RP kidnapping spree angers Chinese

RP kidnapping spree angers Chinese

PHILIPPINES: Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo vowed
on Wednesday to stop a rash of kidnappings that has angered the
ethnic Chinese community and raised political pressure on her
government ahead of elections.

She spoke a day after armed kidnappers snatched a two-year-old
boy on his way to a Manila nursery school. It was the third high-
profile abduction in two weeks and drew calls from the Chinese
community for help from overseas.

"There is no need for foreign assistance because we are not
dealing with transnational crime syndicates," Arroyo said in a
statement. "We shall stamp out kidnapping and I seek the people's
continuing trust and confidence."

Minority ethnic Chinese in the Philippines are a common target
for kidnap gangs, and abductions tend to rise in the period
before Christmas and ahead of elections, which are scheduled for
next May. -- Reuters