KL envoys meet rebel leaders<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia said on Saturday its
\ndiplomats met for the first time with leaders of rebels holding
\n21 mostly foreign hostages in the southern Philippines, but
\ncalled their demands \"vague\".<\/p>\n
\"We have commenced discussions with the blessings of the
\nPhilippine government but we want the release of all the
\nhostages, not only Malaysians,\" Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed
\nHamid Albar told reporters.<\/p>\n
Syed Hamid said the Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines,
\nMohamed Arshad Hussain, and two other diplomats met four
\ncommanders from the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf group in the
\ncoastal village of Taulug on Jolo Island on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The minister said the rebels called for the establishment of a
\n\"Sabah Commission\" to examine the welfare of tens of thousands of
\nillegal Tausug Filipinos in Malaysia's Sabah state and wanted
\nKuala Lumpur to take a more active role in the negotiations.<\/p>\n
Besides that, their demands \"are rather vague\", he said.<\/p>\n
\"We seem to be getting different indications on their demands
\nwhich revolve more on the socio-economic issues and problems and
\nthe political problems that they face,\" the minister added.<\/p>\n
The hostages -- nine Malaysians, three Germans, two French,
\ntwo South Africans, two Finns, two Filipinos and one Lebanese --
\nwere kidnapped from a Malaysian dive resort on April 23.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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