ERIK DE CASTRO, Jolo | Tuesday 2.30pm.
DECLARING they wanted peace, about 100 armed Islamic rebels descended from their mountain hideout in the southern Philippines on Tuesday to negotiate on the fate of 21 mostly foreign hostages.
The unexpected meeting between the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas and Moslem provincial governor Abdusakur Tan in a local town hall revived hopes of a breakthrough in the stalled talks for the release of the hostages.
The captives — three Germans, nine Malaysians, two French, two South Africans, two Finns, two Filipinos and one Lebanese — were kidnapped from a Malaysian dive resort on April 23 and brought to Jolo, 960 km south of Manila.
“Let’s talk about peace,” rebel leader Galib Andang — also called Commander Robot — told journalists before he entered the town hall, brandishing an assault rifle, to meet Tan.
The governor and the rebel embraced and kissed each other as they met. Another Abu Sayyaf leader, Mujib Susukan, joined them in a room for talks.
The two guerrillas were escorted into the hall by 10 other rebels wearing black ski masks.
After an hour, Tan came out with an arm thrown around Andang’s shoulders and said: “They gave me verbal demands. I cannot tell you what they are.”
On Monday, the guerrillas snubbed a meeting with presidential adviser Robert Aventajado, who flew back to Manila on Tuesday for consultations with President Joseph Estrada.
Estrada has designated Aventajado head of the government negotiating panel which includes Tan, governor of the Sulu archipelago, of which Jolo is the main island.
The hostage crisis is a major embarrassment for Estrada, whose popularity since he swept into office two years ago has dwindled owing to perceptions of a lack of firm leadership.