One year later, Abu Sayyaf gunmen still roam RP island
JOLO, Philippines (AFP): Almost a year after going on a massive kidnapping spree that embarrassed the Philippine government, the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group continue to roam the southern island of Jolo.
Of the scores of mostly foreigners they took hostage on April 23 last year, nearly all have been released or recovered safely.
But the Abu Sayyaf gunmen have defied a massive military operation launched in September last year by former president Joseph Estrada to crush them.
Estrada's successor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is however using a carrot and stick approach to reign in the notorious gunmen, who still hold an American and a Filipino hostage.
Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling, head of military forces in the south, said operations against the Abu Sayyaf were continuing despite a ceasefire declared against two other guerrilla groups in the country -- the communist rebels and the larger Muslim separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
He said that the ranks of the troops pursuing the Abu Sayyaf would even be increased since more soldiers can be deployed in Jolo following the truce with the communist and MILF rebels.
Despite the military might, Jesus Dureza, an adviser of President Arroyo, said the government was willing to discuss giving the Abu Sayyaf agricultural aid to convince them to abandon violence.
Although the Abu Sayyaf claim to be Islamic revolutionaries, the government has dismissed them as mere bandits.
Col. Romeo Tolentino, a commander of the anti-Abu Sayyaf offensive, said about 500 Abu Sayyaf members remained although the hard-core membership comprised only 350.
The forested terrain and wide support that the Abu Sayyaf enjoy among local communities in Jolo had hampered the military assault, officials said.
"Sometimes you cannot distinguish the Abu Sayyaf from the other natives there," National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said, adding that there was no timetable for subduing the group.
The Abu Sayyaf launched their kidnapping spree on April 23, 2000 when they abducted nine Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two Finns, two South Africans, two Filipinos and a Lebanese from a resort in the Malaysian island of Sipadan.
They took the hostages by speedboats across the sea border to the impoverished island of Jolo where they had a long running racket of holding locals and foreigners for ransom.
The presence of so many foreigners gained the group unprecedented attention, with journalists flocking to Jolo.
At first, the Abu Sayyaf made political demands but it soon became apparent that money was their main concern -- putting Manila in a bind since officially, it would not pay ransom.
Military plans to stage a rescue were swiftly quashed due to pressure from European governments who feared their nationals would be hurt. Instead, Manila was forced to pull its troops back and engage in long-drawn out negotiations.
For the Abu Sayyaf, it was a monetary and publicity windfall. Foreign and local journalists made frequent visits to their forest hideout to see the hostages.
Some of the journalists were themselves held hostage or robbed outright by the Abu Sayyaf.
Footage of the pitiful hostages weeping in despair soon became a staple on international television, much to the embarrassment of the Philippine authorities.
Eventually, the Abu Sayyaf began freeing the hostages in small batches. Officially, they were released in exchange for livelihood projects but it was an open secret that millions in ransom were paid, including an amount reportedly by Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi who helped Manila in the negotiations.
This encouraged the Abu Sayyaf to seize more hostages, the latest among them American Jeffrey Schilling, a convert to Islam.
The other hostage still under captive is Filipino Rolando Ullah, the last remnant of the original Sipadan hostages.
Some officials believe Schilling and Ullah have joined the Abu Sayyaf but the gunmen say this is just a government excuse to cover up their failure to free them.