No turning back

That list of impossible demands gave the government its long delayed epiphany: there's simply no negotiating with the Abu Sayyaf. Since the Muslim fundamentalist group was organized a few years ago, it has earned a reputation for unflinching ruthlessness. The group's leaders were trained abroad in guerrilla warfare and have known links with some of the world's most notorious Islamic terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and Sheik Abdurahman Omar.

The Abu Sayyaf has raided and pillaged a Zamboanga town, torched and bombed churches, kidnapped priests and nuns and massacred 15 Christian teachers. Although it receives funding from abroad, the group also raises "revenues" through extortion and ransom kidnappings, often raping its female hostages. Through all these terrorist activities, the group never gave any indication that it wanted to negotiate for anything with the government. What made the government think these religious zealots would want to start talking now? In the first place, it sets a bad precedent and encourages more terrorist attacks when a government gives in to a terrorist group's demand.

What forced the government to talk, after it had cornered the extremists in the hinterlands of Basilan, was that the Abu Sayyaf had grabbed human shields, among whom were about 20 grade school children. So the terrorists got their movie idol Robin Padilla as government negotiator, plus 200 sacks of rice, plus the release by vigilantes of the pregnant wife and daughter of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadafi Janjalani. In return the terrorists released two children. Encouraged by this lopsided swap, Janjalani sent Padilla a letter addressed to President Estrada himself, listing several absurd demands, including the release of Yousef, Sheik Omar and another Islamic terrorist jailed in the United States. When these demands were rejected, the Abu Sayyaf beheaded two male hostages.

Finally realizing the futility of negotiations, the military launched an assault on Black Saturday to rescue the hostages. After starting this offensive, there's no turning back for the Armed Forces. Get the hostages, then annihilate those terrorists. It's time to stamp out the Abu Sayyaf scourge.