|
Friday, November 05, 2004
Government vows to bring kidnapped Pinoys home
MANILA -- President Arroyo said Thursday she will exhaust all means to bring back home Filipino hostages Angelito Nayan and Roberto Tarongoy.
Arroyo ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and other agencies involved in efforts for the duo's release to never give up until Nayan, held by a Taliban splinter group in Afghanistan, and Tarongoy, who was kidnapped in Iraq this week, were brought safely back to the Philippines.
Whatever the Philippine government intends to do, it will have to be done in coordination the Americans, who want an "open-ended authority" to deal with the hostage crisis as they see fit, said a Filipino official speaking on condition of anonymity.
US authorities have reportedly told the Philippine government not to give any concessions to Iraqi insurgents holding Tarongoy, an American and two other hostages, added the official.
The official, who is among those involved in efforts to secure Tarongoy's freedom, said the Americans did not, however, say what steps they planned to take.
Arroyo spokesman Ignacio Bunye said her instructions were "to exhaust all means and to never give up" until Tarongoy and Nayan were brought back to the country.
"All means are being undertaken to fulfill this directive," added Bunye.
More time
The militant group holding Nayan and two other United Nations (UN) election workers in Afghanistan is allowing more time for talks with the Afghan government about the group's demand that Taliban prisoners be released.
Earlier, the militants calling themselves Jaish-al Muslimeen or Army of Muslims said they may spare Nayan from execution because the Philippines has no troops in Afghanistan.
The group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Nayan, Shqipe Hebibi of Kosovo, and Anetta Flanigan of Northern Ireland, who the rebels said was "seriously ill" because of the strain of her captivity.
Bunye said government could not release more details of its efforts to free Nayan and Tarongoy because of the delicate situation and that Filipinos are better off praying for the duo's release.
No group has yet come forward to claim responsibility for the kidnapping of Tarongoy and three others or make known their demands, said Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas.
Nevertheless, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) Chief Marianito Roque said they were exerting efforts to immediately locate Tarongoy, who was abducted last Nov. 1, and closely coordinating with other agencies with the same intentions.
"We are in a monitoring mode at the moment, coordinating all our efforts with the appropriate organs of government for the purpose of gathering as much information as possible on the whereabouts and situation of Tarongoy," Roque said.
Info sharing
US Ambassador Francis Joseph Ricciardone called on Arroyo Thursday to "compare notes" on developments in Baghdad and Kabul.
He said in a press briefing after his call that US condemns hostage takings "for any reason, by anybody at any time."
"It's a dreadful crime, it's a sin. Nobody's religion I know of condones such things. You can expect us to stand in solidarity with the government of any country that has a hostage taken and all the more so when it's a close ally and friend like the Philippines. We're with you," he said.
Ricciardone said he will not hold out any false hopes on the hostage situations but the Philippine government can count on the US to pass on intelligence reports "through the proper channels."
He said he told Arroyo that Mark Thompson, a US counter-terrorism expert from the State Department who worked in the Philippines for six months during the Burnham hostage crisis, is in Baghdad coordinating with Iraqi and Philippine officials on the abductions.
"You couldn't have a better American friend in Baghdad right now. We're allies, we're friends, we speak with each other, we share what we know. I'm not sure we can do much more beyond that but we'll see," he said.
He said he and Arroyo did not talk about sending a Philippine contingent back in Iraq.
Undocumented OFWs
Tarongoy, 31, was working for a Saudi Arabian company catering food to American troops when gunmen stormed the company's compound on Monday, seizing him, an American and a Nepalese.
Although Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Owwa records showed he got employment in the Middle East not through the proper channels, the agencies said government would still do its best to save him and bring him home safe.
Owwa Chief Roque, at the same time, renewed calls for relatives of undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Iraq to have them listed with the Philippine embassy so government could easily locate them in case the situation in Iraq worsens.
"The Owwa stands ready and able to extend them help as the situation may dictate," Roque said.
Middle East envoy Roy Cimatu and Ambassador Ricardo Endaya are now in Iraq and involved in efforts for Tarongoy's release.
Endaya told Manila radio station dzEC that the US policy of not negotiating with terrorists was one factor "that will make it quite difficult" to win Tarongoy's release.
At the same time, any US involvement could prove useful in securing his freedom, he said, without elaborating.
Another Filipino official in Baghdad said the Philippine government had no immediate response to request of US officials to give any concessions to Tarongoy's Iraqi kidnappers.
Negotiation efforts
On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo refused to categorically say whether the Philippines would adhere to Washington's policy of not negotiating with terrorists, leaving open the possibility it would take its own steps to try to save Tarongoy.
Romulo said the Philippines would seek the help of other groups, including friends in the Muslim world and the United Nations, to work out the release of Tarongoy and Nayan.
Nayan was a 34-year-old diplomat who had volunteered to help with Afghanistan's Oct. 9 presidential election.
Syed Khaled, the spokesman of the group holding Nayan and two others, said Thursday that Afghan officials had contacted them late Wednesday and asked for more time for talks.
On Sunday, Khaled's group released a videotape of the hostages in which all three appeared frightened in a sinister echo of the insurgency in Iraq.
Authorities say they are hopeful the three will be released.
But there has been no confirmation of any contact with the kidnappers, and officials have appealed to ordinary Afghans to provide information.
The militants have backed off a series of deadlines to kill the three hostages, claiming negotiations are under way.
They also have suggested that Nayan might be spared because his country has no troops in Afghanistan. (Sunnex Luzon/AP)
(November 5, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here.
|
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
