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Kidnappers deny freeing Filipino hostage
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-11 08:32
The Philippines confirmed Saturday it would withdraw its small peacekeeping
contingent from Iraq on Aug. 20, as planned, but it was unclear if the
announcement had saved the life of a Filipino hostage being held in Iraq.
Government officials said truck driver Angelo dela Cruz had been released,
but the Arab television station Al-Jazeera said it had received a message from
the militants denying that.
The Philippine government made no connection between the announcement about
its troops and dela Cruz's reported release. But if the release were confirmed,
it would appear the statement by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's
administration had satisfied his captors.
In Baghdad, diplomats were cautious about dela Cruz's fate.
"We're not going to say we have him until we see him," one diplomat said on
condition of anonymity.
The Islamic Army of Iraq-Khalid bin al-Waleed Brigade said in a statement
carried by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television that it would give the Philippine
government 24 hours to ensure its sincerity, but did not elaborate.
It said the Philippines must pull out its troops by July 20, a month before
the scheduled withdrawal. Until then, the captors said, dela Cruz would "be
treated as a prisoner of war, in accordance with Islamic precepts."
Iraqi militants have repeatedly used terrorist attacks to try to force
governments to withdraw from the U.S.-led occupation force.
In March, a series of terrorist bombings on commuter trains in Madrid shortly
before national elections was believed to have contributed to a victory by the
socialists, who had campaigned on a platform of withdrawing Spanish troops from
Iraq. New Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero pulled out the troops soon
after taking office.
Militants also tried to pressure South Korea by kidnapping one of its
citizens in Iraq and demanding the Asian country call off plans to deploy 3,000
troops beginning in August. South Korea refused, and the captive was beheaded
last month.
The men who snatched dela Cruz near the restive Sunni Triangle city of
Fallujah on Wednesday said they would kill him unless Manila pulled out its
51-member force within three days. The deadline was hours away late Saturday,
when the Philippine government announced his release.
"While this man is still not in our hands, he will be brought to a hotel in
Baghdad, where he will be turned over to our people," said Labor Secretary
Patricia Santo Tomas, who was staying with the hostage's family in a hotel at
the former Clark Air Base.
"He is in safe hands," added National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales.
Santo Tomas said Arroyo had called dela Cruz's wife to relay the news.
Jubilation broke out at the family home in northern Pampanga province.
"I feel so relieved," said dela Cruz's brother Jessie. "We are very happy.
Our village is celebrating."
The withdrawal announcement appeared to be deliberately ambiguous, reflecting
the fine line that the Philippines was walking to obtain dela Cruz's release
while remaining one of Washington's closest supporters.
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