RP military says U.S. hostage could be dead<\/p>\n
LAMITAN, Philippines (Reuters): The Philippine military said
\non Monday that it believed Muslim gunmen had killed a 40-year-old
\nAmerican hostage after tying his hands behind his back and
\nleading him away from his fellow captives.<\/p>\n
But while a military spokesman said he had strong reason to
\nbelieve that the self-styled Abu Sayyaf rebels had executed
\nGuillermo Sobero, a tourist from Corona, California, his body had
\nstill not been found.<\/p>\n
As he spoke, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made a flying
\nvisit to Basilan, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold, and vowed there would
\nbe no let-up in an assault on the gunmen, who still hold about
\ntwo dozen hostages on the southern island.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Embassy in Manila said it had no independent
\nconfirmation that Sobero was dead.<\/p>\n
"We have no proof of Mr Sobero's fate. No remains have been
\nidentified as his. No independent source witnessed his claimed
\nexecution," the Embassy said in a statement. "That said, we
\nremain gravely concerned about Mr Sobero's fate in view of the
\nrepeated claims by the Abu Sayyaf to have beheaded him."<\/p>\n
Armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said the
\nmilitary had studied statements given by freed Filipino hostage
\nFrancis Ganzon. "We have strong reasons to believe the statements
\nof Mr Ganzon that Mr Sobero is dead," Adan said.<\/p>\n
"He was killed sometime on the night of June 11 after his
\nhands were tied behind his back and he was separated from the
\nrest of the hostages... They never saw him again.<\/p>\n
"We have no independent confirmation because his body has not
\nbeen found," the general told reporters in the capital Manila.<\/p>\n
Adan said Sobero had been nursing a wound on his right foot
\nsustained during fighting earlier this month between soldiers and
\nthe kidnappers on Basilan, 900 km south of Manila. The wound had
\nnot healed despite medication because the American was apparently
\na diabetic, he said.<\/p>\n
The gunmen said on June 12 they had beheaded Sobero because of
\nmilitary operations against them.<\/p>\n
Ganzon, a lawyer, walked free on Saturday along with two other
\nFilipino hostages. Officials said Ganzon brought with him a
\nletter from the Abu Sayyaf expressing its readiness to negotiate.<\/p>\n
Guerrilla spokesman Abu Sabaya, in a call to local radio RMN
\non Monday, renewed rebel demands to negotiate with Malaysian
\nintermediaries but said Philippine Justice Secretary Hernando
\nPerez must also take part in the talks.<\/p>\n
"Once Secretary Perez comes here we will release some
\nhostages," Sabaya said.<\/p>\n
Sobero was among 20 people, including two other Americans and
\n17 Filipinos, seized from a tourist resort near Palawan island on
\nMay 27 and taken to Basilan. The other Americans are missionary
\ncouple Martin and Gracia Burnham, from Wichita, Kansas.<\/p>\n
"The hostages are exhausted due to long mountain walks, most
\nof the time at night," Adan said.<\/p>\n
Through jungles<\/p>\n
"Mr Ganzon said that they kept going up, the vegetation is
\nvery dense, sometimes they had to hold onto ropes and go down
\nvery steep ravines. The terrain is muddy."<\/p>\n
Arroyo visited Basilan aboard a military helicopter. "I am
\nunder tremendous pressure to back down but I cannot do so at the
\nrisk of the higher national interest," Arroyo said.<\/p>\n
She told reporters that suspending military operations would
\nembolden the Abu Sayyaf. "Then they will strike again in some
\nunexpected place. We cannot allow this to happen and place our
\npeople forever hostage to a band of extremists," she added.<\/p>\n
Arroyo, who has adopted a no-ransom policy, denied knowledge
\nof reported large ransom payments by families of freed hostages.<\/p>\n
"While we cannot totally control private transactions, we
\ndiscourage them and we will not support their efforts by
\nfacilitating them," she said.<\/p>\n
Eleven of the original hostages escaped or have been freed or
\nrescued. The bodies of two Filipino men have been found,
\napparently executed by the gunmen.<\/p>\n
The gunmen took fresh hostages on Basilan and now have an
\nestimated 25 captives, all Filipinos except for the Americans.<\/p>\n
They profess to fight for Muslim self-rule in the mainly Roman
\nCatholic country but their main pursuit is kidnap for ransom.<\/p>\n
Last year, it abducted scores of people, including Western
\ntourists from a resort in nearby Malaysia. Local officials say
\nthe group secured about $20 million in ransom from that.<\/p>",
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