The Abu Sayyaf is holding 71-year old Stefan Viktor Okonek and Herike Diesen, 55, after being abducted at sea on April 25, 2014 while en route to Sabah in Malaysia from a holiday in Palawan Island in the Philippines.
Military officials in southern Philippines remain silent on two German yachters being held by the Abu Sayyaf in the restive southern as the hostages appealed to Manila and Berlin to secure their safe release.
The Abu Sayyaf is holding 71-year old Stefan Viktor Okonek and Herike Diesen, 55, after being abducted at sea on April 25 while en route to Sabah in Malaysia from a holiday in Palawan Island in western Visayas.
The militants have demanded P250 million ransom ($5.6 million) from Germany and for Berlin to cease all support to US airstrikes against Islamic State or IS in Iraq and Syria. The Abu Sayyaf, which is harboring Jemaah Islamiya members, and another rebel group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter, have earlier pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State or IS.
The Radio Mindanao Network has aired Monday the appeals of both hostages, but it was unknown where the calls originated although the police said it launched an operations to rescue the duo in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
Okonek, who is a physician by profession, said they came to the Philippines for a holiday, but ended up taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf. He said his health condition is deteriorating and always fear for their safety. He said they have to lay and sleep on the ground guarded by heavily armed men and appealed to the Germany to do all it can to secure their release.
Diesen also appealed to both countries to free them, saying, they are much stressed and living dangerously in the jungle.
Manila has sent over 1,000 soldiers to Sulu, but this was to replace marines who are being shipped to another province in central Mindanao.
The soldiers will have to be briefed and oriented about the situation in Sulu, and have to undergo familiarization of the terrain in the province before they can be used to any mission to rescue the German captives and other foreign hostages, including a 64-year old Japanese treasure hunter Katayama Mamaito, who was kidnapped from Pangutaran Island in July 2010; and two European wildlife photographers Ewold Horn, 52, from Holland; and Lorenzo Vinciguerre, 47, from Switzerland, who were taken captive in the coastal village of Parangan in Panglima Sugala town in the southern Tawi-Tawi province two years ago.
The terrorist group has set a deadline until October 10 for Germany to comply with its demands or it will behead one of the hostages – most likely Okonek. The demands were contained in a letter released by Abu Rami together with three photos of the hostages, and a copy was posted on the websites worldanalysis.net and SITE Intelligence.
The letter reads: “The Abu Sayyaf is warning the families of the hostages and the German government, and the Philippine government – first, you give us our demand of P250 million up to October 10, 2014 – or we will behead one of the hostage; secondly, Germany must cease its support to America on the killings of our brother Muslims in Iraq and Sham (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine), and our brother mujahedeen.”
There was no immediate statement from the German Embassy in Manila up to this writing, although there were unconfirmed media reports that a ransom negotiation is going on in an effort to free the two hostages.
The Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City has not issued any statement on the Abu Sayyaf threat to kill one German captive, but it released a media statement about an upcoming football clinic to be held in Zamboanga City.
http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/09/german-hostages-held-by-sayyaf-in.html
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