Philippine guerrillas free Malaysians
as talks continue on remaining captives
JOLO, Philippines, Aug 18 (AFP)
- Muslim extremists in the Philippines on Friday freed three Malaysian hostages as
negotiations continued to secure the release of the remaining 28 Western and Filipino
captives on the southern island of Jolo.
The Malaysians were handed to
Jamil Hassan, an emissary of local tycoon Lee Peng Wee who had previously won the freedom
of six other Malaysian hostages, a source close to Lee said.
"A little amount of ransom
was paid," he said.
The Malaysians were freed as
chief government negotiator Roberto Aventajado prepared to brief European ambassadors in
Manila on why efforts to end the four-month long crisis had repeatedly collapsed this
week.
Aventajado, who had not
received official details on the release before the meeting began, said he would return to
the southern Philippines late Friday to receive the Malaysians.
Troop movements on Jolo, heavy
rain, and the refusal of the guerrillas to free three French journalists all played a role
this week in stalling the release of all the hostages -- two Finns, two Germans, five
French nationals, two South Africans, a Franco-Lebanese woman and 16 Filipinos.
As Libya reportedly stumped up
25 million dollars to win their freedom, the Abu Sayyaf said they considered the French
outside the negotiations because they had been captured by a separate faction of the
extremist movement.
But Aventajado, who has
maintained phone contact with Aby Sayyaf leader Ghalib "Commander Robot" Andang,
said he believed that had been resolved.
He said he would fly to Jolo on
Saturday "for the other hostages -- the South Africans and the Europeans, including
the three French journalists."
But a member of the official
negotiating panel, Farouk Hussein, cast doubts on the crisis ending within the next 24
hours.
"The Abu Sayyaf has been
giving commitments to us but there is always a last minute change," he told AFP.
"Maybe in the next two to
three days there would be a release. We want everybody out, a global release, but the Abu
Sayyaf has always insisted to free the hostages on a staggered basis."
Aventajado and Hussein also
denied reports here that Abu Sayyaf leaders Andang and Mujib Susukan were demanding asylum
in Libya, fearing they will be hunted down by the military when they release their
captives.
The only Libyan plane in the
Philippines is the specially chartered aircraft ready to fly out some Western hostages
when they are released.
"I have talked to them so
many times and this has never been mentioned," Hussein said.
"They could probably leave
Mindanao to other areas, but not asylum to Libya."
The region of Mindanao, where
Muslim extremists are fighting for a separate state, covers the southern third of the
Philippines, including Jolo.
Libya, long an international
pariah, has emerged as the key go-between in the latest negotiations with the Abu Sayyaf,
with a reported multi-million dollar aid offer in exchange for the captives.
A Libyan official said the
negotiations were being conducted by the Kadhafi Charitable Foundation, set up two years
ago to help Muslims around the world and run by the son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.
The hostage crisis began on
April 23 when Abu Sayyaf gunmen abducted 21 hostages from a Malaysian resort and took them
to Jolo.
They have since taken several
other hostages, including journalists covering the drama and evangelists who went to the
extremists' camp to pray for the captives.
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