UFO Info Week-End

The hostage crisis in the Philippines finally appeared to be nearing its end last night as the Islamic rebel group Abu Sayyaf released five

The hostage crisis in the Philippines finally appeared to be nearing its end last night, as the Islamic rebel group, Abu Sayyaf, released five of its Western captives, reportedly in return for ransoms of $1m (£680,000) each.
A German man, and four women – three French and one South African – were flown by helicopter to the city of Zamboanga from the jungle island of Jolo, where they had spent 18 weeks after being snatched from a diving resort on a Malaysian island on 23 April. From there they were due to travel to Tripoli, for an audience with the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi whose government played a central part in negotiating their release.”My son is still there – you don’t expect me to be happy,” said Werner Wallert, a 57-year-old German geography teacher, who had to be dragged away from his son, Marc. Seven Westerners remain at the rebels’ jungle camp, along with 12 Christian evangelists from the Philippines who were seized when they went into the jungle to pray for the hostages.”We were released, but there are still people who were left behind,” said a weeping Marie Moarbes, a French citizen of Lebanese origin. “It’s not finished yet for us.” None of the hostages appeared to be in bad health, but all looked thin and drawn, and several were in tears as they emerged from the jungle.”We are happy for the families and also for the countries and also for the Philippines,” said Robert Aventajado, the chief Filipino negotiator “But there is still a lot of work to be done. We are not going to stop until we have been successful in releasing all of them.”"I hope that they can recover from their ordeal and come to terms with the events that have happened,” the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroder, said. “Everything must now be done to achieve a quick and non-violent release of the remaining hostages.”The captives were to have been released en masse nine days ago, but the guerrillas reneged on the agreement at the last minute, claiming that the Philippines army was preparing to attack them after the release. The remaining hostages are expected to be set free over the next week, perhaps in several batches.All the governments concerned officially deny it, but sources close to the negotiators say that the Libyans have agreed to pay $1m for each of the hostages released.

They will also fund development projects in the southern Philippines where Abu Sayyaf is one of a number of groups fighting for an independent Islamic state.An earlier release of hostages earned the kidnappers a reported $5.5m. Before seizing the tourists, the group had no more than a few hundred members; now that number is estimated to have risen to thousands, as people flock to claim a share in Abu Sayyaf’s new-found wealth.The agreement to release the captives almost came unstitched after two suspected members of Abu Sayyaf were arrested last week, attempting to change $240,000 into Philippine pesos. The deal was saved only after the two were freed “on bail” by a local court.Apart from the guerrillas, the other beneficiary of the crisis has been Libya, which is owed favours by governments all over Europe for its efforts in the negotiations. Paris newspapers have suggested that the French government has promised Colonel Gaddafi that, 12 years after the Lockerbie bombing, Libya will be readmitted to international society as a reward for its work.

The governments deny that anything has been formally agreed.Libyan officials at Zamboanga airport were prevented yesterday by security guards from holding a portrait of Col Gaddafi up in front of television cameras.. The charismatic East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao withdrew his resignation from the biggest pro-independence group yesterday, amid confusion as to whether he will become the territory’s first president. The charismatic East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao withdrew his resignation from the biggest pro-independence group yesterday, amid confusion as to whether he will become the territory’s first president.
A spokeswoman for Mr Gusmao said delegates at a congress of his National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) had unanimously refused to accept his resignation.Mr Gusmao and his deputy, Jose Ramos-Horta, told the congress earlier yesterday that they were quitting their posts to make way for new blood.The move had been seen as a strong indication that Mr Gusmao would refuse the presidency. He has said he does not want the job, but had been expected to be drafted into the position as the only acceptable candidate. The spokeswoman said: “The delegates said: ‘If you don’t lead us, how can we go back to the people in the streets and tell them… we would be hanged.’ It was an overwhelming outburst.”East Timor is under United Nations control after voting last year to end Indonesia’s often brutal rule of more than 23 years.

The UN said last month that elections in East Timor and possibly final independence could happen by the end of 2001.Mr Gusmao, jailed by Indonesia for leading a rebellion against Jakarta’s rule, had told the congress East Timor needed new faces and increased energy. He is seen as one of the few figures capable of uniting various political factions and community groups.. Somalia inaugurated its first president in almost a decade in a colorful ceremony attended by four African leaders, a display of regional support for which Somalis were desperate. Somalia inaugurated its first president in almost a decade in a colorful ceremony attended by four African leaders, a display of regional support for which Somalis were desperate.
To the delight of Somalis glued to their televisions Sunday, President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan said he would stand up against nepotism, injustice and tribalism.”The government will safeguard the rights of every Somali citizen, giving special consideration to the rights of women and all other ill-treated ones,” said Hassan, who defeated 15 other candidates in presidential elections early Saturday.In attendance at the ceremony were the presidents of Yemen, Sudan and Eritrea, as well as the prime minister of Ethiopia.Hassan’s inauguration brought joy to Somalis who have barely slept since the election began in Arta, a small town in neighboring Djibouti where the 13-day-old Somali Parliament is currently sitting.Like the election, the inauguration, which involved artists, singers, poets and musicians from both Somalia and Djibouti, was broadcast live on television in Somalia. Hassan, a member of the powerful Hawiye clan, walked along a red carpet, placed his hand on the Koran and was sworn in.”We want a government …

police for security and schools for our children,” chanted hundreds of men, women and children as they celebrated on Mogadishu’s dusty streets, which so often in the past have been scenes of bloodshed.”We have been in a sort of captivity. We need the government to bring us freedom,” Hassan Mohamed Ali, a businessman in the central town of Baidoa, said over the telephone as people celebrated in the street outside his house.Somalia has been synonymous with chaos and violence and has had no central government since opposition leaders joined forces to oust dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Factional leaders then fought with each other, turning the Horn of Africa nation into battling fiefdoms ruled by heavily armed militias.Parliament’s election of 58-year-old Hassan, who promised to bring economic recovery and peace to the nation of 7 million, came as a result of a conference that began in Arta on May 2.The brainchild of Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh, it was the 13th attempt at finding a peaceful solution to Somalia’s lack of government.Optimism aside, some observers warned that many hurdles to peace lay ahead.”The search for peace and prosperity in Somalia will not be smooth nor will it be achieved quickly. Formidable challenges are waiting the new Somalia administrative structure,” David Stephen, the United Nations’ observer to the peace process and one of the few Westerners involved, said in his opening address.At some point soon, after a prime minister and cabinet have been appointed, the new assembly will have to move to Somalia and it is then that the body will be truly tested.