Libya Working on Hostage Release
By PAT ROQUE, Associated Press Writer
JOLO, Philippines (AP) - Three
Malaysian resort workers held for four months by Philippine Muslim rebels headed home
Sunday, and Libya said it will work with European countries to win the release of the 24
other people in captivity on the same island.
``I'm very happy,'' said freed
hostage Ken Fong Yin Ken, as he hugged his father, the pilot of the Malaysian plane that
flew to remote Jolo island to take him and two others home.
The three Malaysians were
released Friday, but they temporarily stayed with another rebel faction for safety after
their van ran out of gasoline. The Abu Sayyaf rebels who ransomed them still hold 24 other
hostages, including 12 Westerners, in their remote jungle camp.
The rebels, who seek an
independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines, reneged on a plan to release all
the hostages Saturday.
At the time, Libyan mediators
who brokered the deal for the hostage release blamed the Philippine military for the
breakdown. They threatened to withdraw their envoys if there were not ``tangible, positive
developments'' within 48 hours.
But on Sunday, Libyan Foreign
Minister Abdel Rahman Mohammed Shalgam said Libya's efforts would continue, despite the
difficulties. It was not clear if the minister was contradicting the mediation
organization's statement. The group is run by Seif el-Islam, the son of Libyan leader
Moammar Gadhafi.
Libya, once accused of arming
and training Islamic groups in the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines, has played a
high-profile role in the negotiations and is believed to be paying millions of dollars for
the hostages' freedom. Libyan officials say the money will fund development projects in
the impoverished region instead of going directly to the rebels. None of the hostages is
Libyan.
After making the deal to free
all the hostages, the rebels changed their minds and said they would free only two,
because they feared a military attack. Negotiators refused to accept the offer because
President Joseph Estrada had ordered that all the captives be released at once. They also
denied there were any military movements.
``The military is not doing
anything that should alarm the Abu Sayyaf,'' Aventajado said.
Negotiators said the release of
all the captives remains difficult because of internal strife within the Abu Sayyaf. The
group's various factions are believed to be quarreling over the ransom money.
``All the ingredients are there
for a solution. It's up to them. We want them to get their act together,'' Libyan
negotiator Rajab Azzarouq said.
The three freed Malaysians were
flown from Jolo to nearby Zamboanga City, where they were presented to their ambassador.
From there they flew to Kota Kinabalu in eastern Malaysia.
Hundreds of officials,
relatives and well-wishers embraced the three Malaysians when they arrived in Kota
Kinabalu. Ken Fong said he would return to Sipadan, the island where he was kidnapped, to
continue his work as a dive master.
``I've been there for eight
years already. It's my life,'' he said.
Also freed were Basilius Jim, a
forest ranger, and Kua Yu Loong, a resort cook.
The three were workers at the
diving resort where the original group of 21 was taken captive April 23. Of that group,
nine hostages remain. The rebels later seized three French journalists and a dozen
Filipino Christian evangelists who came to pray at their camp.
The Abu Sayyaf still hold six
French, two Germans, two Finns, two South Africans and 12 Filipinos.
An estimated $5.5 million was
paid last month to the Abu Sayyaf for the release of six other Malaysians and a German,
according to military officials. A Filipino woman was released Wednesday and a Filipino
man was reportedly freed Friday.
In Manila, Estrada led tens of
thousands of members of the Catholic charismatic group El Shaddai in praying for the
release of the remaining hostages. He urged the Abu Sayyaf and a larger Muslim separatist
group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, to give up their rebellions and allow economic
development in the impoverished southern Mindanao region.
``Let us abandon the outdated
music of war. It no longer suits the present time,'' Estrada said.
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