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May 8, 2000, The Philippine Star, 13 soldiers killed mutilated by Abu, by Roel Pareño,

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May 8, 2000, The Philippine Star, 13 soldiers killed mutilated by Abu, by Roel Pareño,

 

Abu Sayyaf guerrillas beheaded two Army soldiers and gouged out the eyes of two others in an ambush in Basilan yesterday that left 13 soldiers dead and four wounded.

 

 

This developed as President Estrada flew to Mindanao in a bid to speed up the release of 21 people, mostly foreigners, being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf extremists, as well as boost the morale of the troops involved in the operations to end the two-week-old hostage crisis.

 

In related developments:

 

* An official of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao revealed that ARMM Gov. Nur Misuari was mustering 3,000 former fighters of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to help the military cordon off the Abu Sayyaf's hideout in Jolo, Sulu.

 

Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan expressed deep concern that the safety of the hostages remained uncertain as he hinted that the captors were merely a disorganized group of young brigands.

 

Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar said the beleaguered Abu Sayyaf kidnappers in his province have sent surrender feelers, but said he could not decide on the offer.

 

The Army's Special Forces suffered the 13 casualties when its forces were waylaid near the town of Lantawan as the troops were pursuing the Abu Sayyaf rebels holding at least eight Filipino hostages. A soldier and a militiaman who were wounded in the ambush said at least two of their comrades were beheaded by the rebels.

 

Doctors at a hospital where the victims were taken said the eyes of two slain soldiers were gouged out. The casualties were airlifted to the provincial hospital in Zamboanga City.

 

Cpl. Jobert Balajadia, whose right foot was shattered by sniper fire, [take that, Gracia.] said they were pinned down by the guerrillas along a wooded stretch of the road. He said their company commander was among the wounded. Balajadia said his unit set up ambush position overnight Saturday, but decided to cross the road when the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas they were tracking down did not show up. The Abu Sayyaf then sprung their trap.

 

Balajadia said he hid in a nearby riverbank for four hours before he was rescued. Both Balajadia and the wounded militiaman, Junai Toto, said they heard children crying during the firefight, indicating some of the hostages in Basilan were still with their abductors.

 

Estrada now in Mindanao to assess crisis

 

Upon arrival at the Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga City, the President met with Misuari, his chief emissary with the Abu Sayyaf gunmen who were holding two groups of hostages separately in Basilan and Sulu. Mr. Estrada was also briefed on the progress of the military's campaign to rescue the hostages.

 

Nine Malaysians, a German family of three, a French couple, two Finns, a South African couple, two Filipinos and a Lebanese woman who were seized by gunmen on Easter Sunday in the famous island resort of Sipadan off Borneo in Malaysia have remained in captivity in Sulu.

 

Another band of Abu Sayyaf gunmen was still holding eight Filipino hostages in nearby Basilan, remnants of over 50 schoolchildren, teachers and a Catholic priest snatched from their schools in Sumisip town last March 20. At least six of the captives, including Fr. Rhoel Gallardowere slaughtered by the rebels, while a handful were released earlier in exchange for food and medicine. The rest were rescued by the military who tracked the fleeing captors without letup after capturing the rebels' main Camp Abdurajak.

 

The Chief Executive pinned medals on wounded soldiers and comforted the rescued hostages recuperating in a hospital at the Armed Forces' Southern Command (Southcom) in Zamboanga City.

 

Wearing dark glasses and a military camouflage uniform with the nameplate Commander in Chief, Mr. Estrada was briefed on the Mindanao crisis by local military officials.

 

Security was extremely tight during the President's visit, with his elite security guards also in military camouflage instead of their usual barong Tagalog. Southcom chief Maj. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva said he ordered the immediate rescue of the remaining hostages in Basilan and the relentless hunt for the kidnappers "down to the last man."

 

Intermittent firefights erupted as the trapped Abu Sayyaf guerrillas tried to break through military lines in Jolo, although the military admitted some of the rebels were able to slip through the cordon with their hostages. Neither the President nor Misuari revealed what transpired in their meeting, but the ARMM governor said he has asked for a second meeting with Mr. Estrada to tell him the exact developments in the Sulu hostage incident.

 

In Jolo, Sulu, Misuari aide Yusop Jikiri said they have established contacts with the kidnappers, setting the stage for formal negotiations, but did not elaborate. Basilan Governor Akbar said Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Asmad Salayuddi, alias Sabaya, sent surrender feelers through relatives of the group's leader Khadafi Janjalani after a negotiation Sunday morning.

