DXRZ that the execution would be carried out, but he declined to name which of the mostly foreign hostages would be targeted, local newspapers reported.
The militants have made at least two previous threats via the same radio station following clashes with government troops in Basilan island and neighbouring Jolo island, where the 21 hostages are being held.
Nine Malaysians, a German family of three, two French nationals, two Finnish men, a South African couple, a Lebanese woman and two Filipinos were seized by Abu Sayyaf from the Malaysian island of Sipadan on April 23.
"They (rebel leaders) are assessing the situation but if the fighting in Basilan continues, we might even invite the media to witness the actuality (of the execution)," Escobar told the radio station.
It was in Basilan where the military moved to free 29 Filipino hostages being held by the same group.
They managed to free 15 of the hostages, but Abu Sayyaf gunmen slaughtered at least four of their captives as they escaped.
Another 10 are still missing. -- AFP
May 6, 2000, Bernama, No End in Sight For Hostage Crisis, by Azman Ujang,
18:00PM
KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Bernama) -- Two weeks have gone but the Philippines appears to have made no progress in negotiating the release of 21 mostly foreign hostages kidnapped from the Malaysian diving resort of Sipadan.
Except for pictures on Monday showing the hostages alive, news from the southern Philippines where they are being held has been very depressing all the way for family members and foreign governments anxious to know the fate of their citizens seized on the night of April 23 by a group of gunmen.
Any hostage-taking is in itself a crisis but this one could not have happened in a more complicated and difficult place.
Southern Philippines has for years been engulfed in a war between government troops and well-armed rebel groups fighting for self-rule and Abu Sayyaf which claimed responsibility for the Sipadan kidnap is one of
such groups.
That the 1,000-strong Abu Sayyaf group is in no hurry to state its demands in exchange for the release of their hostages not only increases the risks to their lives but does give the impression that the kidnappers are
"enjoying" the international media blitz that the group is getting.
Three days after the group struck on Sipadan, Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai told Bernama in an interview: " We have to be mentally prepared for a long hostage crisis.
This is a common strategy among international terrorist groups". Norian's point seems to have been proven.
Statements from Malaysian officials indicate that Kuala Lumpur wants to be directly involved in negotiations to secure the release of the hostages who also comprise of three Germans, two French, two South Africans, two Finns, two Filipinos and a Lebanese.
Norian himself together with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Pandikar Amin Mulia and Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal were in the Philippines this week to put this message across to Manila.
But as Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said diplomatically yesterday: " Malaysia will welcome any opportunity to be directly involved in (such) negotiations.
" If the Philippine government allows us to be directly involved, we will be happy...but what we like and what we can do are two different things", he said.
But the fact that President Joseph Estrada whom Pandikar Amin met in Manila has made no reference to allowing Malaysia's direct involvement in such talks raises the spectre of Philippine domestic politics getting in the way of resolving the crisis.
Officials here who spoke on condition of anonymity argued that Malaysia's intention to be directly involved in negotiating the release of the hostages is justified as the hostages were kidnapped from Malaysia.
Also given the conventional practice for a neutral party to broker an agreement between two warring factions, Malaysia is seen as the ideal third party.
And not to mention the excruciatingly slow pace of developments now taking place amid fears over the fate of the hostages and reports that talks to secure their release are bogged down.
Reports said the hostages are being moved around on the hilly terrain by their captors who are running out of food, water and medicine as formal talks were scuttled following exchange of fire between the Philippine armed forces and the Abu Sayyaf group with a tight military ring being maintained around the area.
The hostage crisis is not helped either by confusing and conflicting media reports coming out of southerh Philippines.
Most so far has been traced to overzealous officials claiming to be spokesmen of groups involved in wanting to feed the media of the "latest developments".
Reports such as two of the hostages having been killed or died of a heart attack and two hostages having escaped from their captors were sent around the world only to be denied as false later.
The modus operadi seems to be callers claiming to be from the Abu Sayyaf group feeding such information to a radio station in Zamboanga city which was then picked up by the news agencies.
In a corner of Southeast Asia where kidnappings have turned into an industry, it is far from certain when the drama of the Sipadan kidnap will play itself out.
