| NEW LOCATION OF
HOSTAGES SPOTTED JOLO,
Philippines (AP) - Muslim rebels holding 21 people in a remote Philippine jungle have
moved their Caucasian hostages first to an area of dense mangroves and then to a watershed
not far from their original location, police said on Sunday.
On Friday, the Abu Sayyaf
rebels divided their hostages into two groups - one of Caucasians and other of Asians -
because of fears of a possible military rescue attempt. The Asians remained at the rebels'
mountain camp, but the 10 Caucasians were taken several kilometres away to another
rebel-controlled area surrounded by mangroves, police said.
They were then brought back to
Tiis Kuttung, a mountainous watershed about one kilometre from the other hostages,
provincial police chief Candido Casimiro said.
On Saturday, the rebels also
announced they will no longer talk with the chief government negotiator, Robert
Aventajado, after he suggested the government might consider a military rescue if
negotiations over the release of the hostages break down.
The Abu Sayyaf warned that the
lives of the hostages "will be exposed to extreme risks" if any rescue operation
is launched.
Aventajado claimed his comment
was taken out of context.
"The government panel does
not consider, much less endorse, an armed response to the hostage crisis," he said.
The Abu Sayyaf are holding
three Germans, two French, two Finns, two South Africans, a Lebanese, nine Malaysians and
two Filipinos. The hostages were seized April 23 from a diving resort and brought to Jolo,
an island at the southern tip of the Philippines.
Government negotiators said the
recent developments were another setback to hopes for the hostages' release.
In two days of talks on Friday
and Saturday, the rebels refused to abandon their demand for an independent Islamic
nation, the negotiators said.
The government has repeatedly
ruled out any breakup of the Philippines.
The seven weeks of captivity in
the jungle at the hands of the extremist rebels have been traumatic for the hostages,
whose psychological state has deteriorated.
Several of the hostages have
threatened suicide, and a government doctor has urged that one, Stephane Loisy of France,
be hospitalised because of psychological distress.
President Joseph Estrada has
ordered the negotiators to make substantial progress by Monday, Philippine Independence
Day.
The rebels are also demanding
the protection of traditional fishing grounds from large trawlers, many of which are
foreign-owned, and the formation of a commission to examine the problems of Filipino
Muslims living in neighbouring Malaysia. They are also expected to demand a large ransom
at a later time.
The Abu Sayyaf are the smaller
but more extreme of two rebel groups fighting for an independent Islamic state in the
impoverished southern Philippines.
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