AUSTRALIAN officials have told the kidnappers of Sydney adventurer Warren Rodwell they want a professional police negotiator to handle negotiations for his release, rejecting a request for them to deal directly with a provincial governor in the southern Philippines, a reliable source has told the Herald.
The kidnappers had asked to negotiate Mr Rodwell’s safe release with the Governor of Zamboanga Sibugay province, Rommel Jalosjos, a former BHP Billiton chef, the source said. During phone contact with Mr Jalosjos, the kidnappers did not make any demands, according to several sources.
They had also not sent proof that Mr Rodwell was alive. Mr Jalosjos has imposed a news blackout on the kidnapping of Mr Rodwell, a former Australian soldier and prolific world traveler.
He married a Filipina, Miraflor Gutang, in the seaside town of Ipil on restive Mindanao island in June after meeting her online.
Mr Rodwell struggled violently with four gunmen posing as policemen who stormed his fortified house in a village near Ipil on December 5.
Philippine authorities have reported sightings of Mr Rodwell in the Muslim province of Basilan island, four hours by boat from Ipil. They are trying to verify information he may have been taken to the Sultan Naga Dimaporo area in northern Mindanao.
Security officials suspect the kidnappers are members of a local gang with links to the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in Basilan.
They have also not ruled out the involvement of Barahama Ali, a commander of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or former rebel leader Waning Abdulsalam, who was disowned by the front after authorities tagged him in the spate of kidnappings of foreigners and terrorism in the restive region. The Moro front has denied the involvement of Mr Ali in the kidnapping.
Philippine troops have mounted a search to rescue the Australian, but so far have made no breakthrough to accurately pinpoint his whereabouts in the region, which is notorious for kidnappings for ransoms, bombings and gun attacks.
A Philippine government official, Bonnie Galambao, the spokesman for the Ipil crisis management council, headed by the Mayor, Eldwin Alibutdan, also confirmed that the kidnappers have escaped from the military and police operation in the town.
“As far as the crisis management council is concern, the kidnappers and their hostages are no longer in Ipil and there are efforts to locate Warren Rodwell,” he said without elaborating further, noting the news blackout.(Lindsay Murdoch with Al Jacinto In Zamboanga City. Sydney Morning Herald / The Age)
Link:http://www.smh.com.au/world/officials-seek-negotiator-for-talks-with-kidnappers-20111215-1owyq.html
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