A Malaysian emissary tapped to negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf kidnapers for the safe recovery of two remaining kidnapped Malaysian citizens has called on the military to mount their rescue operation against their captors in Pandami, Sulu. The emissary contacted Sun.Star Zamboanga Thursday, identifying the two remaining kidnap victims as Mechu Chiong, son of a prominent practicing physician, and his unidentified cousin, both natives of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. The emissary, who withheld his name for security reasons, narrated that Chiong and his cousin met a sea mishap, in July 2003, when their sea craft capsized due to big waves that caught them near the boundary, facing Tawi-Tawi island. "They were saved by fishermen who came to their rescue, but the Abu Sayyaf bandits, led by a certain Comdr. Murphy,| Abu Sayyaf Commander Murphy? |
| He's ruthless. His word is law... |
"The Philippine military should now conduct its rescue operation against their kidnapers who were also involved in past kidnappings, particularly the Sipadan abduction of various foreign nationals in 2000," the emissary said. The emissary also said that the same group of Murphy was responsible for the abduction and the massacre of the three traveling merchants from Macabebe, Pampanga, the other day. The incident happened in Pandami, the emissary clarified to Sun.Star. One survivor escaped unscathed from the Abu Sayyaf on January 8. The remains of the three slain merchandize peddlers were flown last Wednesday by a C-130 military plane to their hometown in Luzon.
The emissary said he is warning Comdr. Murphy, who is known to have relatives in Sabah, Malaysia, that their group will also take hostage Murphy's kin in their town estate of Sabah to show their vengeance against this kidnap band. "We will arrest and detained all his (Murphy) relatives and his followers in our place if they will not release our two nationals," the emissary vowed. He urged the Philippine military to launch its all-out rescue operation against the kidnapers as the negotiation with the Abu Sayyaf kidnapers has already bogged down.
The emissary revealed that the Abu Sayyaf kidnapers are holed-out with their two captives, at Sitio Tumbagaan, a remote island of Pandami, in Sulu. He said the military should concentrate its operation in this particular island and, if possible, consider as their primordial concern the safety of the two kidnap victims. "It has been more than a year now, and we are already tired negotiating with this kidnappers and nothing happens," the emissary related his despair. The emissary said both the provincial ladders of Tawi-Tawi and Sulu are aware of the incident, as they are also trying to help out in the peaceful negotiation for their release discreetly. According to a reliable military source in Jolo, Task Force Comet, under Army General Agustin Dema-ala, has already mounted its rescue operation in an effort to get rescue the two Malaysian captives from the hands of their Abu Sayyaf captors. The Southern Command here has yet to confirm the reported incident.
| Murphy? |