Viktor Stefan Okonek and Henrike Dielen talk to military and police officers at Naval Forces Western Mindanao after their release by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu (Philippine Navy photo by SN1 Jode Defino)
Germans Viktor Stefan Okonek and Henrike Dielen were released by the Abu Sayyaf within viewing distance of government troops who had surrounded the extremists but could not mount an attack for fear of hurting the hostages and civilians in the area, the military’s public information chief said Saturday.
At the same time, Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc maintained that the military encirclement had helped put pressure on the Abu Sayyaf to release the Germans amid reports that a P250-million ransom had been paid for the hostages' release. The photo below is a handout from the AFP Public Affairs Office.
The extremists also continue to hold up to 10 more hostages, a number of them foreigners.
Okonek and Dielen were released in Patikul, Sulu Friday night and were immediately taken by Navy boat to Zamboanga City and, from there, flown to Manila early Saturday morning. The two are now in the custody of the German embassy.
Cabunoc called a statement by Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Rami to a radio station in Zamboanga City that they had received the ransom they demanded, “walang labis, walang kulang (nothing more, nothing less),” “propaganda.”
But when asked if he could issue a categorical denial on the matter, he said, “Ah, hindi, kung may nagbayad diyan na hindi natin alam … basta sa side namin hindi kami nakipag-negotiate sa kanila (Ah, no, if someone paid without our knowledge … but on our side, we never negotiated).”
The news agency Reuters, quoting German government sources, reported that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had sent a special envoy to the Philippines to negotiate a deal with the rebels. The envoy, Ruediger Koenig, arrived in Manila on Thursday evening.
Prior to the release of the hostages, the military announced it had received the go-signal from a local crisis committee headed by Sulu Governor Sakur Tan to mount “law enforcement operations” against the Abu Sayyaf.
By early Friday morning, Cabunco said, “pinalibutan namin … halos eye contact, nakikita nila nandu’n na kami sa paligid, e hindi naman totally heavily forested ‘yung kinalagyan nila e, meron lang portion (we had surrounded them … almost eye contact, they could see us around them because their position is not really heavily forested, only a portion) …”
Although Cabunoc said the troops could launch attacks on the Abu Sayyaf, he also acknowledged that the presence of the remaining hostages and the civilian population in the area could affect or even scuttle any operations.
“Anytime, baka magka-engkwentro sa araw na ito (a clash might break out today),” Cabunc said, although he added, “iniiwasan lang kasi … hindi madamay ang civilians, humahalo kasi sila sa civilian e (we are avoiding … civilians getting caught in the crossfire, because they are mixing in with the civilians).”
“We are thinking about the 10 other hostages as well,” he added.
A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was also another complication -- the presence of a Moro National Liberation Front camp only two kilometers from the Abu Sayyaf position.
“Ito ang iniiwasan o ginagawan namin ng paraan … na huwag sila (Abu Sayyaf) humalo du’n sa MNLF (This is what we are avoiding, what we are working on … that they don’t mix in with the MNLF),” which could draw in the rebel fighters into the fray, he said.
Although he said military units in Sulu were working to cut off the Abu Sayyaf from the MNLF position, he admitted it was difficult because the rebel camp is more a community rather than a fenced military installation.
In a related development, Malacanang said on Saturday that, with the release from captivity of the two German nationals held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), government security forces will continue their efforts "to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements."
"There is no change in the government's no-ransom policy," Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a statement.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Major Gen. Domingo Tutaan earlier said Dr. Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Dielen, 55, were released by the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul at 8:50 p.m. Friday in Patikul, Sulu.
Tutaan said the two underwent medical check-up in Zamboanga City before their flight to Manila.
The two German nationals are now at the custody of the Embassy of Germany.
The German foreign ministry thanked the Philippine government for its close and trusting cooperation.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/97481/germans-released-within-viewing-distance-of-encircling-troops---spokesman
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