Philippine hostages stressed and longing to go
home
JOLO, Philippines, Aug 24 (AFP)
- Western and Filipino hostages held by Muslim extremists here appealed to the Philippine
government on Thursday to step up efforts to win their freedom and not stage a rescue
operation.
Most of the 29 hostages
appeared physically well but seemed mentally stressed and carried a worried look on their
faces, according to a reporter who was allowed by the Abu Sayyaf gunmen to talk to some of
the captives at their mountain hideout in southern Jolo island.
The hostages urged the
Philippine government to adopt a collective strategy to free them and appealed to
officials handling the crisis to sink their differences.
"We are okay but we would
like to go home," said Maryse Burgot, 36, a political correspondent with France 2
television network who was seized on July 9 with two other colleagues while covering the
hostage crisis.
The top government negotiator
Roberto Aventajado and former Libyan envoy Rajab Azzarouq were reported to have
differences in the approach taken to free the hostages but have since patched up,
officials said.
Aside from the three French
journalists and two other French people, the hostages comprised two Finns, two Germans,
two South Africans, a Franco-Lebanese and 17 Filipinos, the bulk of them Christian
preachers who went to pray over the captives.
The reporter took pictures of
the hostages. Most of the men sported long beards.
The leader of the group of 12
Christian preachers, television evangelist Wilde Almeda, in his 70's, looked frail and
weak as he lay slumped on a chair.
He is believed to have suffered
a stroke, the visitor said.
The governments of Germany,
France and Finland have expressed deep concern over the delayed release of their
nationals.
Negotiators said the gunmen
were unlikely to free any of the 12 western hostages this week.
Government negotiator Farouk
Hussein met the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas on Wednesday and pressed for a one-off release of
all the western captives. But he conceded Thursday that Manila would settle for partial
releases.
The kidnappers were seeking to
hold on to some hostages to the very end to ensure the military would not attack them, he
added.
Libya is playing a key role in
the negotiations, through the Kadhafy charity organisation in which Azzarouq is a senior
official. It has reportedly offered 12 million dollars in ransom for the western hostages
on top of a 25 million dollar aid package for developing jolo island, an Abu Sayyaf
stronghold.
The foundation has brought a
jet to ferry the foreign hostages to Libya and has a medical team on standby.
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