ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 09 Jul) – The Papal Institute for Foreign Missions doubted government reports that the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group is holding its priest Giancarlo Bossi in the southern Philippines.
Bossi was kidnapped June 10 in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay.
Acting Filipino Defense chief Norberto Gonzales has told Margherita Boniver, special envoy of the Italian government, that the 57-year old priest from Milan is being held by Abu Sayyaf militants.
Philippine military and police officials have tagged Akiddin Abdusallam, a rogue leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as mastermind in the kidnapping.
The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group has denied involvement in the kidnapping, but said Bossi’s captors were demanding “tens of millions of pesos” in ransom.
“The theory that Abu Sayyaf [“sword bearers” in the local language, referring to a radical group inspired by Al-Qaeda based in the southern Philippines] is behind the abduction of Fr Giancarlo Bossi does not hold water.”
“Rather, from what we know, he is being held hostage by a gang of criminals,” Fr Luciano Benedetti was quoted by PIME’s AsiaNews as saying.
Benedetti has been following developments in the kidnapping case closely from the start from the regional house of PIME in Zamboanga.
Boniver, who was in the Philippines last week, also expressed caution about Abu Sayyaf. “There are other theories about the kidnappers, for example, the head of the army mentioned former members of the Islamic Liberation Front,” she told AsiaNews.
In fact, the kidnapping of the missionary of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME) has taken place at a politically sensitive time for Manila.
Experts on the Philippines have told AsiaNews that “bringing in the Islamic extremists of Abu Sayyaf could mean many things, and it is not a foregone conclusion that they have anything to do with the kidnapping of the Italian priest”.
“In the first place, the entry into force of a new anti-terrorism law is anxiously awaited in the country. It is scheduled for 15 July and will give the army practically unlimited powers.
Indicating Islamic extremists as the instigators of the kidnapping will pave the way for the government to order a military blitz that would very dangerous for the safety of the hostage’s life.”
“What’s more, if the government theory is credited, it would be fair to expect more participation in the searches by the United States, which in the meantime could guarantee substantial funding which Manila needs,” it said in a report published Monday.
The AsiaNews reported: “There are gaping inconsistencies in the entire affair: if no one has yet made real contact with the kidnappers, then there is no basis to establish their identity. It should be considered that, as in all cases of abduction which take place in the Philippines, there have been many requests for money in exchange for information, a practice that Abu Sayyaf does not allow when it is really at work, because it would not want to diminish its action.”
And finally, “the area of Payao, where Fr Bossi was kidnapped, is not a zone of action of the Islamic radicals. If one speaks about former members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, this must mean common bandits in search of money, and not still more determined extremists,” it said.
Benedetti was kidnapped in 1998 by rogue MILF rebels in Zamboanga del Norte province and freed ten weeks later after government negotiators paid huge ransom to his captors. (AsiaNews)
Showing posts with label AsiaNews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AsiaNews. Show all posts
Monday, July 09, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
RP Troops Surround Lair Of Italian Priest Kidnappers
ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 16 Jun) – Filipino troops have surrounded a mountain area where Muslim rebels are believed holding a kidnapped Italian Catholic priest in the restive region of Zamboanga, officials said.
Rouge members of the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, kidnapped Fr Giancarlo Bossi, of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME), after celebrating mass June 10 in the village of Bulawan in Zamboanga Sibugay’s Payao town.
The MILF, which is helping Philippine soldiers rescue the missioner, said its fighters destroyed the twin-engine speedboat used by gunmen in spiriting Bossi to a town called Naga, also in Zamboanga.
“Our troops have surrounded the area where the priest is believed being held hostage. We have blockades at sea and on land to prevent the kidnappers from escaping.”
“It is only a matter of time before we can back the Italian priest,” the commander of the Army’s First Infantry Division, Major General Nehemias Pajarito, told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
But there were no reports about Bossi’s fate. The MILF is helping Filipino security forces rescue the 57-year old priest.
