Chronology of Philippines hostage crisis
JOLO, Philippines, Aug 23 (AFP)
- A chronology of the Philippines hostage crisis:
April 23: Armed men raid the
Malaysian diving resort of Sipadan, off Borneo, and flee across the sea border with
Malaysian, German, French, Franco-Lebanese, South African, Finnish, and Filipino hostages.
April 25: The Abu Sayyaf,
waging a guerrilla war for a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines, declares
in a radio interview that it holds the 21 hostages on remote Jolo island.
May 9: European Union senior
foreign policy adviser Javier Solana visits the Philippines to dissuade it from launching
a rescue attempt which might endanger the hostages' lives.
May 27: Chief negotiator
Roberto Aventajado meets face-to-face with the kidnappers, who issue political demands
including a separate Muslim state, an inquiry into alleged human rights abuses in
Malaysian Sabah and a return of fishing rights. Subsequent talks are done through
emissaries or satellite telephones.
June 9: An Abu Sayyaf spokesman
demands one million dollars for each of the hostages. Philippine Foreign Minister Domingo
Siazon later says Manila will not stop foreign governments from paying ransoms.
June 24: Malaysian hostage
Zulkarnain Hashim is freed, reportedly after three million dollars is paid in ransom for
all nine Malaysians.
July 1: A Filipino television
evangelist and 12 followers are captured after paying the kidnappers 3,000 dollars and
1.75 tonnes of rice to visit their camp to pray over the hostages.
July 2: German journalist
Andreas Lorenz is kidnapped while covering the crisis for Der Spiegel magazine.
July 9: French television
reporter Maryse Burgot and her camera crew, Jean le Garrec and Roland Madura, are
abducted.
July 13: Finnish, French and
German foreign ministers meet President Estrada and are assured no military action will be
taken.
July 14: Malaysian hostage
Abdul Jawah Sulawat is freed.
July 17: German hostage Renate
Wallert, who suffers from high blood pressure, is freed in a humanitarian gesture.
July 20: A Filipino boy
abducted from the Philippine island of Basilan in early May is freed.
July 21: Malaysian hostages
Vincent Kwong, Lee Hock Leong, Francis Masangkim and Balakrishnan Nair are freed. Two
Filipina teachers abducted from Basilan are also freed.
July 24: Filipino television
journalists Percival Cuenca and Maan Macapagal are abducted.
July 27: German journalist
Lorenz and one evangelist freed.
July 29: Filipino journalists
Cuenca and Macapagal are freed.
July 30: Non-resident
journalists leave Jolo after authorities say they can no longer assure their safety.
Aug 1: Abu Sayyaf gunmen abduct
three Filipino construction workers.
Aug 5: Lebanese press reports
say Libya offered to pay 25 million dollars to the Abu Sayyaf in exchange for most of the
hostages.
Aug 7: The military confirm the
Abu Sayyaf has raked in 245 million pesos (5.5 million dollars) in ransoms.
Aug 9: Alleged international
terrorist Osama bin Laden is accused by the Philippine government of bankrolling the Abu
Sayyaf.
Aug 14: A Libyan jet lands in
Manila as part of plans to remove some of the foreigners among the hostages, but efforts
to release them crumble at the last minute amid rebel complaints of troop movements and
argument over ransom.
Aug 16: Filipina hostage
Lucrecia Dablo is freed.
Aug 18: Malaysian hostages Fong
Yin Ken, Kua Yu Loong and Basilius Jim are released.
Aug 21: Libya agrees to back a
revised hostage deal, reportedly including a straight ransom component.
Aug 23: Filipino construction
worker Reynante de la Cruz is freed.
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