Too early to consider swap, says
Government
MANILA, June 28 (Bernama) -- It
is too early to accommodate a demand by the Moro extremist Abu Sayyaf for the release of a
jailed Filipino in Malaysia in exchange for some of the 20 hostages in Jolo, an official
said Wednesday.
Press Secretary Ricardo Puno said the demand was so sensitive that the government may have
to take it up with the Malaysian government.
"Swaps might be possible depending on the terms of the swap. There cannot be any
ransom involved. It will have to depend on the specific terms of that," he told
reporters at a news briefing.
He said there had been no formal request from President Joseph Estrada or any senior
government official to work out the details of a swap.
Puno said Estrada's instructions remained for government negotiators to do what they can
under the circumstances and explore new formulas to resolve the hostage crisis.
Meanwhile, Puno questioned the seriousness of the Abu Sayyaf's other demands for females
to wear veils and to drop Christian and Western traditions such as Christmas celebrations
and junior-senior proms in high school.
"As far as I am concerned, these are not serious demands. We want to bring them back
to the basic question regarding the hostages," he said.
Puno said the government wants to go back to the issue of the release of the hostages,
following the release of one Malaysian hostage over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Presidential Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said the Philippine government
was considering the request of the Moro separatists to extend the deadline of their peace
talks beyond June 30 this year.
He said the plan takes into account the ongoing meeting of the Organisation of Islamic
Conference (OIC) in Kuala Lumpur where government and secessionist representatives are
attending.
"We will wait for the outcome of this OIC meeting," he said.
The government, he said, would decide whether to accommodate the request of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to extend the peace talks by four weeks.
Zamora said the government was informed by the MILF that its central committee leaders,
including chairman Hashim Salamat, are in Kuala Lumpur for the OIC meeting and cannot
finalise any peace pact by June 30.
He said the government was interested to know how the MILF would present its side on the
Mindanao problem during the OIC meeting.
Sincerity was a key factor for the success of the negotiations between the two sides, he
said.
"We want to see what happens in Kuala Lumpur before responding to the MILF's request
for an extension," Zamora said.
Earlier, President Joseph Estrada said he would only extend the peace talks if the MILF
would show its sincerity by dropping its demand for an independent Islamic state and
ceasing its terrorist and criminal activities.
Meanwhile, Zamora said the Philippine delegation is now in Kuala Lumpur to attend the OIC
meeting and present the Philippine side on issues concerning peace and development in
Mindanao.
He said National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre, who heads the delegation, will assert
the government's position on the implementation of its peace agreement with the mainstream
Moro National Liberation Front.
This includes the infusion of billions of pesos of funds for the development of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao under its governor, MNLF chairman Nur Misuari.
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