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.