NEWSFLASH

BRUSSELS WARNS: CONFLICT MAY HALT AID TO MINDANAO

Cagayan de Oro City, Jan. 21, 2000 A European donor-country has expressed alarm over the peace and order situation in Mindanao where three agrarian reform communities Basilan, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga del Norte await release of foreign funds.

Roland Van Remorteele, Belgian ambassador to the Philippines, met with Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Edgardo Espinosa and sought government protection for Belgians living and working in Mindanao.

Espinosa said he assured Remorteele of the safety of foreigners in Mindanao and that “their development projects will not be hampered in anyway.”

Remorteele was accompanied by Lieven dela Marche, head of a Belgian-land reform project in Mindanao who was held captive by MILF rebels together with Eric Bracke in Basilan and Zamboanga del Sur last year. The Belgians were released reportedly in exchange for P100,000.