The MILF forged an agreement in 2004 that paved the way for rebel forces to help government hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in areas where the rebel group is actively operating.
The MILF said it is working closely with the government through the ad-hoc joint action group to track down criminals and terrorists.
A U.S. EP-3 Orion reconnaissance plane is also helping in the search in the mountainous area of Zamboanga Sibugay.
The kidnappers also tried, but failed to hand over the priest to Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda in Basilan island.
Filipino authorities tagged a rogue MILF leader Akiddin Abdusallam and his brother Waning Abdusallam, in the kidnapping of Bossi, a native of Abbiategrasso region (Lombardy).
In Bossi’s hometown, Italians held a silent torchlight procession and lit candles placed every night on windowsills and pray for his safe return.
A picture of Bossi also hangs from the windows of Rome’s City Hall. Another one is on display in Piazza del Campidoglio, according Saturday to PIME’s online publication, the AsiaNews.
It reported that Rome’s mayor, Walter Veltroni, said that the gesture “expresses Rome’s solidarity and hope that Bossi, who has chosen to dedicate his life to others, may soon be freed.
Fr Davide Sciocco, director of the PIME Missionary Centre in Milan, said the missionaries’ commitment in the Philippines have always pioneered inter-faith dialogue and peace-making.
“Choosing to stay in dangerous areas does not come from some kind of strange impulse but is an act of fidelity and hope for local communities who often live in difficult situations,” he said. (With a report from Joseph Danda)
Rouge members of the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, kidnapped Fr Giancarlo Bossi, of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME), after celebrating mass June 10 in the village of Bulawan in Zamboanga Sibugay’s Payao town.
The MILF, which is helping Philippine soldiers rescue the missioner, said its fighters destroyed the twin-engine speedboat used by gunmen in spiriting Bossi to a town called Naga, also in Zamboanga.
“Our troops have surrounded the area where the priest is believed being held hostage. We have blockades at sea and on land to prevent the kidnappers from escaping.”
“It is only a matter of time before we can back the Italian priest,” the commander of the Army’s First Infantry Division, Major General Nehemias Pajarito, told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
But there were no reports about Bossi’s fate. The MILF is helping Filipino security forces rescue the 57-year old priest.
The MILF forged an agreement in 2004 that paved the way for rebel forces to help government hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in areas where the rebel group is actively operating.
The MILF said it is working closely with the government through the ad-hoc joint action group to track down criminals and terrorists.
A U.S. EP-3 Orion reconnaissance plane is also helping in the search in the mountainous area of Zamboanga Sibugay.
The kidnappers also tried, but failed to hand over the priest to Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda in Basilan island.
Filipino authorities tagged a rogue MILF leader Akiddin Abdusallam and his brother Waning Abdusallam, in the kidnapping of Bossi, a native of Abbiategrasso region (Lombardy).
In Bossi’s hometown, Italians held a silent torchlight procession and lit candles placed every night on windowsills and pray for his safe return.
A picture of Bossi also hangs from the windows of Rome’s City Hall. Another one is on display in Piazza del Campidoglio, according Saturday to PIME’s online publication, the AsiaNews.
It reported that Rome’s mayor, Walter Veltroni, said that the gesture “expresses Rome’s solidarity and hope that Bossi, who has chosen to dedicate his life to others, may soon be freed.
Fr Davide Sciocco, director of the PIME Missionary Centre in Milan, said the missionaries’ commitment in the Philippines have always pioneered inter-faith dialogue and peace-making.
“Choosing to stay in dangerous areas does not come from some kind of strange impulse but is an act of fidelity and hope for local communities who often live in difficult situations,” he said. (With a report from Joseph Danda)
Monday, June 11, 2007
MILF Offers Help To Rescue Kidnapped Italian Priest In Philippines
Two undated photos of Italian missionary Fr. Giancarlo Bossi, who has been kidnapped Sunday, 10 June 2007, in Zamboanga Sibugay province in the southern Philippines. (AsiaNews)ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 10 Jun) – The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said it is helping Filipino authorities track down kidnappers of an Italian priest in Mindanao island.
