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DATE=5/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PHILIPPINES RESCUE (L)
NUMBER=2-262332
BYLINE=AMY BICKERS
DATELINE=MANILA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Philippine troops have rescued a group of 
villagers abducted Saturday by the Muslim separatist 
group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. But as Amy 
Bickers reports from Manila, attempts to free the 21 
foreign hostages held by 
the extremist Abu Sayyaf have so far been 
unsuccessful.
TEXT: Dozens of people used as human shields by Muslim 
guerrillas in the Southern Philippines are now free.  
The Philippine military says they rescued the 
villagers Sunday after a brief gunfight. 
The rebels, from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, 
seized the men, women and 
children Saturday during a raid of Pamantingan village 
on Mindanao Island. 
Government troops have attacked the M-I-L-F's main 
base in a nearby province in 
the last few weeks, and the group pulled out of peace 
talks with Manila in late April. 
Also in the Mindanao region, home to most of the 
Philippines Muslim minority, the extremist Abu Sayyaf 
group continues to hold 21 mostly foreign hostages 
abducted from a Malaysian diving resort on April 23rd. 
The hostages are living in a pen deep in the remote 
jungles of Jolo Island. The rebels have not released 
two ailing captives from Germany and France as 
negotiators had hoped. 
The negotiators say that they expect lengthy talks 
with the rebels and have left for Manila to meet with 
President Joseph Estrada. They will discuss conditions 
set by the rebels for the start of formal talks, 
including a military pull out from the area. 
Discussions between the two sides are expected to 
resume next week.
As the hostage saga enters its fourth week, Philippine 
police on Sunday began to look for three missing 
French journalists and a Filipino reporter who were 
trying to reach the Abu Sayyaf's hideout. Police 
initially reported 12 
journalists were unaccounted for on Saturday, but 
eight have since returned. The separatists have told 
local officials they have not abducted any 
journalists. 
Both the Abu Sayyaf and the much larger M-I-L-F are 
fighting for an independent Muslim homeland in the 
Philippines. (SIGNED)
NEB/AB/PLM 
14-May-2000 05:03 AM EDT (14-May-2000 0903 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.