AFP GIVES WAY TO KIDNAPPED IRISH PRIEST'S RELEASE NEGOTIATION
COTABATO, OCTOBER 17, 2009 (STAR) By John Unson – Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Victor Ibrado ordered troops surrounding the area where Irish priest Michael Sinnott is believed being held captive to suspend offensive operations meant to rescue the foreign missionary.Ibrado issued the order to allow peaceful efforts for the safe recovery of Fr. Sinnott, according to Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, commander of Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).
Dolorfino said Sinnott is being hidden in Karumatan where the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Camp Wilcom under Latip Jamad is located.
The area was the same place where former captive Italian priest Fr. Giancarlo Bossi was brought after he was abducted last June 10, 2007. Bossi was freed on July 20.
But Dolorfino said the kidnappers of Bossi and Sinnott are different personalities, emphasizing that the group that abducted the Italian priest had already been neutralized.
“But the guidance of AFP chief of staff is to give time for the peaceful means in the safe recovery of Fr. Sinnott,” Dolorfino said. “Rescue and military operation will be the last option.”
He said they are giving the local crisis committee a chance to initiate talks to convince the kidnappers to free the priest while troops continued to cordon the area and prevent the kidnappers from slipping to other areas.
Dolorfino said the kidnappers have already established contact with the local crisis committee in Pagadian City, but he assumed that the contact was just a “feeler” as there was no word of any demand.
He said they have already forwarded to the MILF central committee all the information they gathered.
Under the GRP-MILF joint communiqué that was signed in May 2002, the MILF is obliged to help interdict or arrest any criminal activity in their areas.
MILF validates abduction
The MILF has dispatched a team to validate the reported captivity of Sinnott in Barangay Payung, a hinterland area in Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Sur.
Muhammad Ameen, MILF’s chief secretariat, said their central committee is extending help to determine the whereabouts of Sinnott and his captors in keeping with preliminary agreements with the government mandating both sides to cooperate in addressing security concerns in areas covered by the ceasefire.
Ameen said the MILF has also been trying to determine the exact identities of the six gunmen that snatched Sinnott from the Columban seminary in Pagadian City Sunday night.
Local officials in Naga Dimaporo and in Sultan Gumander, Lanao del Sur have confirmed that Sinnott had been passed on to a group of gunmen in Barangay Payung.
The MILF website www.luwaran.com said the rebel group has also started looking into allegations that the kidnappers have turned Sinnott over to Jamad.
Jamad belongs to the MILF’s 113th Base Command, which operates at the border of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte.
But Jamad has denied the allegation and even welcomed the inspection of his camp.
“No one shall be exempted from our investigation on the abduction of this Irish priest,” Ameen said, at the same time calling on the police and the military not to “conclude hastily” that MILF forces were behind the abduction.
He said any attempt to directly link the MILF to the kidnapping of Sinnott could affect the efforts to restore the cordiality of the government’s peace talks with the front.
Muslims, Catholics appeal for release
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church issued an appeal to Sinnott’s kidnappers to release the 79-year-old cleric, citing his age and his delicate health.
In a letter circulated among religious leaders, Bishop Emmanuel Cabajar of the Diocese of Pagadian appealed to the suspected abductors to free the priest and “have pity on him.”
“He is a peace-loving priest and has been sincerely serving our communities for some time in good faith,” Cabajar said in his open letter.
Muslim preachers also condemned the abduction and branded the offense as an “act of Satan.”
They warned his captors that they would burn in hell.
“Islam has strong advocacy for respect of religious leaders, regardless of their religions. Kidnapping religious leaders, therefore, is a form of Satanism,” said Imam Badrudin Amerodin, a Maranaw.
Hadji Bansil Samidih, an ethnic Iranon religious leader, said kidnappings by armed Moro groups are unduly causing constraints on efforts by Islamic and Christian communities to propagate religious solidarity among Mindanao’s culturally-diverse people.
“Sometimes we in the Islamic community can’t help but conclude that there are some sectors in Mindanao that only want conflict and do not want peace,” Samidih said. – With Roel Pareño
REPORT FROM MALAYA ONLINE:
Abductors of priest are pirates: AFP BY VICTOR REYES OCTOBER 16, 2009
(MALAYA) THE Armed Forces yesterday said four of the six kidnappers of Irish priest Michael Sinnot have been identified to be pirates.
Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, head of the AFP public affairs office, also said the military has tightened its cordon at the boundary of the Lanao provinces where the Columban priest, who abducted from his house in Pagadian City Sunday, and his kidnappers were last sighted.
The cordon was set up in the forested areas of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte. On Wednesday, two Army battalions and an unknown number from the PNP joined the forces in the cordon, Brawner said.
Brawner said troops are manning "possible areas of escape, like road networks and then possible areas where they will go for re-supply and logistical support."
The military also increased to six from four the number of Navy ships conducting a naval blockade in the area.
Brawner said the pirates are led by Guingona Samal. He declined to name the three others, saying "this might impede the ongoing operations."
"This group has been involved in other crimes. They are merely bandits, that’s why they are called pirates," said Brawner of the group.
As to the condition of Sinnott, Brawner said: "We are not certain as to his exact medical condition but we are certain that he is still alive."
Brawner and 1st Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Romeo Lustestica revealed reports about the kidnappers making contact with concerned officials. Without giving further details, Lustestica said he was informed that the call was made to Columban authorities in Ozamis City.
Western Mindanao Command chief Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino confirmed that someone tried to "initiate" a contact with the Columban officials in Ozamis City yesterday but declined to give details, including the group’s demand.
Dolorfino said the call was traced to a "civilian."
Pressed on the identity of the caller, he said, "It’s confidential."
Dolorfino said it was not clear if Sinnott was with the caller.
The Crisis Management Committee tasked to secure the freedom of Sinnott said the PNP and the NBI have come up with artist sketches of three of the suspects. He said the sketches were based on the accounts of unnamed witnesses.
CMC spokesman Allan June Molde said one of the suspects 5’2" to 5’3" tall, 22 years old, with brown complexion and a slim body build.
The second has a brown complexion, black hair, of medium build, 25- 27 years old and 5’2" to 5’4" tall.
The third suspect, he said, is said to be 30-35 years old, stands 5’5" to 5’6" tall, has a dark complexion and black hair.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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