Governments of countries where the hostages come from may well be forced to pressure Manila to get its act together to end the crisis.-- BERNAMA
May 6, 2000, Bernama, Negotiators given time to resolve kidnap crisis, by Abdul Muin Abdul Majid,
ZAMBOANGA CITY, May 6 (Bernama) -- The Philippine armed forces said today that they are giving time for the negotiators and kidnappers of the 21 hostages on Sipadan Island to come up with any positive development.
Its southern command spokesman, Col Hilario Atentido, told reporters here that the army was concerned over the safety of the hostages abducted from the Malaysian diving resort on April 23.
"We still have orders not to attack where the hostages are being held.
Our main conern here is their safety. So we can't just launch military operations against them (the kidnappers).
"We are giving time for the negotiators to do their thing...but we are preparing for any eventuality," he said.
Following skirmishes between government forces and the hostage-takers few days ago, the 21 Malaysian and foreign citizens had been reportedly moved out from the original jungle hideout of the kidnappers on Jolo island.
Chief government negotiator Nur Misuari said yesterday that it was not clear whether the hostages were still together or had been separated into smaller groups.
However, a news report today quoting military sources said the hostages were being held in a cluster of houses in the town of Talipao.
Atentido also said he had no idea whether Nur Misuari and his emissaries were in contact with the kidnappers.
He said following the fighting, the information he had was that one of the leaders of the abductors was wounded.
Meanwhile, a Malaysian journalist contacted on Jolo island said all Malaysian reporters there were safe.
Azeman Said of NTV7 said all foreign journalists including Malaysians were taking the necessary precautions with regard to their safety.
He said their movements had also been restricted and they were advised to move in groups.
In another development, Malaysian Consul General Mahalil Baharam told Malaysian journalists here that efforts were being made to send food, medical supplies and clothing from the Malaysian government to Jolo island tomorrow morning by speed boat.
However, he said, Nur Misuari had given the assurance that the consignment was ready to be delivered anytime.-- BERNAMA
May 6, 2000, The Sunday Times, Thirst is now biggest enemy for hostages, by Richard Beeston in Jolo, Philippines,
IN A jungle clearing on the side of a volcanic hill, 20 foreign hostages stare up at the clear blue Pacific skies in the hope of a respite to their ordeal.
Forced to march for hours in the blazing sun with no water and little food, thirst rather than their armed captors has become the greater enemy. When at midday, the first tropical showers gather and water begins to cascade down the palm trees, the abducted holidaymakers suck in as much moisture as possible before the storm passes.
Nelsa Amin, a local doctor who brought water, food and medicine to the hostages five days ago, said: "Thirst and dehydration are my greatest concerns."
Dr Amin is still waiting for permission to take in another load of supplies to the hostages. "Two of them needed urgent hospitalisation when I last saw them on Monday but the gunman refused to let them go," he said. "I hate to think what their conditions must be like now."
A breakdown in negotiations caused by the Filipino army's storming of a rebel base has left the hostages and some 300 abductors on the run, trying to evade a police and army cordon built up round them.
For two weeks now the German, French, Finnish, South African and Lebanese tourists have endured this nightmare. They had expected to spend Easter on a diving holiday at one of the world's best underwater sites, but instead were abducted and brought to this island at gunpoint.
The island of Jolo, where they are being held by Abu Sayyaf, a militant Muslim group, is one of the jewels of the Philippines because of its remote location at the country's southern tip. Centuries of piracy and rebellion have left it lawless, poor and untamed.
At the entrance to most buildings visitors are asked to check in their pistols, although automatic rifles appear more popular. Even in the relative safety of the city centre, at Jolo's fish market, foreigners are not allowed to walk without a police escort for fear that a kidnapper might strike.
At 9pm an air raid siren wailed across the city and a strict curfew was imposed. Despite the very real danger posed by the kidnappers, the Filipinos still manage to maintain their sense of humour and there is a distinct element of farce attached to the tragic saga.
Yesterday for instance, the local police put on a show of force to convince the assembled foreign press corps that the authorities were intent on stamping out the scourge of kidnapping.
Under the command of the local police chief, Colonel Candido Casimiro, a long convoy set out to patrol the island with special units carrying rifles, pistols and knives.
