NEWSFLASH
3 FRENCH JOURNALISTS, TV PREACHER’S GROUP NOW HOSTAGES
Jolo, Sulu, July 11, 2000 - The Abu Sayyaf which is holding 20 mostly foreign hostages and a German journalist, yesterday confirmed that it has detained three members of a French television crew Sunday.
A French journalist who stayed behind said her colleagues were held in the kidnapper's lair in Talipao. Paris on Monday ordered the pullout of all French journalists in this town.
The TV crew members were identified as writer Maryse Christine Burgot, 36, cameraman Jean Jacques le Garrec, 46, and sound engineer Roland Madura, of the TV network France 2 Broadcasting Corp.
A source said the kidnappers were demanding a still unspecified amount of ransom, and that negotiations by independent "facilitators" to free the French mediamen were ongoing.
Sources close to the rebels said three were being held together with 13 Filipino TV evangelists near the village of Dali in Talipao. Sulu police chief Candido Casimiro said, "The French TV crew were forewarned by the police and by their fellow reporters, but like the rest of the foreign reporters ... they were stubborn and sneaked into the rebel camp."
The French journalist who stayed behind, Corinne Gaucherand, 47, said she was ordered by her government to return to Manila.
"The French ambassador told me to return to Manila today for my safety," Gaucherand said here before boarding a ferry that would take her to Zamboanga City where French embassy officials were waiting.
Gaucherand said local electric cooperative manager, Dell Tulawie, helped Burgot's group go to the Abu Sayyaf camp to interview the French hostages.
"I am very afraid and worried about my three companions," said Gaucherand.
She said Burgot was carrying a portable satellite phone but did not communicate with her.
"I really do not know what happened to them, but they were inside the camp of Commander Robot (Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang's nickname)," she said.
The kidnappers have been holding eight Malaysians, three Germans, two French, two Finns, two South Africans, two Filipinos and one Lebanese since April 23 when they were abducted from the Sipadan resort in Malaysia.
The kidnappers have demanded $1 million for each of the 20 captives.
German reporter Andreas Lorenz of the Der Spiegel magazine who was covering the hostage situation was abducted on July 2 by men who had offered to help him meet the kidnappers.
There has been no word about his release. Local villagers said a Caucasian, believed to be Lorenz, was sighted in Talipao's hinterlands, but this could not be independently confirmed.
Lorenz was seized a day after the evangelists led by pastor Wilde Almeda of the Jesus Miracle Crusade Internal Ministry sneaked inside the rebel camp in Talipao town.
The Abu Sayyaf, in a statement signed by its five leaders, said Almeda and his 12 followers were now among their hostages. The kidnappers earlier said the group was free to go.
The statement was signed by Mujib Susukan, "provincial commander;" Ghalib Andang, "chief, striking force;" Raddulan Sahiron, "chief of staff;" Abu Jumdail, "state chairman;" Nadzmie Saabdullah, "chair, political affairs," and Abu Abdel Aziz, "secretary general."
The statement was distributed to mediamen by the Abu Sayyaf, who said they would give a copy of the statement in exchange for two cellular phones. The statement warned of "negative repercussion" if the kidnappers' two new demands were not met.
The statement demanded the immediate withdrawal of all military forces from territories controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front within seven days, "otherwise negative repercussion to the 13 new captives shall be inevitable effective July 17."
The second demand was that "the five million followers of the JMC as claimed by Reverend Almeda and company must immediately appeal to the United Nations to look into the plight of the Bangsamoro people in their homeland.
The statement said the Abu Sayyaf leaders decided to take captive Almeda's group because there were undercover policemen and government agents in the group.
It said the group "violated the sanctity of our homeland... openly and insensitively conducted proselytizing acts without due regard and respect for Islam not to mention our freedom to worship and belief free from any disturbance and interference from any group."
Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. said: "We've already made so many requests for the media, foreign and local, not to go there anymore and allow the negotiators to do their jobs. It's already complicated as it is ... We've already shown so many times that it doesn't make sense to go there. It doesn't pay to go there. In fact you would have to pay to go there and it may cause bigger problems on the release of hostages already there."
President Estrada, in an ambush interview at Villamor Airbase upon his arrival from Camp Abubakar, said government chief negotiator Robert Aventajado was still working for the release of the hostages, including German couple Werner and Renate Wallert.
The Wallert couple suffered a stroke Saturday during the birthday bash of their son Marc, also an Abu Sayyaf captive. Werner Wallert has asked the President to work for their release first because of their health condition.
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