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Saturday, November 06, 2004
Nayan kidnappers may spare him, says labor chief
MANILA -- A government official said Friday that kidnapped Filipino Angelito Nayan has a big chance of getting freed, despite the breakdown on talks with his Afghan kidnappers who said they would decide Friday whether to execute their hostages.
The Jaish-al Muslimeen, a shadowy Taliban splinter group, said Thursday that they would hold a council early Friday afternoon and then decide whether to kill their three hostages or allow more time for negotiations.
The outcome of that meeting remained unclear as night fell. Representatives of the group made no comment Friday.
Philippine Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said in a radio interview she received information that the Afghan rebels holding Nayan and two others captive have softened their stand on the Filipino because the Philippines does not have troops in Afghanistan.
Nayan and fellow United Nations (UN) election workers Anetta Flanigan of Northern Ireland and Shqipe Habibi of Kosovo were abducted last October 28 while on their way to the Intercon Hotel in the Afghan capital of Kabul. All three were helping manage Afghanistan's Oct. 9 presidential election.
Two senior Afghan officials said on condition of anonymity Friday that security forces were still searching for the hostages, but they had no information about any contact with the kidnappers.
The militants had threatened to kill their hostages unless the UN and British troops leave Afghanistan and Taliban prisoners are freed from US jails in 72 hours. The deadline, however, was extended.
Sto. Tomas said government is closely monitoring Nayan's case.
The militant group holding Nayan earlier released a videotape of him and his two companions Sunday to back its claim of responsibility.
Representatives of the group on Thursday said efforts to negotiate were floundering and that Flanigan was "seriously ill" because of the strain of her captivity, and all three were sickened by a diet of little more than cookies.
A purported militant commander, who identified himself as Sadir Momin, said that UN and Afghan officials contacted them by telephone Thursday but were "not ready for negotiations."
"We have decided that we won't negotiate any more, either, because they are not making a serious effort to get the hostages released," he said.
None of the claims by the group's representatives, reached by satellite phone at undisclosed locations, could be verified independently.
The abductions were the first kidnappings of foreigners in Kabul since the Taliban was ousted in 2001 and sparked concern militants were copying the tactics of their Iraqi counterparts.
Still, Afghan officials doubt the little-known group could have pulled off the kidnappings without the help of a local militia or criminal gang, and authorities have conducted a number of searches.
UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva on Thursday expressed growing concern for the well-being of the three captives, and repeated a call for their immediate release.
The militants have backed off a series of deadlines to kill the hostages, claiming negotiations are under way. They also have suggested that Nayan, a Philippine diplomat, might be spared because his country has no troops in Afghanistan. (AP/With Sunnex Luzon)
(November 6, 2004 issue)
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