The release of the two German nationals by the Abu Sayyaf after the reported payment of $5.56 million in ransom on Oct. 17 has reinforced the perception that kidnapping for ransom continues to be a thriving “cottage industry” in southern Philippines.
Consistent with its avowed “no ransom policy,” the government insisted that no state funds were used in paying the ransom money, a claim that was affirmed by Philippine President Benigno Aquino III in an interview with foreign correspondents in Manila on Oct. 22.
Aquino all but confirmed a report by a western wire agency, quoting official German government sources, that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had sent a special envoy to the Philippines to negotiate a deal with the bandits. The sources said that the envoy, Ruediger Koenig, arrived in Manila a day before the two Germans were released. The official statement of the Philippine military said that the release of the hostages was the result of "military pressure."
But Mayor Hussin Amin of Jolo, the capital of Sulu province, called for an investigation of the alleged involvement of Philippine officials in the payment of the ransom money.
Abu Rami, spokesperson for the Abu Sayyaf, had confirmed that his group had received the ransom money. Rami also revealed that top Philippine government officials were among members of the team that delivered the money to the Abu Sayyaf in an undisclosed village in Patikul.
Tagged as a terrorist group by the US and the Philippine governments, the group claims it is fighting to establish an independent Islamic homeland in the Muslim-populated south of the mainly Catholic Philippines. In July, a video appeared on YouTube where one of the Abu Sayyaf leaders, Isnilon Hapilon, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) extremists who have taken control of large parts of Iraq and Syria.
But Philippine authorities have said that the Abu Sayyaf is mainly a criminal gang engaged in kidnapping for ransom and other lucrative illegal activities. The group has kidnapped dozens of foreign aid workers, missionaries and tourists in the south. By demanding and getting millions of dollars in ransom money, the group was able to raise funds to buy more arms. Just like the IS, the Abu Sayyaf is known for its brutal reputation of beheading some of its captives, including an American tourist seized in 2002.
Among the hostages still being held captive by the Abu Sayyaf are two European birdwatchers, a Malaysian fish breeder, and an elderly Japanese man. Last year, the group released retired Australian soldier Warren Rodwell and Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani after ransoms were reportedly paid. The two were abducted separately and each held captive for over a year.
— Courtesy: Xinhua