 

"I have received the feelers but it is not for me to decide. The people should decide what to do with this group," said Akbar, who has put up a bounty for the capture of every Abu Sayyaf member.

 

Meanwhile, Dr. Nelsa Amin, who was allowed by the guerrillas to treat German woman Renate Wallert, said the kidnappers have asked her to go back to their lair to check anew on the victim who was allegedly suffering from high blood pressure.

 

But the physician said she would oblige only if the captors would allow her to take Wallert to the hospital for proper medical attention, saying the woman could possibly have a stroke. "It's useless to go there without bringing her back here where she can be treated properly," Amin said.

 

The middle-aged woman was being held with her husband Werner Wallert and son Marc. The hostages were being kept in dire conditions in the Abu Sayyaf's jungle hideouts in Sulu, and authorities believe that the captives were separated into smaller groups to confused pursuing soldiers. The kidnappers have repeatedly threatened to execute some of the hostages if the military would not stop its attacks. "We are determined to save the hostages and not to put them in harm's way," a Malacañang statement quoted the President as saying. EU leaders have called on Mr. Estrada to ensure the safety of the hostages. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine has said his country's priority was to ensure that the Philippine Army "doesn't do anything stupid." For his part, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad warned journalists against playing up religious sentiments in connection with the hostage situation in Jolo, saying it could endanger the lives of the captives.

 

"It will create problems for everybody," the national Bernama news agency quoted Mahathir as saying. "It will stiffen the back of the group responsible, and when people are pushed to a corner, the tendency is that they will turn around and fight."

 

Armed Forces spokesman Col. Rafael Romero said while the safety of the captives remained a primary consideration, the government has to demonstrate firmness.

 

"We want to limit the movements of the kidnappers," Jikiri said, adding there were third parties out to sabotage their efforts to rescue the hostages. The MNLF signed a peace treaty with the government in 1996 and some of its combatants were integrated into the police and the military, but large numbers unhappy with the accord have joined the remaining rebel groups.

 

Sulu hostage crisis may drag on--Tan

 

"Because of the indecision and uncoordinated efforts of the kidnappers, it is likely the crisis might drag on indefinitely," the Sulu governor said. Tan suggested that the government considers other options to neutralize the abductors. "They cannot organize themselves... they cannot decide on what to do with their hostages," he said in an interview in a weekly radio program of Sen. Gregorio Honasan.

 

Tan also said the lack of coordination among the kidnappers has made it difficult for government negotiators to contact them. Honasan said regardless of the Abu Sayyaf demands, the government must find a "win-win" solution to the problem.

 

He said the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were aware that some of their demands for the release of the captives were impossible to grant, adding they were only for propaganda purposes. "The government, however, must listen no matter how impossible the demands are to ensure the safety of the hostages," he stressed.

 

Meanwhile, opposition leader Isabela Rep. Heherson Alvarez urged the government to assert its authority over the rebel forces in Mindanao to ensure national security. Alvarez, who is secretary general of the Lakas-NUCD-Kampi party, said the government must stave off any attempts to divide the country by working towards reconciliation and unity.

 

The lawmaker admitted, however, that at this point, it would be useless to resume the peace talks with the MILF owing to the terrorist acts by the rebels in the South. "Truce is a meaningless gesture. Instead, the government should enforce its sovereign will," Alvarez said. He lamented that Mr. Estrada showed lack of resolve to end the crisis by hesitating to implement policy solutions.

 

He chided the President for failing to fulfill his vow to crush local rebellion. On the other hand, former Defense Secretary Renato de Villa cautioned the government against losing track of the peace process in Mindanao. De Villa issued the admonition even as he admitted that the only way to deal with the Abu Sayyaf is "with an iron fist."

 

In a television interview over the weekend, De Villa said he was surprised by the "weakened capability of the MILF to engage the military in protracted hostilities." He noted that the MILF was very much weaker than what the group's leaders claimed they were.

 

De Villa warned, however, that the MILF can still hurt communities and the economy as well. "They can still create an atmosphere of tension and stress by engaging in small-unit guerrilla warfare," the statement from De Villa said.

 

De Villa said the peace process should be kept alive. "We should keep on trying for peace...we must be patient, for war among ourselves will not bring us anywhere but backward." He recommended the mobilization of local government units for the continued protection of communities, while using the military to deal with larger rebel forces. - By Roel Pareño, with reports from Perseus Echeminada, Liberty Dones, wire services


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