The Abu Sayyaf Group have stated that 2:00 pm local time in the Philippines this afternoon is the deadline for Philippine troops to have pulled out of 15 villages in Sulu or else they will behead one of three Red Cross hostages. This macabre threat – which the government has rejected acting upon, stating it is logistically impossible – lingers in the air today, with both sides wondering what will happen next. The Sulu Vice Governor has said she fears the group will carry out the threat: “Other peoples’ lives mean nothing to them.” In a video statement, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross has reissued its appeal for the three to be released.
Rumours abound that a deal is underway to securing the release of five British men held hostage in Iraq for almost two years. The purported deal involves the exchange of the men for Iraqi detainees held by American forces. The negotiations are said to have gained momentum and the first exchange may occur as early as later this week, but the families of the hostages are being told not to hold their breath. And it is still unclear whether one of the five purported to have committed suicide last year is dead or alive.
The last few months have demonstrated time and again the weaknesses at the heart of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) – from falling for the trickery of Operation Jaque, to prominent leaders being killed, to increased desertions among the rank and file, many have argued that FARC’s demise is just around the corner.
This week, the International Crisis Group (ICG) released a comprehensive report describing the steps the government should take if it wants to end the decades-old conflict with FARC once and for all. The report – based in part on interviews with former FARC hostages – provides interesting insight about the practice of hostage-taking and how to resolve the situation. In particular, the report cites the unilateral release of several hostages earlier this year (Alan Jara and Sigifredo Lopez among them) as evidence that “a degree of political cohesion and capacity to act exists within the FARC leadership”. In the end, the ICG advises the government to capitalise on a still functioning FARC leadership to strengthen its negotiations and to keep all options open for freeing those in captivity, including revisiting the notion of a hostages-for-prisoners swap.
Today, the Abu Sayyaf Group renewed earlier threats to behead one of three Red Cross hostages if the Philippine military did not withdraw from their stronghold. The military has been working hard to cut off supplies to the group, thus prompting this latest warning. Philippine news sources cite that the group is demanding control over 2/3 of the island of Jolo.
In the meantime, Abu Sayyaf members have lowered their ransom demand for three teachers kidnapped in Zamboanga earlier this month.
–The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has welcomed the release of a UN staff person held hostage in Niger since late last year. However, two others – including Canadian envoy Robert Fowler – captured with the man remain in captivity.
–Following a failed rescue of three Red Cross hostages in the southern Philippines, the general leading Filipino troops in pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers has taken a leave of absence. Major General Juancho Sabban is reported to be visiting Colombia to attend a forum on counterinsurgency measures.
–Newly released footage of five British hostages in Iraq has given renewed hope to their families. The five were kidnapped in Baghdad in May 2007, and little is known of their current whereabouts, though some suggest that Iran might play a role in aiding those holding the men.
Thus spoke a Canadian woman – a convert to Islam, Beverly Giesbrecht, who now calls herself Khadija Qahaar – in a video released by her Taliban captors on Thursday. Khadija was abducted in Pakistan’s lawless North Waziristan region four months ago, where she was a freelance journalist.
Khadija’s captors have threatened to behead her by March 31 if a $375,000 ransom demand is not paid. “I’m not quite sure how long that is but the time is very short and my life is going to end,” Khadija states in the video. Today tribal elders say they are working on negotiating for her release with Taliban militants.
Conflicting reports are coming out of the southern Philippines these days. Yesterday, an Abu Sayyaf leader claimed that one of the three Red Cross hostages would be beheaded if Philippine troops closed in on the rebels’ hideaway.
But today the news was brighter. The Philippine army has agreed to pull back in exchange for one hostage being freed. It is unclear which one will be released first, but reports suggest it might be Eugenio Vagni, a 62-year-old Italian, who has a heart condition.
The Red Cross continues to express worry about the safety of the three hostages, who have been held for more than two months now.
Erik Roland Larsson, the last foreigner to be held by FARC, has been released after nearly two years in captivity. Larsson, a retired engineer, had been living on a farm in northern Colombia when he was kidnapped along with his Colombian wife (pictured above), who escaped a few days later. It is believed that the 69-year-old suffered a stroke during his ordeal and remains paralysed on one side of his body. The Swedish police had been working with the government to secure his release, for which the FARC were demanding a $5 million ransom payment. Larsson was the only Swede to be held hostage around the world.
The Caucasus has been host to thousands of kidnappings over the last decade, particularly in Chechnya and the nearby republics of Ingushetia and Dagestan. Following the Russian-Georgian conflict over South Ossetia last year, this province – as well as the contested area of Abkhazia – also has been affected by the crime. The BBC this weekend profiled the victims of abductions in South Ossetia. While ransoms are occasionally the purpose, more often the reason is to instil fear and drive out the local population. The Georgian organisation Century 21 is working hard to document such abuses and seek justice for those affected.
The three MSF workers abducted last week in Darfur are now free. Their captors freed them on Saturday, without a ransom payment, “for the sake of the nation”.
Posted by radiocaptivity 
Posted by radiocaptivity 
Posted by radiocaptivity 
