/ stevenwarran's Library/ Notes/ June 4, 2000, The Philippine Star, German journalists pay 25 000 dollars to Abu,
June 4, 2000, The Philippine Star, German journalists pay 25 000 dollars to Abu,
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June 4, 2000, The Philippine Star, German journalists pay 25 000 dollars to Abu,
JOLO, Sulu - Twelve foreign journalists covering the hostage crisis here were themselves seized by Abu Sayyaf rebels and forced to pay a ransom of $25,000 - roughly P1 million - for their freedom, police said yesterday.
Sulu police director Superintendent Candido Casimiro said the journalists were detained on Friday while trailing a government medical convoy to a hilltop jungle hideout, where the rebels are holding their 21 Asian and Western hostages.
The armed men took the journalists - nine Germans, one Australian, one Danish and one French - to an Abu Sayyaf cottage where the rebels demanded P1 million for their release. A police report said the bandits made an initial demand of $1 million but this was lowered to $25,000.
Four of the journalists were told to return to the Sulu capital of Jolo to get money, and were warned that one of their remaining colleagues would be killed every hour if they did not come up with the money by Friday night. The four did as instructed, although only one of them brought the cash back to the cottage.
After receiving the ransom, the Abu Sayyaf told them "now you can come everyday," said Volkers Albers of German TV group RTL. "We were stupid enough to move (to see the hostages). I hope no foreign journalist goes up," said Jorge Rositzke of German TV outfit Satellite 1. "You can get a short feeling of how it is to be in the jungle with the Abu Sayyaf."
Rositzke said when they told the rebels they did not have P1 million as demanded "they told us one of you will die." The journalists decided against proceeding to see the 21 hostages even after being given the go-ahead by Abu Sayyaf on paying the ransom because it was against ethics to pay for an interview, he added.
The group was also robbed of their pocket money, satellite phone, watches, shoes and other valuables while being held. The 21 hostages - a German family of three, a French couple, a South African couple, two Finns, two Filipinos, nine Malaysians and a Lebanese - have been held by the gunmen since April 23 after their abduction from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan off Borneo.
Albers said the journalists had initially met Abu Sayyaf leader Ghalib Andang, or Commander Robot, who asked them for rice rations which the newsmen refused to give. He then "gave us a lesson," Albers said. Commander Robot sent 15 of his guards with the journalists, supposedly to see the hostages, but the escorts then turned on them with the demand for money.
The Abu Sayyaf leader must have thought "these foreigners tell me how to do my business, I will show them who is boss," Albers said. Throughout the crisis, a number of journalists have been allowed to visit the camp and interview the Abu Sayyaf leaders and even spend a night or two at the hideout.
Casimiro said he had already advised the journalists against going to the rebel camp "but they continued to brush aside our warnings." At Malacañang, Press Secretary Ricardo Puno and Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado both admitted that they could not restrain foreign journalists from covering the hostage crisis.
"We certainly cannot ban the media (from covering the event)," Puno said. But Mercado said journalists should also "set some levels of restraint and learn from those who have been here already for a long time." "Enthusiasm for journalism and enterprise is a hallmark of a good journalist, but sometimes you have to look before you leap," said Mercado, who was a former reporter for radio and television.
When Mercado was informed that the foreign journalists gave money to the bandits, he jokingly told one of them: "You're contributing to the coffers of the Abu Sayyaf." The Sulu police said this was the second time that journalists were held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf. The first incident occurred early last month when 15 foreign journalists, most of them French, were held captive for three days by the bandits.
They were released only after a local official raised money for their freedom. As the hostage crisis entered its sixth week, chief government negotiator Robert Aventajado said he expects the second round of talks with the rebels next week.
In the first negotiations last Saturday, Aventajado rejected two of the Abu Sayyaf's three formal demands -- an independent Islamic state and a commission to investigate the treatment of Filipinos in Malaysia. The rebels also asked that foreign fishing boats be prevented from poaching in nearby seas.
The rebels said they will prepare a response to the government's stance before the second round of negotiations. The rebels are expected to also ask informally for a sizable cash payment. While the Abu Sayyaf espouse political ideals, many say they are bandits who survive by kidnapping and extortion. Most agree, however, that crime and disaffection in Mindanao stem from poverty and discrimination. -- Roel Pareño, Marichu Villanueva, Wire Reports
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