The menacing effect was only let down by the centre piece in the convoy, a Second World War Jeep that had been clumsily converted into an armoured car. The vehicle, decorated with a Jaguar's head, struggled to keep up with the patrol and eventually stopped in a cloud of engine steam on a steep hill.
The rebels, who are just as keen on posing for the cameras with their latest armoury, also conceal an embarrassing secret.
Commander Robot, the mastermind behind the kidnapping and a man blamed for seizing other foreigners for ransom in 1998, acquired his nom de guerre because of his skill in imitating Michael Jackson's robotic dance routines.
Despite the notes of levity, there is no sign of an end to the hostage crisis and there are real fears now that some of the foreign hostages will perish in the jungle.
Filipino officials close to the stalled negotiations insist that part of the problem is that they have still not received any concrete demands. They say that the group, far from being a well-disciplined Islamic force, is split into several factions where even a young teenager with a rifle can challenge a commander's order.
For its part the Government is accused of pretending to enter into negotiations while at the same time ordering the army to stamp out the rebels.
The matter has been further clouded by threats from the chief negotiator, Nur Misuari, a former rebel leader, to quit, and also the growing intervention from foreign powers such as Germany and France.
One local official said: "We know that politics is not behind this kidnapping and that all the abductors want, and all they ever wanted in the past, was the payment of a cash ransom. But the longer this thing drags out the worst it will be for those poor devils stuck out in the jungle." --Sunday Times
May 6, 2000, The Star [Malaysia] Officer's wife pleads for his safe return, by Yap Yoke Leong,
KUALA LUMPUR: The wife of Lt-Kol Hamzah Bachik, one of the two Malaysian military observers currently held hostage in Sierra Leone, pleaded Friday for Revolution United Front (RUF) rebels to release her husband.
Shariffah Azhar Syed Ahmand Jamalulail said she hoped the RUF would let her husband go on humanitarian grounds.
"All I want is the safe return of my husband and nothing more,'' she said, adding that she and her children were praying every day for his safe return.
Shariffah said she was yet to receive news on the situation in Sierra Leone, adding that wives of other army personnel had visited her yesterday.
Lt-Kol Hamzah has a 21-year-old son and a 20-year-old daughter studying in local colleges, and another two daughters aged 16 and 13 in secondary school.
Lt-Kol Hamzah, Mejar Ganase Jaganathan and Lt-Komander Aminuddin Rashid were reported to have been taken hostage by the rebels on May 1 in Makeni, southern Sierra Leone, but only Mejar Ganase was released unconditionally after three days.
Other family members of the abducted army personnel were not available for comment.
A Defence Ministry spokesman said that no news on new developments had been received from the United Nations, adding that efforts were being made to rescue the hostages.
He said that Mindef was informing the families concerned of new developments from time to time. --The Star
May 6, 2000, AFP, President Estrada to meet negotiator to break hostage impasse,
JOLO, Philippines, May 6 (AFP) - 21:20 - Philippine President Joseph Estrada will meet his chief negotiator as the hostage crisis involving 21 mostly foreign tourists heads into its third week, officials said Saturday.
The president would be briefed Sunday by Muslim autonomous region governor and top negotiator Nur Misuari, Estrada's press secretary Ricardo Puno said as the extremists again threatened to start beheading hostages.
Ibrahim Ghazali, the president of the Philippines Ulamahs (Muslim theologians) Association, claimed Misuari had been given 48 hours to begin negotiations with the abductors.
Misuari's aides dismissed the claim, saying they were making "active contacts" with the rebels to lay the foundation for negotiations.
"We have made contact with the abductors and we will try to open up formal negotiations," said Yusop Jikiri of the Moro National Liberation Front, led by Misuari.
Misuari, a former rebel leader, was appointed the government's chief negotiator following the abduction of the hostages from a Malaysian resort off the coast of Borneo on April 23.
Misuari said the rebels would submit formal demands later Saturday.
"The emissaries of the Abu Sayyaf told me that they would be submitting their formal demands on Saturday. I am waiting for the written demands," he said without elaborating.
So far he has made no direct contact with the gunmen who have been conveying messages through his emissaries.
The hostages comprised nine Malaysians, a German family of three, two French nationals, two Finnish men, a South African couple, a Lebanese woman and two Filipinos.
The gunmen again threatened to behead two hostages unless the military stops harassing them, news reports said Saturday.
