DATE=4/26/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PHILIPPINES HOSTAGES (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-261732
BYLINE=HUGH WILLIAMSON
DATELINE=MANILA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The Philippines military says the gunmen who
kidnapped 21 people at a resort in eastern Malaysia
have taken their hostages to the southern Philippines.
As Hugh Williamson reports from Manila, the military
says it knows their location, and that the hostages
are safe.
TEXT: A military spokesman in the southern
Philippines says the gunmen and at least some of the
hostages are on Jolo island in Sulu province. Jolo is
one of a long string of islands that stretches from
the main southern Philippine island of Mindanao,
across the Sulu Sea to Sabah in eastern Malaysia.
The spokesman says the hostages, who include tourists
from Germany, France, Finland and South Africa, are
safe and that there has been contact with the hostage-
takers. No demands have been announced. Military
reinforcements have been sent to the area.
Details of the gunmen and their motives remain
sketchy. Philippine intelligence reports quoted in
the media Wednesday indicate there are about 15 gunmen
rather than six as originally believed. The reports
also suggest a local leader of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim
extremist group on Jolo island may be involved in the
incident.
/// OPT /// According to some reports, the tourists
have been separated from the other hostages and are
being taken to an area of central Jolo controlled by
the Abu Sayyaf. The location of the Malaysian
hostages is not clear. /// END OPT ///
The Philippine government has reassured the
international community that it is doing its best to
end the kidnapping peacefully. Defense Secretary
Orlando Mercardo is in the region and is meeting with
military leaders to consider strategy.
A relative of one of the hostages says the kidnappers
have demanded a two-point-six-million dollar ransom
for the release of their captives. However, officials
have said they have not received any demands.
The incident started on Sunday when the hostages were
captured from the Sipadan diving resort at Sabah in
eastern Malaysia. /// OPT /// Military analysts in
Manila believe it is possible the original abduction
was by pirates, who have now passed on their captives
-- probably for money -- to the Abu Sayyaf group.
Such transfers between kidnap groups have been common
in the past.
Sulu is one of a number of small, poor provinces in
the southern Philippines where, according to local
experts, the boundaries between Islamic extremist
groups, pirates and private armies are often difficult
to define. /// END OPT ///
If the Abu Sayyaf group is involved in the kidnapping,
it further complicates ongoing Philippine military
efforts to end a separate hostage-taking on Basilan
island, which is next to Jolo. The extremist group
has been holding 27 people hostage for over five
weeks, demanding the release of Islamic militants from
U-S jails. The Philippine military has been attacking
the Abu Sayyaf camp since Saturday, but has yet to
achieve a major breakthrough. (SIGNED)
NEB/HW/FC/JP
26-Apr-2000 05:33 AM EDT (26-Apr-2000 0933 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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