RP govt hostage negotiator threatens to quit

RP govt hostage negotiator threatens to quit

JOLO, Philippines (AFP): The negotiator attempting to secure
the release of 21 mostly foreign hostages here threatened to quit
on Thursday unless government troops lifted their siege on the
Muslim militants holding them.

Nur Misuari's warning came as the military announced its
troops had clashed with the Abu Sayyaf rebels late Wednesday,
wounding one of the group's leaders.

But Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said the military would
not pull back as it had to ensure the safety of the hostages from
the desperate gunmen.

"We only formed a ring and cordoned off the area (where the
rebels are hiding) which is standard operating procedure," he
said, adding that the military opened fire when the militants
tried to break the cordon.

Misuari, a former rebel leader appointed by the Philippine
government as an intermediary, told local television he would
halt negotiations if the government did not stop military
operations in the Talipao area of Jolo island, where the captives
are being held.

Nine Malaysians, a German family of three, two French
nationals, two Finnish men, a South African couple and a Lebanese
woman, along with two Filipinos, were taken to Jolo from the
Malaysian island resort of Sipadan off Borneo on Easter Sunday.

There was no indication on the condition of the captives after
the brief clash on Wednesday, but rebel leader Mujid Susukan, the
chief custodian of the hostages, was wounded in the firefight,
Mercado said.

He also said the gunmen had split the hostages up into five
groups to evade detection within the cordoned areas.

The latest clash was the second around the Abu Sayyaf camp
since Tuesday. The earlier fighting forced the rebels to decamp
to another hideout about a kilometer from their first camp,
Mercado said.

The rebels claimed the gunbattle had left two foreign hostages
dead, raising international concern, but the deaths could not be
verified.

Local police chief Col. Candido Casimiro said the perimeter
set up by the security forces was about two to three kilometers
from the place where the hostages were being held.

A local radio station reported meanwhile that two white men
among the hostages had escaped from their captors on Wednesday
and that a search for the pair triggered the latest clash between
the military and the Abu Sayyaf rebels.

Both Mercado and the governor of Sulu, Abdusakur Tan, whose
area covers Jolo island, categorically denied the report by radio
DZMM, which did not give a source for its information.

Philippine officials have pledged to diplomats from the
governments of the captives that the military was not
contemplating a rescue attempt.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in Kuala Lumpur
that President Joseph Estrada had promised a visiting Malaysian
delegation that his troops would not step up military action
against the kidnappers.

"President Estrada gave an assurance they will give their best
and won't intensify their military action," Mahathir said.

The condition of the hostages is not known but it is feared
that those who are reportedly ill may have a tough time keeping
pace with the rebels as they move through the jungle.

Yuda Lim, a provincial health officer who set off on a mercy
mission to the Abu Sayyaf camp Thursday morning, said one hostage
was severely ill and "could die" without medical attention.

Misuari warned on Thursday that the militants were better
armed and far more dangerous than another Abu Sayyaf unit that
had been holding up to 29 Filipino hostages, 22 of them children,
on Basilan island, north of Jolo, since March 20.

At least four of those hostages were killed together with nine
Abu Sayyaf gunmen and five soldiers Wednesday in a military
rescue operation.

Fifteen of the captives were freed, including five who were
wounded, some due to gunshots, according to the military. The
fate of the other 10 was not known.