A spokesman for the group, Abu Escobar, told local radio station RMN DXRZ the execution would be carried out but declined to name who would be killed.
The militants have made at least two previous threats via the same radio station following clashes between separate Abu Sayyaf groups and government troops on Jolo island and neighbouring Basilan island.
"They (rebel leaders) are assessing the situation but if the fighting in Basilan continues, we might even invite the media to witness the actuality (of the execution)," Escobar told the Zamboanga-based radio station.
The rebels were referring to Wednesday's military operations to free 29 Filipino hostages, mostly teachers and children, held by a second group of Abu Sayyaf gunmen in Basilan.
Troops managed to free 15 captives but the kidnappers slaughtered at least four hostages as they escaped. The others are still missing.
The headless bodies of two teachers were found by government troops at the overrun Abu Sayaf camp on Saturday.
Troops have clashed several times with the kidnappers since imposing a cordon around their jungle base.
The Abu Sayyaf has claimed that two of the hostages died during the clashes, but this could not be verified. Some hostages are said to have fallen ill.
A senior Philippines foreign ministry official assured European diplomats on Saturday that no military action would be ordered that could endanger the lives of hostages.
A police official, who declined to be named, said intelligence received Friday night indicated the abductors had split the hostages into two groups -- Caucasians and Asians.
The abductors had earlier split the hostages into five groups to elude the pursuing military but had regrouped them early Friday, the official said. --AFP
May 6, 2000, Reuters, Philippines to Send More Medicine to Hostages,
08:46:00 ET
JOLO, Philippines (Reuters) - The Philippines is preparing to send more medicines and food to 21 mostly foreign hostages held by Muslim rebels after one of the captives pleaded for assistance, the government's negotiator said on Saturday.
Elsewhere, bombers killed at least five people on the main Mindanao island on the first day of a unilateral cease-fire announced by the largest Islamic group fighting for self-rule in the south of the country.
The rebels are holding the hostages in jungle hideouts on Jolo island, 600 miles south of Manila, but officials say they have moved the captives repeatedly over the past week to escape clashes with troops surrounding the area.
The hostages, seized from a Malaysian diving resort two weeks ago, are 10 Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two South Africans, two Finns, one Lebanese and a Filipina.
"A while ago our coordinator said that the Lebanese lady had sent word...asking for medical assistance..," government negotiator Nur Misuari told reporters.
"I think some of them are getting weaker and weaker because of the constant movement. They're not used to moving in the mountains," Misuari said without elaborating.
MEETING WITH PRESIDENT ESTRADA
Misuari said he would meet Philippines President Joseph Estrada in nearby Zamboanga city on Sunday but added he had not yet received the rebels' written demands which had been expected earlier.
"I think the military factor is causing some difficulties," Misuari said, but he repeated that troops had assured him they would not launch any rescue attempts.
Abdusakur Tan, governor of Sulu province of which Jolo town is the capital, will also meet Estrada on Sunday amid reports he might take a more active role in the hostage crisis as some officials complain Misuari has not made any headway.
The Philippines has come under increasing international pressure not to try any rescue and Estrada has told foreign governments the safety of the hostages is paramount.
One of Misuari's representatives told reporters his aides had met the kidnappers on Friday and they were all alive and had been supplied with antibiotics and slippers for their bloodied feet.
Another meeting with the kidnappers, from the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf (Father of the Sword) group, was expected on Saturday but officials could not confirm it had gone ahead.
The Abu Sayyaf are fighting for an Islamic state in the south of this largely Catholic country and the Philippine military estimates their strength at more than 1,000.
About 2,000 troops are surrounding the kidnappers' camp to prevent the rebels escaping and scattered skirmishes this week have interrupted the informal talks between government emissaries and rebel representatives.
BOMBINGS ON MINDANAO
Elsewhere, a unilateral cease-fire announced by a larger group of rebels looked shaky as bomb blasts killed at least five people.
The five died when a bomb ripped through a bus in Surigao city on Mindanao island, local radio reported but said the attackers had not been independently identified.
Radio reports said another bomb wounded 12 in Butuan city, south of Surigao and also on Mindanao, which is home to most of the five million Muslims in this mainly Catholic country.
