The military is putting on hold its rescue operations for the three Indonesian crewmen held captive by suspected pirates in Luuk town in Sulu to give way for negotiations led by local officials for the safe release of the foreigners, a senior defense official said yesterday.
Defense department spokesman retired Maj. Gen. Melchor Rosales said the negotiations are part of the government’s efforts to recover the hostages snatched at sea last June 17 in the waters off Basilan island. He added that the government’s no-ransom policy will be strictly enforced.
"As of the moment, they are in a negotiation phase, but these negotiations are well within the parameters of government policy, which means no ransom," Rosales said. "That may be (the reason) the negotiations are taking long, but we have to allow the negotiations to proceed and hopefully succeed."
"We should not apply the military option until all of these (other options) are exhausted," Rosales added.
"When you go to a hostage-rescue situation, you have to have a pace of negotiations first, you try to allow the release of hostages without having to assault because the moment you (do), you cannot control everything," Rosales said.
The negotiations are being led by Luuk Mayor Abdurahman Arbison and his son, Sulu Rep. Munir Arbison. The Indonesians are reportedly being held by a certain Walub, also known as Malud Mahili, a local pirate with at least 20 armed followers.
Four Indonesian crewmen manning a tugboat and a coal-laden barge en route to Cebu were snatched by 11 heavily armed men near Tamuk island, about six kilometers southwest off Basilan.
One of the crewmen, second officer Ferdinand Joel, managed to escape and was recovered by Marines in Luuk on June 19. Left behind were ship captain Muntu Jacobos Winowatan, chief officer Julikpi and chief engineer Pieter Lernch.
Rosales said military action against the Indonesians’ captors would only take place if peaceful means fail to free them.
Meanwhile, the Abu Sayyaf — on the run from pursuing soldiers — has sent word that they had nothing to do with the abduction of the three Indonesian seamen, an official of the Moro Islamic Liberation front (MILF) said yesterday.
Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron told the MILF that they were not responsible for the kidnappings and would not hold the Indonesians on behalf of another kidnap gang, MILF regional chief Ustadz Shariff Julabbi said.
Sahiron’s band is based in Basilan, the focus of a major military offensive launched last week to hunt down the remnants of the Abu Sayyaf. The bandits’ yearlong kidnapping spree ended June 7 with a military rescue attempt left two of the group’s last three hostages dead.
However, Julabbi has not ruled out the possibility that Walub’s gang may barter its captives to the Abu Sayyaf for cash or weapons or both.
Julabbi said "there are efforts to secure the freedom of the hostages and the Abu Sayyaf has promised to hand the Indonesians over to me if the (Walub gang) decides to turn them over to the Abu Sayyaf. This is the promise of Sahiron because they (the Abu Sayyaf) don’t want any part of this kidnapping.
The separatist MILF is now holding peace negotiations with the government, part of which includes the MILF’s cooperation in the government’s anti-kidnapping operations in Mindanao. Julabbi has negotiated in the past with the Abu Sayyaf and renegade MILF "lost commands" for the release of several kidnap victims, including two Italian Roman Catholic priests.
But Rosales expressed doubt that the Indonesian sailors may be released by the pirates through the Abu Sayyaf, which would in turn hand over the captives to the MILF.
Last week, the pirates demanded a P100,000 ransom for the three Indonesians to "reimburse" their expenses in taking them hostage.
Local media reports said the Abu Sayyaf refused to take custody of the Indonesians because they were Muslim.
In another development, government forces, using bomber planes and helicopters conducted airstrikes of suspected Abu Sayyaf lairs yesterday, inflicting an undetermined number of casualties, the military said.
Abu Sayyaf bandits unleashed rockets on the soldiers pursuing them, prompting the military to retaliate with air attacks on the fleeing bandits. "One of our troops was wounded, but they believe the Abu Sayyaf suffered an undetermined number of casualties," military spokesman Lt. Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias said.
The military has been tracking a band of 150 Abu Sayyaf bandits since Friday after overrunning four of the bandits’ camps in Sulu.
No American troops were involved in the latest fighting. The US forces deployed in Mindanao for the Balikatan exercises as part of the US-led war on terror are barred from combat but they can return fire if attacked. They are here to train Filipino soldiers in counter-terrorism tactics, mainly for combating the Abu Sayyaf, which has been sowing terror in Mindanao for a decade.
The fighting in Sulu coincided with visit by President Arroyo to Davao del Norte province, where she discussed the security situation with military leaders and local officials.