Islamic Conference wants to help in hostage talks

A top official of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) is coming to Manila to help resolve the long-drawn hostage crisis in Sulu.

This developed as Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado batted for clearer government policies in dealing with terrorist groups.

Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora ruled out any immediate breakthrough in the negotiations with Abu Sayyaf gunmen holding 21 mostly foreign hostages for over a month now in the province of Sulu.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. revealed that OIC secretary general Ezzedine Laraki is scheduled to meet with President Estrada and himself in Manila to explore avenues of mediation in the talks with the extremist Abu Sayyaf group.

Siazon said the government welcomes Laraki's plan since the OIC enjoys great influence over the Islamic world.

The Abu Sayyaf said earlier it will negotiate only with Zamora, ambassadors from the hostages' countries and Libya, as well as representatives of the United Nations and the OIC.

However, the OIC has publicly condemned acts of terrorism, including kidnapping, as "un-Islamic."

The organization has also said it would not support any secessionist group such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which has been fighting for an independent Bangsamoro state in Mindanao.

The Libyan Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia said that a Libyan charity group headed by Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, will also send an emissary to Manila to try and secure the release of the foreign hostages.

The envoy, who was not identified in the embassy statement, would be Libya's second, the first being retired ambassador Abdul Rajab Azzarouq.

Siazon clarified, however, that it would not be appropriate to allow other countries or international organizations to intervene in the negotiations for the release of the hostages.

"No other government is really involved right now. In the case of Rajab Azzarouq, he was here as an NGO (non-government organization) representative," the secretary said.

UN secretary general Kofi Annan has also condemned the Abu Sayyaf kidnappings, and expressed willingness to help resolve the crisis, depending on what the Philippine government would request.

Government officials rejected the offers to avoid "internationalizing" the issue.

Although Mercado acknowledged that the government has to be flexible in dealing with the hostage problem in Mindanao, he stressed there should be a "more coherent policy" regarding terrorism.

At the same time, he admitted that the government has discreetly reopened talks with Abu Sayyaf terrorists holding eight Filipino hostages, six of them children, in the island province of Basilan.

Mercado told reporters that Malacañang has reactivated the Basilan crisis management committee (CMC) to pursue negotiations with the captors.

"The President has given the go-signal to work for the release of the remaining hostages. This has been the product of a decision by the (Cabinet) Cluster E (on national security)," Mercado said.

He refused to comment, however, on the Abu Sayyaf's demand for payment of ransom - euphemistically called "board and lodging" - ranging from P500,000 to P1 million, for the release of the victims who were seized from their schools in Sumisip town last March 20.

The secretary said it was up to the CMC to make a statement on the issue.

Mercado underscored the urgency of securing the release of the children in view of the reopening of classes next week. "We know that the children were being brought to different areas in Basilan to elude pursuing troops. We hope they are released before classes start so that they can be psychologically treated," he said.

"There may be a breakthrough in Basilan, but if we are talking about Jolo (capital town of Sulu), I don't think that's coming up anytime soon," Zamora said in a radio interview.

The eight hostages were part of over 50 people consisting of school children, teachers and a Catholic priest who were snatched from their schools following a failed attack on Army camps in Sumisip by Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Some of the hostages were set free earlier in exchange for food and medicine, while 15 others were rescued amid clashes between the captors and pursuing government forces. --