Local police blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for the explosions, national ABS-CBN television said, despite the group's unilateral cease-fire which started at dawn on Saturday. --ABC
May 6, 2000, Reuters, Malaysia says only nine nationals among hostages,
07:32:00 ET
KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Reuters) - Only nine of the 21 hostages abducted by Islamic rebels and taken to a Philippine island are Malaysian nationals, as opposed to earlier reports of 10 nationals, Malaysia's chief of police was quoted as saying.
The New Straits Times newspaper quoted Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai on Saturday as saying that the 10th person was a Filipino national residing on the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan where the hostages were abducted two weeks ago, raising the total number of Filipino hostages to two from one.
The other hostages are three Germans, two French nationals, two South Africans, two Finns and one Lebanese national.
The hostages being held by the Abu Sayyaf (Father of the Sword) group on Jolo island 960 km (600 miles) south of Manila are alive and have been supplied with antibiotics and slippers for their bloodied feet, a negotiator said on Saturday.
Previous radio reports had said two of the hostages had escaped and two others had died during gun battles between troops and the kidnappers. --ABC
May 6, 2000, Bernama, Philippine Army Giving Time to Negotiators to Resolve Kidnap Crisis,
12:14 pm
ZAMBOANGA CITY, May 6 (Bernama) -- The Philippine armed forces said today that they are giving time for the negotiators and kidnappers of the 21 hostages on Sipadan Island to come up with any positive development.
Its southern command spokesman, Col Hilario Atentido, told reporters here that the army was concerned over the safety of the hostages abducted from the Malaysian diving resort on April 23.
"We still have orders not to attack where the hostages are being held.
Our main conern here is their safety. So we can't just launch military operations against them (the kidnappers).
"We are giving time for the negotiators to do their thing...but we are preparing for any eventuality," he said.
May 6, 2000, Bernama, Do Not Withhold Information on Pirates, Sabah Folks Told,
13:07 pm
SEMPORNA, Sabah, May 6 (Bernama) -- A Sabah Minister Saturday urged the people particularly islanders to report straight to the police any activity that can endanger safety and security.
Such information was vital to enable the security forces to ward off any threat in the state's coastal waters, State Rural and Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Nasir Tun Sakaran said.
"Our security forces are indeed trained and ever vigilant to any form of threat including pirate attacks," he said when launching the Maal Hirjah celebrations at Semporna District level here.
Nasir said the Pulau Sipadan kidnap incident was a lesson to all and hence the people should cooperate with the security forces to prevent such incidents.
On April 23, a group of gunmen kidnapped 21 people including 11 foreigners from Pulau Sipadan.
Nasir also appealed to the families of the kidnap victims to be patient and hoped all the people now being held captives would be freed.
Nasir, who is the assemblyman for Senallang, urged Muslims to change their old outlook to keep up with the times and challenges of the new millennium.
May 6, 2000, CNN.com, African Diplomat Says Philippine Hostages Are Alive,
12:30 pm HKT
JOLO, Philippines -- Two days after Muslim rebels holed up on this island said two of their hostages had died, a go-between has said that all 21 of the captives are alive and will not be killed.
"They told an intermediary that such action will only undermine their cause," said Jerry Matsila, South Africa's deputy foreign affairs director-general, according to a report from the South African Press Association.
Matsila said South African High Commissioner to Malaysia Lindiwe Mabuza had on Thursday met the man acting as intermediary between the Muslim captors and Filipino chief negotiator Nar Misauri.
Matsila did not name the go-between but said he had told Mabuza the abductors had promised not to harm the group of hostages.
May 6, 2000, CNN.com, Contact Resumes After Fight,
12:30 pm HKT
Contacts between the kidnappers and negotiators were cut this week after government troops encircled the area where the hostages were being held in a bamboo hut. A series of clashes erupted on Tuesday and Wednesday as the rebels tried to escape.
The rebels were able to break through the military cordon and were holding their hostages at a single location outside the area, said several villagers in touch with the negotiators.
The negotiators have resumed contacts with the Abu Sayyaf rebels, said the villagers, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
But a man identifying himself in a radio interview on Friday as one of the gunmen repeated a threat to kill two of the captives if the military did not stop attacking the guerrilla group.
