No release of Philippine hostages likely until Wednesday

International hostages were among those kidnapped in April

August 15, 2000
Web posted at: 10:17 a.m. HKT (0217 GMT)

JOLO, Philippines (Reuters) -- A group of mostly international hostages held by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines will not be freed until Wednesday at the earliest, the chief negotiator working for their release said on Monday.

Robert Aventajado, an adviser to Philippine President Joseph Estrada and the head of the hostage negotiating team, said there would be no release on Tuesday as had been expected.

"Not tomorrow (Tuesday)," he told Reuters. "At the earliest it will be Wednesday."

	MESSAGE BOARD
Philippine hostages

Aventajado did not say why there had been a delay, but other sources close to the negotiations said the Abu Sayyaf rebels were not willing to release all 17 hostages at the same time. Negotiators wanted them all set free, the sources said.

Speculation of the imminent release of the hostages, most of whom were kidnapped in April from a Malaysian diving resort, has been high this week following newspaper reports of an initiative by Libya to come to a deal with the rebels.

A Libyan chartered plane from Tripoli landed in Manila late on Monday, officials said.

The arrival of the Ilyushin aircraft appeared to fit in with comments from officials and diplomats in Lebanon that the hostages, who include a Lebanese-born woman, would be released within the next day or two.

The hostages will be flown to Tripoli where they will be handed over to their respective governments, the sources in Lebanon said.

Earlier in the day, hopes of a quick release were doused when Rajab Azzarouq, the Libyan negotiator, said after a visit to the Abu Sayyaf rebel lair that more work needed to be done before any release.

"We are proceeding in a positive way. There will be more hard work...It may take some time. I cannot say much," Azzarouq, Libya's former ambassador to the Philippines, told reporters.

The separatist Abu Sayyaf group kidnapped 21 people from a Malaysian resort on April 23 and took them to Jolo, an island 960 km (600 miles) south of Manila where they have hideouts in the hills.

Six Malaysians and a German woman have been released but the rebels still hold 14 people from the group -- three Malaysians, two Germans, three French including the Lebanese-born woman given French citizenship while in custody, two Finns, two South Africans and two Filipinos.

The rebels have also detained a three-member French television crew who were reporting on the crisis.

Confirming he was also trying to secure the freedom of the French reporters, Azzarouq said: "We are here also for the French journalists.. I tried to find out how they are. They are okay."

Azzarouq

Farouk Hussain, a Muslim leader on Jolo who is part of the negotiating team, also said a quick release of the hostages was possible but there were many problems.

"We want a quick release but we are dealing with unpredictable situations," he told Reuters. "We cannot tell exactly (whether it will be) tomorrow or after tomorrow."

Azzarouq and Philippine officials have denied reports that Libya would pay a ransom. They have said Libya might be willing to finance development projects in the poverty-stricken southern Philippines which would provide employment for local residents.

But diplomats and officials on Jolo have said large sums of money would change hands and that a deal was near.

The Philippine military said recently the rebels had collected about 245 million pesos ($5.46 million) in ransom for those already released.

Local police sources said the rebels were demanding up to $1 million for each of the Caucasians and about $350,000 each for the Asian captives.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Envoy denies Libya offered $25 million for Philippine hostages
August 13, 2000
Libya denies readiness to pay ransom for hostages in Philippines
August 12, 2000
Philippines grenade blast injures 18; police suspect Abu Sayyaf rebels
July 26, 2000
Philippine rebels free 7 Malaysian hostages
July 19, 2000
Philippine rebels release Malaysian captives
July 19, 2000
Philippine rebels release ailing German tourist
July 17, 2000

Philippine Information Agency
Library of Congress Country Studies: PHILIPPINES

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.