Philippine authorities tagged MILF leader Akkidin Abdusalam, also known as Commander Kiddie, as behind the kidnapping Sunday of Fr. Giancarlo Bossi.
“We are still verifying the reports. The MILF is cooperating with the Philippine authorities,” a rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
Gunmen seized the 57-year old priest after celebrating mass with villagers in the town of Payao in Zamboanga Sibugay province, the Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere (PIME) said.
“We are awaiting reports about his abduction. Fr. Bossi was taken after celebrating mass in the village of Bulawan,” the regional PIME head, Fr. Giani Sandalo, told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
Authorities have previously linked Abdusallam to previous kidnappings in Mindanao and a captured Abu Sayyaf militant, Omar Opik Lasal, also tagged the MILF leader to slain Jemaah Islamiya bomber Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi.
Lasal said the rebel commander provided him and al-Ghozi and another Abu Sayyaf terrorist Abdulmukin Edris safe refuge in Mindanao when they escaped from a police detention in Manila in 2003.
Al-Ghozi and Edris were later killed in separate clashes with security forces in Mindanao. Al-Ghozi, tagged as behind the 2000 bombing in Manila, had been serving a 17-year jail term for possessing explosives when he escaped.
Bossi, who started his missionary in Payao since 1998, is the third Italian priest kidnapped in Zamboanga Peninsula in the past ten years.
Moro rebels kidnapped Fr. Luciano Benedetti, 52, in Zamboanga del Norte province in 1998 and held for nearly 10 weeks until he was freed in exchange for a huge government ransom.
In 2001, renegade MILF rebels snatched Fr. Giuseppi Pierantoni as the 44-year-old from Bologna said mass in the parish church of Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur. He escaped from his abductors after six months in captivity.
The Italian online AsiaNews on Sunday listed an overview of main abduction cases involving foreigners in Mindanao:
September 8, 1998
Fr. Luciano Benedetti, a missioner with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) is kidnapped near Sibuco town in Zamboanga del Norte province. He is released on November 16 after 68 days of captivity.
March 20, 2000
Muslim extremists from the Abu Sayyaf group abduct 29 Catholics, including many children, from a school on the island of Basilan. They demand the release of three Muslim activists imprisoned in the U.S. One of the hostages, the school's director, Claretian Fr. Roel Gallardo, is killed in April.
April 23, 2001
Abu Sayyaf terrorists capture 21 hostages on Sipadan island in Malaysia, including seven Europeans. The group is made up of a German family of three, French and a Finnish couple, nine Malaysians, two Filipinos and two South Africans. They are moved to the island of Jolo, about a 1,000 km from Manila. The kidnappers demand a huge ransom and the creation of an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
August 28, 2001
Fr. Rufus Halley, an Irish priest from the Society of St. Columban for Foreign Missions, is killed during a kidnapping attempt by the MILF in Malabang town in the Apostolic Prefecture of Marawi in Lanao del Sur province. He was involved in inter-faith dialogue.
October 17, 2001
Italian missioner Giuseppe Pierantoni is kidnapped by alleged Muslim guerrillas belonging to the Pentagon Gang while celebrating mass in a church in Dimataling town in southern Zamboanga peninsula. He is released on April 14, 2002.
June 7, 2002
Abducted on May 27, American evangelical missioner Martin Burnham dies near Sirawai, a town also on Zamboanga del Norte province during an army rescue operation. Burnham's wife is wounded but free.
“The kidnapping of Fr. Bossi is the latest of a long history of westerners abducted, almost always Christians. Kidnappers are seeking an independent Islamic state in southern Philippines. They look at fame or money by ransoms,” the AsiaNews said. (Mindanao Examiner)
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