On Wednesday, the rebels claimed two of the foreign hostages had died, one from a stray bullet and one of a heart attack. Government officials have said those claims were unconfirmed, and troops who seized the bamboo hut said they found no bodies or bloodstains.
May 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, Editorial, An evil blight,
That has to be the shortest "all-out offensive" ever. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, after declaring total war on government troops this week, is observing a 48-hour unilateral ceasefire starting today. This is a sure sign that the MILF has been crippled, since the only time Muslim rebels stop using force is when they have been greatly weakened. The military is right in suspecting that the MILF will use this ceasefire only to replenish its weapons and ammunition, regroup, bury its dead and regain its strength. But because the deadline set by President Estrada for forging a peace pact with the MILF has not lapsed, the government has no choice but to accept the peace overtures -- after a few more days of shelling the rebels' camps.
The Abu Sayyaf is another story. Children rescued from the clutches of the Islamic fundamentalist group said they were treated like pigs and were beaten up even for minor infractions. Relief goods meant for the hostages ended up in the hands of the terrorists' relatives, the children said. The group also routinely beat their captive priest, Rhoel Gallardo. When the priest was found dead with gunshot wounds, his toenails were missing and his body bore other signs of torture. More gruesome was the fate of a teacher, who was killed together with Gallardo and two others. The teacher's breasts had been chopped off.
Such bestiality can only be the handiwork of sick minds. Torture, mutilation and the execution of innocents cannot be condoned -- not in the police or military, not in any insurgency, not even in a religious war. The Abu Sayyaf, whose aim is to set up a fundamentalist Muslim state independent of the Philippines, is no better than the Nazis or the Khmer Rouge under the murderous Pol Pot. There can be no peace with a group as demented as this. Once government troops get the Abu Sayyaf's remaining hostages, including 20 foreigners, President Estrada must make good his promise to crush this scourge. The Abu Sayyaf is an evil blight that even peace-loving Muslims must help stamp out.
May 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, 'We do this for our country', by Paolo Romero,
He doesn't regret having a shattered left ankle, caused by a hail of bullets unleashed by retreating Muslim rebel forces in Matanog, Maguindanao.
"We do this for the country," said Army Cpl. Edgardo Agsaway, who, five days ago, was one of the thousands deployed to seize Camp Abubakar.
"Even if many soldiers die, we should not stop until we get Camp Abubakar," he said of the government's campaign to capture the main stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Agsaway told The STAR from his hospital bed at the AFP Medical Center in Quezon City that the government committed a big mistake in 1997, when the military was about to seize the rebel camp but was ordered by Malacañang to stop for the sake of peace.
Now, he points out, Camp Abubakar is heavily fortified.
"More will die now because the camp is harder to penetrate," Agsaway said.
"I wish Abubakar will be taken so the MILF won't strut and there will be genuine peace," he said. "There will be fighting as long as the rebels are there."
Agsaway is lucky to have only a shattered ankle.
Army Scout Ranger Sgt. Armando Villanueva lost both his legs when he stepped on an improvised land mine while carrying a wounded comrade.
Villanueva was one of the several elite troopers tasked to free 21 hostages being held by the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo, Sulu.
"The Abu Sayyaf are the worst kind of terrorists. They do not have a heart for they kidnap children," he said while he lay in bed. "I don't think anybody could be more evil than them."
Villanueva and his men were at Mt. Punoh Mohadje when they were ambushed by about 200 bandits.
It took the military about six hours before he was moved out by reinforcements.
At the other face of the steep mountain, another team of Scout Rangers were battling the same number of rebels.
According to Corporal Rick Asejo, they started the ascent on Good Friday. On the morning of Easter Sunday, he said his team -- which was only about 20 meters away from the rebel camp -- was spotted by a rebel lookout.
"Ayun ... pinaulanan na kami ng bala at mga mortar," Asejo said.
It was in this gunbattle that he lost his left foot from an exploding mortar. "Ang dami nilang mortar," he said. "Meron pa silang caliber .50 machinegun." (They had a lot of mortars, even a machine gun).
The three wounded soldiers said the rebels are nothing but a bunch of cowards.
"Mga duwag naman sila. Kikidnap para hindi makalapit ang militar, tapos iiwanan din nila yung kampo nila," Agsaway said. (They are nothing but cowards who use hostages as their shield, then they leave their camps just the same).
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