May 29, 2001, AFP, Church leaders call for resolution to kidnap crisis, 7:51 PM

May 29, 2001, AFP, Church leaders call for resolution to kidnap crisis, 7:51 PM

RELIGIOUS groups called for the immediate release of 20 people kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Palawan last Sunday.

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines spokesman Monsignor Hernando Coronel said the government should "address the problem of kidnapping."

He added that "the resolution of the crisis is the immediate release" of the 17 Filipinos and three Americans seized on Sunday from an up-market resort by Abu Sayyaf Muslim rebels.

"We are praying for the safety of the hostages," he said.

Coronel said the Abu Sayyaf, who target mainly Christians and foreigners, do not even spare Roman Catholic Church representatives, having threatened many and abducted some, even killing a number in the past.

The new hostages include US Christian missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, long-time Philippine residents originally from Kansas.

"We are concerned for the safety and well-being of Martin and Gracia Burnham and for each of the other 18 people taken," the couple's New Tribes Mission ministry said in a statement here.

It said that "as guests here in the Philippines it would be inappropriate for us to comment on the position of the Philippine government," which has ruled out ransom negotiations.

"However, we do appreciate and support any and all efforts leading to the safe return of each person being held."

It is a second kidnapping spree by the Abu Sayyaf, who seized dozens of foreign and local hostages last year, holding many of them for millions of dollars in ransom.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has taken a firm stance against the latest kidnappings, offering a bounty of 100 million pesos (two million dollars) for the arrest of the rebel leaders and their followers.