Military Offensives Against Abu Sayyaf Effective: Philippine Presidential Palace

The Philippine Presidential Palace Thursday released the letter sent to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by Abu Sayyaf bandits, saying the letter indicated the bandits are feeling the might of the military pounding on them.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said "the letter has indications that the Abu Sayyaf are feeling the effects of the military presence in their lairs."

In the letter sent on June 14 through a freed hostage to Arroyo, the bandits said "as a gesture of goodwill, we are releasing unconditionally two captives taken from Palawan."

"We expect that the Philippine government will react positively so that this crisis will be over within the soonest possible time, " the letter signed by Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Abubakar Janjalani in Basilan, a island province in southern Philippines, also said.

Tiglao said the mention of the word "unconditional release" in the letter and the bandits' wish for the crisis to be resolved are signs that they are softening on their stand against the government.

But the letter also said the release of two hostages should not be taken as a sign of weakness on the Abu Sayyaf part but was solely made as a gift to the possible coming of two mediators asked by the group in the resolution of the hostage crisis.

The bandits have demanded that former Malaysian lawmaker Sairin Karno and businessman Yusof Hamdan as negotiators. The two Malaysians helped the Philippine government negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf in last year's hostage crisis.

But the government has refused to appoint the Malaysians as mediators.

The bandits are still holding at least 26 hostages including two Americans taken from a resort in Palawan last month. The fate of another American hostage Guillermo Sobero is still unclear.

The bandit group's spokesman, Abu Sabaya, announced on June 12 that Sobero was beheaded as an independence day "gift" to Arroyo.

The military said there was strong reason to believe that Sobero is dead because a hostage freed last week said he had never seen Sobero since June 12.

The Philippine Armed Forces has deployed more than 5,000 soldiers in Basilan to pursue the bandits in jungles.






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