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Filipino rebels want investment for hostages
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Filipino rebels want investment for hostages
By JIM GOMEZ,Associated Press Writer AP - 33 minutes ago
MANILA, Philippines - Two al-Qaida-linked militants wanted by Washington have demanded education and development projects for impoverished Muslim communities in exchange for the freedom of three kidnapped Red Cross workers in the southern Philippines, an official said Thursday.
Provincial Vice Governor Lady Ann Sahidulla identified the two Abu Sayyaf commanders as Albader Parad and Abu Pula, whom she met Wednesday along with the three Red Cross workers in a jungle hide-out near Jolo Island's Indanan township.
It was the first direct contact by any official with the kidnappers and the Red Cross workers _ Andreas Notter, 38, of Switzerland; Eugenio Vagni, 62 of Italy; and Mary Jean Lacaba, 37, of the Philippines _ who were snatched from their car at gunpoint on Jan. 15.
Sahidullah said she embraced the three hostages and wept at seeing them apparently well. They were being kept in a small house, given clean water and allowed to use a cell phone and laptop "when there is a signal," she said.
"They were smiling, but of course I could feel their fear and despair," Sahidullah said.
A photo of the meeting showed the three hostages standing with Sahidulla in front of a tangle of coconut trees.
Sahidulla used her personal connections to make contact with the rebel group, who agreed to meet her on a road near Indanan on Wednesday. She hiked with them for an hour to their jungle stronghold.
Sahidullah said she pleaded to take Lacaba back with her, but Parad and Jumdail refused. They assured her the hostages would not be harmed.
"They want livelihood and free education, but did not mention any amount of money," Sahidulla told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. She did not elaborate on what the kidnappers meant by livelihood projects, but said the Abu Sayyaf gunmen told her they would send written demands later.
U.S. and Philippine officials have offered rewards for the capture of Parad and Pula, who have been accused by authorities of involvement in bomb attacks and kidnappings for ransom, including the abduction of 21 people, mostly European tourists, from a Malaysian resort in 2000.
Jolo Governor Sakur Tan, who heads a task force overseeing the hostage crisis, said authorities knew where the hostages were being kept but refused to divulge the government's strategy to secure their release.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said last week the use of force was not an option "at this time."
The three Red Cross workers, who were working on a water sanitation project in a Jolo jail, were kidnapped by gunmen led by a dismissed jail guard, who then handed over the captives to Abu Sayyaf, police said.
Abu Sayyaf, which the military says has more than 300 gunmen, has been blamed for a string of high-profile kidnappings for ransom, including of Americans and Europeans. It is on a U.S. blacklist of terrorist organizations with links to al-Qaida.
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