|
By Al Jacinto, Correspondent
SULU: Recruits are flocking to join Muslim
extremists who are holding a prominent broadcaster and her cameraman
hostage in southern Philippines, an intelligence official said on
Saturday.
Those who signed up for the Abu Sayyaf group are
hoping to have some of the huge ransom the Abu Sayyaf is demanding
in exchange for the release of the multi-awarded ABS-CBN reporter
Ces Drilon, her cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion and their guide,
Professor Octavio Dinampo of Mindanao State University, according to
an official who refused to be named.
Drilon’s group was seized by suspected Abu
Sayyaf members on the island of Jolo on Sunday, June 8, while on its
way to interviewing a senior militant leader, Radulan Sahiron, who
has allegedly sent surrender feelers.
Sulu police chief Senior Supt. Julasirim Kasim
said they also received reports that the number of gunmen holding
Drilon’s group has increased and that kidnappers had moved their
hostages to another location since their abduction.
Intelligence reports have it that many of those
who joined the kidnappers were both new and old members of the Abu
Sayyaf group linked to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah. Worst, the
reports added that the number of the Abu Sayyaf gunmen is expected
to increase as negotiations for the release of the hostages go on.
Police identified the kidnappers as Abu Sayyaf
leaders Albader Parad, Gafur Jumdail and Umbra Jumdail, also known
as Dr. Abu, reported to be demanding as much as P50 million.
ABS-CBN, however, said it would not pay ransom
to the Abu Sayyaf.
Military and police authorities had similar
opinions and expressed fears that any ransom paid to the Abu Sayyaf
could be used to purchase weapons and fund terrorism campaigns in
Mindanao.
The militants earlier freed assistant television
cameraman Angelo Valderama late Thursday over at the Sinumaan
village of Talipao town after the abductors received a payment of
P100,000 ($2,250) from Indanan, Jolo Mayor Isnaji Alvarez,
Drilon’s captors’ personal choice for negotiator.
The mayor admitted that he paid a few hundred
thousand pesos to the kidnappers with some of the money coming from
Sulu Deputy Gov. Nur Ana Sahidulla, but stressed that the money paid
to was for “board and lodging,” not for ransom.
Alvarez, one of seven candidates running for
regional governor in the Muslim autonomous region elections in
August, also denied media reports saying that P2 million and P5
million were paid to the Abu Sayyaf, and criticized Amilasan
Amilbajar, assistant of outgoing presidential peace adviser Jesus
Dureza, who was allegedly the source of the news.
The Abu Sayyaf on Friday cut off all
communication lines to the negotiators for still unknown reasons,
but military sources said the kidnappers were constantly moving from
one hideout to another to avoid detection.
“We are waiting for the kidnappers to call us
so we can resume negotiations for the safe release of the hostages.
We pray that this crisis will end soon,” Alvarez said on Saturday.
Sahidulla, who is helping Alvarez secure the
freedom of the remaining hostages, confirmed that the ransom was the
main issue slowing down the talks and again appealed to the
kidnappers on Saturday to free Drilon’s group.
“This is dragging too long because we
haven’t yet met the amount of money demanded by the kidnappers,”
she said, without saying how much the abductors were seeking. “We
appeal to you to free the innocent victims. You are not only giving
our province a bad name, but the entire country as well,” she
added, Sahidulla said Drilon’s family had told her they could only
afford P2 million.
Gov. Sakur Tan, head of the local crisis
management committee, and families of the hostages, including the
ABS-CBN, earlier made a similar appeal.
In a radio interview on Saturday, Alvarez noted
that the kidnappers were different from previous Abu Sayyaf bandits
that held people on the island.
“These are young and new people, maybe about
30 years old. This is the second generation of Abu Sayyaf,” he
said.
“On the brighter side, I had convinced the
kidnappers not to separate the hostages and not to tie them up and I
was able to arrange the delivery of medicines to Dinampo, who
suffers from arthritis,” he added.
The wife of the kidnapped professor, Hainatul
Dinampo, said she was able to speak with her husband on Wednesday
and told her to watch over their ten children.
“My husband told me to be strong and take care
of our children. I was crying as we spoke briefly on the cell
phone,” the woman told The Manila Times after she met with Tan at
the provincial capitol in Patikul town where she sought help for the
release of the captive.
She said the kidnappers were also demanding an
unspecified amount of money from her for the freedom of Dinampo.
“They are asking money alright, but we are poor.”
Press reports say Drilon had spoken with ABS-CBN
television channel bosses and told them her captors were demanding
P10 million ($225,000) in ransom.
Alvarez confirmed that the kidnappers were also
negotiating directly with Drilon’s family, but did not give
details of the talks’ progress.
Abu Sayyaf is known for kidnapping Christians
and foreigners, holding them for ransom and beheading them if their
demands are not met. Its leaders Parad and Jumdail are wanted by
Washington and Manila for terrorism and kidnappings-for-ransom. The
two are also believed to be protecting Jemaah Islamiah bomber
Dulmatin and Umar Patek, tagged as behind the 2002 deadly bombings
on the resort island of Bali which killed more than 200 mostly
Australian holidaymakers and in several attacks in Jakarta.
|
