Evangelists Escape from Philippine Muslim Rebels

yahoo.com news ^ | April 19, 2003 | Reuters

[Cincinatus' Wife]

MANILA (Reuters) - Two out of four Filipina women held by Muslim rebels for nearly eight months escaped on Saturday as the guerrillas slept, worn down by relentless army pursuit, President Glorial Macapagal Arroyo said.

The four women evangelists from the Jehovah's Witnesses were seized by Abu Sayyaf guerrillas along with two male preachers in August 2002. The two men were beheaded and the two other female evangelists remain in the hands of the rebels.

"The confusion in the enemy camp enabled the two women to abscond," Arroyo told a news conference in northern Baguio city.

"Day by day we are nearing the dawn of stability and peace in Sulu. There's no turning back. The terrorists are nearing the end of the road and the hopes of the people of the Sulu will soon be redeemed," Arroyo said in the news conference, carried live on local radio.

The women were being held in the interior of the rugged Jolo island, the biggest among the Sulu group of islands which stretch between the Philippines and Borneo.

The two hostages made their dash for freedom around midnight when the rebels, exhausted after fleeing government troops, fell asleep near villages close to the town of Patikul on Jolo.

They reached a highway by Saturday morning, hitched a ride on a passenger jeep and were taken given shelter by a professor from Mindanao State University who lives in Jolo city.

"The victims are all right now, but they have to be re-examined and undergo a thorough medical check up," Brigadier General Romeo Tolentino told reporters.

The Philippines is due to hold a second round of joint military exercise with the United States this year in the Sulu islands to help local soldiers fight terrorism. Last year, U.S. and Philippine soldiers trained together on nearby Basilan island, another Abu Sayyaf stronghold.

The evangelists' escape comes about a week after an Indonesian sailor fled the Abu Sayyaf. He was the third to escape out of four Indonesians seized by the rebels from a tugboat in June 2002. The fourth died in captivity.

The Abu Sayyaf, the most violent of several rebel groups fighting for an Islamic homeland in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines, is blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organization with links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

[backhoe]

-Jihad! Across the World....--

[Cincinatus' Wife]

November 16, 2001 - bin Laden's Philippine cell: 7 win freedom; missionaries still held

June 7, 2002 - Philippines: Report - Abu Sayyaf hostage Martin Burnham killed, Gracia rescued

[xm177e2]

They are not "rebels" they are "TERRORISTS!" Arrrgh.

[backhoe]

Links copied & transferred- thanks!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

"TERRORISTS!"

Bump!

[neutrino]

Hmm. One might start to perceive a connection between "terrorism" and "moose limb", mightn't one?

[ChadGore]

Wooohooooo !! *Applause*

[anniegetyourgun]

Glad they were able to escape. The P.I. seems to be an increasingly dangerous place.

[TLBSHOW]

islam is not peace

[NormsRevenge]

Bump.

This is Good News!

BTW, We have troops on more "training missions" in the P.I. as of last week.

The noose is tightnening.

Expect more Good News soon.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

They're "militants" er...wait..."activists". Yeah, they're activists, trust me. Gotta love the media.

[Psycho_Bunny]

[unspun]

Cult recruiters escape from Islamist terrorists. From the frying pan into the fire.

[VOA]

The Abu Sayyaf, the most violent of several rebel groups fighting for an Islamic homeland in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines...

Overheard at Abu Sayyaf headquarters:
"What do we have to do to get the Reuters upgrade from 'rebels' to 'terrorists'?
How long will Reuters relegate us to the minor leagues. D-mn you Reuters!"

(end sarcasm mode...)

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[PistolPaknMama]

You left out "peace - loving." Peace loving activists.

[sibb1213]

My 20 year old niece is planning a missionary trip to the Phillipines the end of May. I'm terrified for her but she and her parents are putting it into God's hands. I on the other hand am asking God to keep her here. I told her I'm sure they need missionaries in Bermuda or maybe another warmer place. It really does scare me.

[anniegetyourgun]

It's a walk of faith, to be sure. As for me, I'm hoping my church will organize a mission trip to Iraq. I'd like to call it "Operation Iraqi Freedom In Christ." Ya' like it?

[myprecious]

A young lady in our church had a mission trip planned to remote Southeastern China in May. Just found out her trip was put on hold due to SARS. It is very dangerous out there...