DATE=4/23/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PHILIPPINES - REBELS L-ONLY
NUMBER=2-261638
BYLINE=HUGH WILLIAMSON
DATELINE=MANILA
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The military in the Philippines says it is
confident of securing the release of a group of 27
hostages held for more than a month by an Islamic
extremist movement in the south of the country. The
military launched an operation on Saturday to rescue
the hostages, but has met with stiff resistance. At
least four guerillas and three soldiers have been
killed so far, according to the military. Hugh
Williamson reports from Manila.
TEXT: A spokesman for the Philippine military said
the several thousand troops involved in the rescue
operation had "virtually surrounded the guerilla camp"
on the southern island of Basilan where the hostages
are being held.
But he said the soldiers were encountering "pockets of
resistance" from the guerillas, who belong to the Abu
Sayyaf Islamic separatist group. They have been
holding the hostages - most of them children - in
their mountain headquarters since mid-March.
The military launched its rescue operation in the
early hours of Saturday, after the government-
appointed committee tasked with securing the hostages'
release said military intervention was the only option
left available.
The progress of the soldiers has been slowed by
difficult mountainous terrain, poor weather conditions
and landmines planted by the Abu Sayyaf. An army
spokesman says helicopter gunships have been bombing
Abu Sayyaf positions, while navy gunboats are
patrolling to prevent guerrilla reinforcements
entering the island. He refused to discuss how long
the military operation would take.
The military believes some 250 Abu Sayyaf militants
are holding the hostages. The Abu Sayyaf, which means
"father of the sword," is the more radical of two
Islamic extremist groups demanding a separate Islamic
state in the southern Philippines.
On Wednesday the group said it beheaded two of its
adult male hostages, after the government refused to
meet its demands to have three Islamic militants held
in U-S prisons released. They include Ramzi Youssef,
who was convicted of masterminding the 1993 bombing of
the World Trade Center in New York City.
The Abu Sayyaf said on Sunday all the remaining
hostages were safe, but more beheadings could take
place.
The hostage taking has stirred tensions within and
between Muslim and Christian communities in the south
Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country.
/// REST OPT ///
The crisis comes at a sensitive time. The government
is due in early May to hold peace talks with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front, the other more moderate
separatist group. These are still on course, but that
could change, depending on the outcome of the rescue
operation. (SIGNED)
NEB/HW/JO
23-Apr-2000 09:34 AM EDT (23-Apr-2000 1334 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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