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Sunday, June 24, 2007
Gov’t fears escape of Bossi abductors from AFP cordon
MANILA – A ranking military official said Saturday kidnappers of Italian priest Fr. Giancarlo Bossi might elude pursuing government and secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces due to the vastness of the place where the priest was last cited.
Major General Ben Mohammad Dolorfino said Fr. Bossi and his kidnappers are believed to be either in the towns of Nunungan, Naga Dimapuro or Salvador in Lanao del Sur, which he described as “very vast areas.”
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“We cannot really guarantee that (they cannot flee the areas) because that is a very vast area, forested and mountainous so there is always a possibility that they could again flee,” he said.
Bossi was snatched by the armed group last June 10 at a remote village in Payao town in Zambaonga Sibugay. The 57-year-old Bossi, Payao town’s parish priest, began missionary work in the country in 1998.
Thousands of government and MILF forces are in the three areas, trying to pursue and cordon the kidnappers led by Akhidin Abdusalam alias Commander Khidi, a renegade leader of the secessionist group.
Dolorfino reported that the kidnappers have been surrounded at the boundaries of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte but they were able to flee because the cordon was loosely set up by pursuing forces.
Two days later, Army intelligence operatives were sent to the village of Sapad in Nunungan town upon receipt of information that the kidnappers are hiding there with their victim. However, the operation yielded negative results.
Dolorfino said there is a possibility that the kidnappers would flee to Mt. Kararao in Lanao del Norte, a known training ground of the MILF and the Southeast Asian regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in the past.
Dolorfino said information provided by the MILF of Bossi’s whereabouts is being validated by independent intelligence information gathered by the military indicating the kidnappers are still in the area of operation of the MILF and the military.
Meanwhile, more than a thousand priests, nuns, imams, evangelical pastors, students and civil society members held a prayer rally Friday night to seek divine help for the safety and freedom of kidnapped pontifical priest Fr. Giancarlo Bossi.
During a two-hour assembly at Plaza Pershing, representatives of the major religious groups in the city took turns to say prayers and sing hymns on behalf of Fr. Bossi, who has been in captivity since June 10, this year.
"I ask the faithful of the Archdiocese (of Zamboanga City) to pray for his (Fr. Giancarlo Bossi's) safety and immediate release and to reflect on the message of this crisis," Archbishop Romulo Valles said in his statement read during the so-called "Prayer Rally of Solidarity for Fr. Bossi."
The rally was spearheaded by the Inter-Religious Solidarity Movement for Peace (IRMSP) and took place at downtown Plaza Pershing.
On the other hand, Muslim imams and the Islamic convenor of IRMSP also said prayers for the kidnap victim.
IRMSP convenor Jaafar Kimpa in his message read at the end of the prayers said: "Just like any other major religions, Islam condemns the taking of any person's freedom. Taking or holding an individual or group unwillingly for whatever purpose is a violation of his right as a human being."
"Holding (Fr. Bossi) will only contribute to the so many problems affecting the Mindanaoans where everyone is sharing his peaceful efforts for a progressive and better society most especially for the future generations. The Muslim community of the (IRMSP) requests or even demand for the unconditional release to freedom for Italian priest Fr. Giancarlo Bossi," said Kimpa.
Fr. Angel Calvo, CMF, the Catholic convenor in IRMSP, invited the leaders of other faith groups in the city to join the service. The initiative came after an emergency meeting among the local clergy called by the archbishop last Monday to consider steps to resolve the crisis.(Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (June 24, 2007 issue)
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