Indonesian sailor escapes from Philippine rebels<\/p>\n
Agencies
\nZamboanga, Philippines<\/p>\n
An Indonesian sailor fled Moro rebels in the southern Philippines
\non Friday after being held hostage for nearly 10 months, the
\nmilitary said.<\/p>\n
Peter Lerrich, one of four Indonesians seized by Abu Sayyaf
\nguerrillas from a tugboat in June 2002, was the third to escape.
\nOne of the sailors fled soon after the kidnapping and another,
\nJulkipli, dashed from his captors in late March.<\/p>\n
Julkipli told the military the fourth sailor, Munto Jacobo
\nWinowatan, had been dead since Feb. 2 after a firefight between
\ntroops and the rebels.<\/p>\n
Lerrich said Winowatan was murdered by the Abu Sayyaf, Brig.
\nGen. Romeo Tolentino told reporters.<\/p>\n
\"His allegation was that their captain was assassinated by the
\nAbu Sayyaf after they noticed that the captain was very ill
\nbecause of a gunshot wound he sustained,\" Tolentino said. \"He
\nwants to get back to the area to retrieve the remains.\"<\/p>\n
Looking thin but otherwise unharmed after a change of clothes,
\nLerrich broke down as he recalled Winowatan.<\/p>\n
\"I don't want to go home without the body of Munto Jacobus
\nWinowatan,\" Lerrich said of his friend.<\/p>\n
Tolentino said that Lerrich, 37, was rescued after a military
\nraid on a rebel hide-out in the village of Maligay, part of
\nJolo's Patikul town. But in a brief encounter with reporters,
\nLerrich gave a different account of his freedom, saying he
\nescaped on Wednesday night and kept climbing the jungle hills
\nuntil he reached Maligay, where a local official took him to the
\nmilitary.<\/p>\n
Abu Sayyaf, the most violent of four rebel groups fighting for
\nan Islamic homeland in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic
\ncountry, is blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organization
\nwith links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.<\/p>\n
Lerrich was in good condition, although tired and haggard,
\nafter being found in Maligay village on the southern island of
\nJolo, about 960 km south of Manila.<\/p>\n
\"The villagers said the victim could have possibly escaped
\nbecause of continuous military pressure. He was seen running. He
\nis now in our safe hands,\" Tolentino said.<\/p>\n
Lerrich was due to be flown to the army's southern command in
\nZamboanga on the island of Mindanao and then on to Manila.<\/p>\n
There was no word on the fate of four Filipino women, all
\nChristian evangelists, who were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian's escape came two days after President Gloria
\nMacapagal Arroyo said planned exercises with U.S. troops will be
\nheld in the Sulu chain of islands that includes Jolo.<\/p>\n
The latest series of training for Philippine units, dubbed
\nBalikatan or \"shoulder to shoulder\", was to go ahead earlier this
\nyear but was delayed by controversy over whether U.S. soldiers
\nwould fight the rebels.<\/p>\n
The Philippine constitution forbids foreign troops from going
\ninto combat.<\/p>\n
Last year, U.S. and Philippine soldiers trained together on
\nnearby Basilan island, another Abu Sayyaf stronghold. The U.S.
\nforces were allowed to use their weapons only in self defense.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesian-sailor-escapes-from-philippine-rebels-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}