Bad weather holds up release of hostages in RP

Bad weather holds up release of hostages in RP

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (Agencies): Bad weather on Thursday
delayed the expected release of foreign hostages taken by Moro
rebels, but officials were confident all 17 captives would be
freed from a southern Philippine island this week.

Chief hostage negotiator Robert Aventajado said bad weather
had hampered his flight to the rugged and remote island of Jolo,
960 km (600 miles) south of Manila, to pick up a dozen European
and South African hostages as planned.

However sources close to the negotiators said the Abu Sayyaf
guerrillas were unwilling to give up three French television
journalists abducted last month because of fears the military
would move in once they freed all the captives.

The other nine are tourists, part of a group kidnapped from a
Malaysian resort in April.

President Joseph Estrada had insisted that all hostages be
freed and none be left out, Aventajado told reporters.
He said he had ironed matters out with the rebels and that
releases would take place over the next three days, likely
beginning with the freeing of three Malaysian and one Filipino
captives on Friday.

"The president reminded me that the panel would work for the
release of everybody," Aventajado said.

He said he spoke to Galib Andang, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf,
during the day and "we are looking at tomorrow until Monday...all
of them should be released from tomorrow until Monday...at least
that's what we agreed on".

It was the third time this week that the release of the
foreigners, many of whom have been held for almost four months,
has been postponed.

On Thursday, ambassadors from South Africa, Germany, France
and Finland were prepared to leave for the southern city of
Zamboanga, near Jolo, to receive the captives, who are nationals
of their countries.

The envoys stayed at an air base in Manila for over four hours
waiting for word to leave before news of the latest postponement
came in.

The kidnapping has been a major embarrassment for Estrada's
government, already buffeted by a surge in Muslim insurgency
elsewhere in the south, a weak economy and allegations of
cronyism in his administration.

Plans were for the hostages, accompanied by their ambassadors,
to be flown to Tripoli to be formally handed over to their
governments. Libya has organized a major initiative to get the
hostages released in exchange, newspapers said, for European
support in getting sanctions imposed after the Lockerbie bombing
fully lifted.

Families of the hostages, government ministers from the
countries involved and journalists have begun to gather in
Tripoli to welcome the captives.

A Finnish government official said on Thursday he was
optimistic that he would be able to welcome two Finnish hostages
who are expected to be released by kidnappers in the Philippines
and flown to Tripoli.

Pekka Hyvoenen, director for consular affairs for the Finnish
foreign ministry, arrived in Tripoli on Wednesday, joining
officials from Germany, Lebanon and South Africa.

The release of the hostages, held since April by Muslim rebels
in the southern Philippines, had been expected Wednesday under a
Libyan-brokered deal, but has been delayed until Saturday or
Sunday.

Aventajado and Rajab Azzarouq, a former Libyan ambassador to
the Philippines who has played an important role in the 16-week
crisis, brought back a Filipina hostage, Lucrecia Dablo, after
talks with the rebels on Wednesday.

The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, seeking an independent Muslim state
in the south of the mostly Roman Catholic Philippines, kidnapped
21 people from the Sipadan island resort, off Borneo, currently
under Malaysia's control, on April 23 and spirited them away to
Jolo.

The Libyan envoy has denied newspaper reports his government
had paid $25 million for the release of the hostages. He has said
Libya would however fund some development projects in the
southern Philippines to provide employment.

The Philippine military has said the rebels received some $5.5
million for the hostages already released and will get more
money. Funds are being spent to recruit and retain cadres, for a
speedboat and motorcycles and on arms, they said.