ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 17 Jul) – The Philippine military has sent a compact disc containing the recorded voice of kidnapped Italian Catholic missionary to the Papal Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) in Zamboanga City.
The PIME said the voice could belong to the 57-year old priest Giancarlo Bossi, who was kidnapped June 10 after celebrating mass in the coastal town of Payao outside Zamboanga City, said fellow Italian priest Luciano Benedetti.
Benedetti told the Union of Catholic Asian News that he listened to the recording and it sounded like Bossi’s voice. He said military officials refrained from saying how they got a copy of the 20-second voice clip.
He did not give details about the content of the compact disc, except that the voice was recorded on July 2. “PIME priests do not give much credit to this voice recording and would prefer to receive photos of Father Bossi as proof of life,” he said.
Benedetti said Italian missioners would like to hear more reports on progress of military search operations for Bossi.
He said the military has become silent about the search after 14 marines were killed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels on July 10 in Basilan province. The soldiers, ten of them beheaded, were attacked while searching for Bossi in Al-Barka town where MILF rebels were said to be holding the priest. (Mindanao Examiner)
Showing posts with label Fr Luciano Benedetti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fr Luciano Benedetti. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Negotiations Begin For Release Of Kidnapped Italian Priest In Southern Philippines
ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY (Mindanao Examiner / 17 Jul) – The Papal Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) said it has established contacts with the kidnappers holding an Italian Catholic priest hostage in the southern Philippines.
It said negotiations for the safe release of Father Giancarlo Bossi, from Milan, is going on. The clergy was kidnapped after celebrating mass on June 10 in the coastal town of Payao in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
The Catholic news agency AsiaNews said mediation for Bossi’s release still continues and that contacts are ongoing, but reported that PIME missionaries in the Philippines are cautiously optimistic.
“We are waiting for positive developments,” a PIME missionary in Zamboanga City and former hostage Father Luciano Benedetti told,” said, adding, many people were trying to help to secure the freedom of the 57-year old missioner.
“These days we have felt the sympathy of so many people and this bodes well that it might be persuasive and lead to Father Bossi’s release,” Benedetti said.
Philippine authorities tagged Akiddin Abdusallam, a leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is negotiating peace with the government. Abdusallam was also implicated in many kidnappings-for-ransom in the South.
But the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, said Abdusallam was kicked out long time ago because of his criminal past and has joined the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
Bossi is the third Italian priest kidnapped since 1998 in the southern Philippines.
Rogue MILF rebels kidnapped 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.
Benedetti now has been following developments in the Bossi kidnapping case closely from the start, from the regional house of PIME in Zamboanga City.
In 2001, renegade MILF rebels and members of the bandit group called Pentagon Gang also snatched Father Giuseppe Pierantoni as the 44-year-old from Bologna said mass in the parish church of Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur.
The priest was freed after six months in captivity in exchange for an unspecified ransom, but he claimed to have escaped from his kidnappers.
“The faithful are still calling on the Lord to free him, hoping that his kidnappers and those trying to exploit the event for political and ideological purposes might heed their words,” PIME said.
The MILF which previously offered to help rescue Bossi said the kidnappers were demanding “tens of millions of pesos” in ransom. Other reports said Bossi’s captors have asked one million dollars in exchange for his freedom.
The military said Bossi is believed to be in Basilan island, where 14 soldiers searching for the priest were attacked and killed by Abu Sayyaf militants and MILF gunmen on July 10. Ten of those of killed were beheaded and mutilated, it said.
The MILF said there were no Abu Sayyaf militants involved in the fighting triggered by the intrusion of soldiers inside a rebel stronghold. (Mindanao Examiner)
It said negotiations for the safe release of Father Giancarlo Bossi, from Milan, is going on. The clergy was kidnapped after celebrating mass on June 10 in the coastal town of Payao in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
The Catholic news agency AsiaNews said mediation for Bossi’s release still continues and that contacts are ongoing, but reported that PIME missionaries in the Philippines are cautiously optimistic.
“We are waiting for positive developments,” a PIME missionary in Zamboanga City and former hostage Father Luciano Benedetti told,” said, adding, many people were trying to help to secure the freedom of the 57-year old missioner.
“These days we have felt the sympathy of so many people and this bodes well that it might be persuasive and lead to Father Bossi’s release,” Benedetti said.
Philippine authorities tagged Akiddin Abdusallam, a leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is negotiating peace with the government. Abdusallam was also implicated in many kidnappings-for-ransom in the South.
But the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, said Abdusallam was kicked out long time ago because of his criminal past and has joined the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
Bossi is the third Italian priest kidnapped since 1998 in the southern Philippines.
Rogue MILF rebels kidnapped 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.
Benedetti now has been following developments in the Bossi kidnapping case closely from the start, from the regional house of PIME in Zamboanga City.
In 2001, renegade MILF rebels and members of the bandit group called Pentagon Gang also snatched Father Giuseppe Pierantoni as the 44-year-old from Bologna said mass in the parish church of Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur.
The priest was freed after six months in captivity in exchange for an unspecified ransom, but he claimed to have escaped from his kidnappers.
“The faithful are still calling on the Lord to free him, hoping that his kidnappers and those trying to exploit the event for political and ideological purposes might heed their words,” PIME said.
The MILF which previously offered to help rescue Bossi said the kidnappers were demanding “tens of millions of pesos” in ransom. Other reports said Bossi’s captors have asked one million dollars in exchange for his freedom.
The military said Bossi is believed to be in Basilan island, where 14 soldiers searching for the priest were attacked and killed by Abu Sayyaf militants and MILF gunmen on July 10. Ten of those of killed were beheaded and mutilated, it said.
The MILF said there were no Abu Sayyaf militants involved in the fighting triggered by the intrusion of soldiers inside a rebel stronghold. (Mindanao Examiner)
Monday, July 09, 2007
Doubts Cast On Philippine Reports About Bossi Kidnapping
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)
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)
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