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Estrada Insists on No-ransom Police in Hostage Crisis
Philippine President Joseph Estrada has told three visiting European foreign ministers that he is standing firm on "no-ransom" policy in dealing with the country's hostage situation which involves more than 21 foreign nationals.
The newspaper of Manila Bulletin said Friday that the president made this clear when he met the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Finland Thursday night in the Presidential Palace.
Estrada briefed the foreign ministers on the measures the government has taken to solve the problem. Nationals of all three European countries are among the captives.
The president said he has not set a deadline for the abductors to release the hostages.
He said a military solution to solve the hostage problem is out of the question, saying that the safety and welfare of the captives are of paramount concern.
Estrada also expressed confidence over the release soon of the hostages, citing favorable developments in the ongoing negotiations with the Abu Sayyaf captors.
The Abu Sayyaf abducted 21 Filipino and foreign hostages in a diving resort in Malaysia on April 23 and taken them to Sulu province in the southern Philippines.
The rebels released one Malaysian hostage last month in what officials described as a "goodwill gesture."
However, the Abu Sayyaf subsequently seized 13 Christian evangelists who traveled to their camp in Patikul, Sulu on July 1 and three French journalists who went there last Sunday to interview the original hostages.
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