RP resort abduction renews Abu Sayyaf terror
RP resort abduction renews Abu Sayyaf terror
By Girlie Linao
MANILA (DPA): The weekend abduction of 20 tourists and workers
from a western Philippine resort has brought back memories of
terror unleashed by Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf rebels during a
kidnapping spree last year.
The May 27 raid on Dos Palmas resort in Palawan province, 600
kilometers south of Manila, was done in the same swift and
precise style as the attack on Malaysia's Sipadan island resort
in April 2000, when the rebels seized 21 people.
Like last year, the hostages -- three Americans and 17
Filipinos -- were herded to a speedboat and spirited under the
cover of darkness to the southern island of Jolo, the Abu
Sayyaf's bailiwick.
The Dos Palmas captives include an American missionary couple
who have been serving in the Philippines since 1986 and an
8-year-old boy with weak lungs.
From a dream vacation, the hostages could face the same
terrifying experience that German, French, South African and
Finnish tourists endured for more than five months in the jungles
of Jolo after they were seized from Sipadan.
"We hope that this will not be a repeat of last year's
crisis," said a police intelligence officer in Jolo. "But given
the hardline policy of the government not to negotiate with the
kidnappers, the hostages are definitely in for hard times."
Before negotiations were held for their release, the Sipadan
captives had to ran away with their captors from pursuing troops
in the jungles of Jolo, with bursts of gunfire and mortar shells
barely missing them.
The uncertainty broke the spirits of even the strongest among
the group, some of whom contemplated on suicide as an
alternative.
Women hostages had to fight off threats of sexual assault
throughout their captivity.
South African tourist Monique Strydom, who was abducted with
her husband Carel, faked pregnancy to protect herself, while
Filipino cook Lucrecia Dablo thought about agreeing to marrying a
rebel commander to save herself.
The experience was far more dreadful for a group of Filipino
hostages, mostly school children, teachers and including a Roman
Catholic priest, abducted by a separate Abu Sayyaf unit in the
nearby island province of Basilan.
The rebels beheaded two male teachers as a "birthday gift" to
then president Joseph Estrada, and tortured Father Roel Gallardo
and a female teacher before they were killed when the military
attacked the Abu Sayyaf.
Gallardo was beaten up during captivity and his toenails were
pulled out, while the extremists cut off a breast of a female
teacher.
While concern is mounting for the conditions of the hostages,
many Filipinos support President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's
decision to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf.
"The terrorism must end one way or the other," the police
officer said.
Arroyo stressed that her government will not pay a single
centavo to the Abu Sayyaf rebels, who were believed to have
collected more than US$17.5 million in ransom from their
kidnappings last year.
"I know the Abu Sayyaf is only after money," she said. "They
are mistaken in expecting this government to give them anything.
No ransom money will be given them."
"Release your captives now that there is still time, otherwise
bullets will rain down on you," she told the rebels.
Abu Sayyaf, or "Bearer of the Sword", has been notorious for
such criminal activities as kidnap-for-ransom and extortion since
it started as a shadowy insurgent group fighting for a separate
Islamic state in 1992.
The rebel group joined the big league in 1994 when it raided a
predominantly Christian town in Zamboanga del Sur province,
killing 53 people and razing to the ground various business
establishments.
Since then, the Abu Sayyaf has been belittled by the
government as a ragtag gang of bandits. It has been blamed for
numerous atrocities in the southern region of Mindanao, including
a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul during a visit in Manila in
1995.
By Girlie Linao
MANILA (DPA): The weekend abduction of 20 tourists and workers
from a western Philippine resort has brought back memories of
terror unleashed by Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf rebels during a
kidnapping spree last year.
The May 27 raid on Dos Palmas resort in Palawan province, 600
kilometers south of Manila, was done in the same swift and
precise style as the attack on Malaysia's Sipadan island resort
in April 2000, when the rebels seized 21 people.
Like last year, the hostages -- three Americans and 17
Filipinos -- were herded to a speedboat and spirited under the
cover of darkness to the southern island of Jolo, the Abu
Sayyaf's bailiwick.
The Dos Palmas captives include an American missionary couple
who have been serving in the Philippines since 1986 and an
8-year-old boy with weak lungs.
From a dream vacation, the hostages could face the same
terrifying experience that German, French, South African and
Finnish tourists endured for more than five months in the jungles
of Jolo after they were seized from Sipadan.
"We hope that this will not be a repeat of last year's
crisis," said a police intelligence officer in Jolo. "But given
the hardline policy of the government not to negotiate with the
kidnappers, the hostages are definitely in for hard times."
Before negotiations were held for their release, the Sipadan
captives had to ran away with their captors from pursuing troops
in the jungles of Jolo, with bursts of gunfire and mortar shells
barely missing them.
The uncertainty broke the spirits of even the strongest among
the group, some of whom contemplated on suicide as an
alternative.
Women hostages had to fight off threats of sexual assault
throughout their captivity.
South African tourist Monique Strydom, who was abducted with
her husband Carel, faked pregnancy to protect herself, while
Filipino cook Lucrecia Dablo thought about agreeing to marrying a
rebel commander to save herself.
The experience was far more dreadful for a group of Filipino
hostages, mostly school children, teachers and including a Roman
Catholic priest, abducted by a separate Abu Sayyaf unit in the
nearby island province of Basilan.
The rebels beheaded two male teachers as a "birthday gift" to
then president Joseph Estrada, and tortured Father Roel Gallardo
and a female teacher before they were killed when the military
attacked the Abu Sayyaf.
Gallardo was beaten up during captivity and his toenails were
pulled out, while the extremists cut off a breast of a female
teacher.
While concern is mounting for the conditions of the hostages,
many Filipinos support President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's
decision to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf.
"The terrorism must end one way or the other," the police
officer said.
Arroyo stressed that her government will not pay a single
centavo to the Abu Sayyaf rebels, who were believed to have
collected more than US$17.5 million in ransom from their
kidnappings last year.
"I know the Abu Sayyaf is only after money," she said. "They
are mistaken in expecting this government to give them anything.
No ransom money will be given them."
"Release your captives now that there is still time, otherwise
bullets will rain down on you," she told the rebels.
Abu Sayyaf, or "Bearer of the Sword", has been notorious for
such criminal activities as kidnap-for-ransom and extortion since
it started as a shadowy insurgent group fighting for a separate
Islamic state in 1992.
The rebel group joined the big league in 1994 when it raided a
predominantly Christian town in Zamboanga del Sur province,
killing 53 people and razing to the ground various business
establishments.
Since then, the Abu Sayyaf has been belittled by the
government as a ragtag gang of bandits. It has been blamed for
numerous atrocities in the southern region of Mindanao, including
a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul during a visit in Manila in
1995.