Manila Says it Will Withdraw from Iraq
Philippines to comply with captors’ demands ‘as soon as possible’
Philippine hostage Angelo dela Cruz begs his government to withdraw troops from Iraq in a video shown Saturday on Al-Jazeera.
(MSNBC)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Facing a deadline set by militants to behead a Philippine hostage, the Philippines said Monday that it would withdraw its forces from Iraq “as soon as possible.”
In a statement he read on the Arab-language news channel Al-Jazeera, Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Seguis said his country’s “humanitarian forces” would be pulled “in response to your request.”
The deadline for the execution of the hostage, Angelo dela Cruz, 46, a truck driver, passed in silence at 3 a.m. Tuesday in his home village (3 p.m. ET Monday) as family and friends exhausted by days of uncertainty slept.
Al-Jazeera broadcast a videotape earlier Monday in which the militant group, the Iraqi Islamic Army-Khaled bin Al-Waleed Corps, said dela Cruz had been taken to the place where he would be killed if the Philippines failed to agree to pull its troops from Iraq by July 20. It said its had done everything in its power to prove that it wanted to spare his life.
Dela Cruz was shown pleading for his life in the new video, in which he asked that his body be sent to the Philippines for burial should he be killed. He was wearing an orange garment similar to those worn by two other hostages who have been beheaded: U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg and South Korean translator Kim Sun-il.
Confusion Over Deadline
The group originally had said it would kill dela Cruz by Sunday if the Philippines did not comply. The Philippines government said Monday morning that the group had extended the deadline by 48 hours, until 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, but in its new videotape and statement, the group said it was extending the deadline for only 24 hours.
Up until Seguis announced his government’s compliance, the Philippines had rejected the demand and said its 51 soldiers and police would leave Aug. 20, as scheduled.
U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone expressed support for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s efforts to obtain the hostage’s release while remaining one of Washington’s closest supporters in the war on terrorism.
“She’s shown a deep, deep care for this hostage but also careful of the country’s long-term interests,” he said on ABS-CBN TV.
A protester shouts anti-government slogans last week during a rally outside the Foreign Affairs Department in Manila.
The drama has prompted prayer vigils throughout the sprawling Philippine archipelago. On a Manila street, taxi drivers lit candles on a roadside and prayed for dela Cruz. Television and radio stations in the predominantly Roman Catholic country broadcast appeals by Muslim and Christian leaders for his release.
A senior government official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that dela Cruz may now be in custody of another cell of the same group of militants that seized him.
He said government negotiators were trying to contact the kidnappers through intermediaries, including Pakistani officials in Baghdad who had secured the release of one of their citizens.
Hope for Bulgarian Captives
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. The new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, pulled out the troops soon after taking office.
Militants also tried to pressure South Korea by kidnapping Kim in Iraq and demanding that Seoul drop plans to deploy 3,000 troops beginning in August. South Korea refused, and Kim was beheaded last month.
Bulgaria said, meanwhile, that it was still confident that two of its nationals were alive despite the passing of an execution deadline Friday.
“We ... have enough operational data which show that the two are alive and that the captors are receiving our messages through the Arabic satellite television Al Jazeera and the Bulgarian media,” Defense Minister Nikolai Svinarov said.
Kidnappers threatened to kill the Bulgarians within 24 hours unless the United States freed Iraqi prisoners.
President Bush spoke Sunday with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and received reassurances that Bulgaria’s troop commitment in the country remained strong despite the threats. Bush offered to assist but refused to negotiate with terrorists, the White House said.
Bulgaria has a 480-member infantry unit in Iraq that is under Polish command in the city of Karbala. Its main duties are patrolling the center of the city and guarding public buildings.
Five Bulgarian soldiers died in a suicide attack against their base in December. In April, a sixth Bulgarian was killed in a skirmish with insurgents.
Philippines to comply with captors’ demands ‘as soon as possible’
Philippine hostage Angelo dela Cruz begs his government to withdraw troops from Iraq in a video shown Saturday on Al-Jazeera.
(MSNBC)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Facing a deadline set by militants to behead a Philippine hostage, the Philippines said Monday that it would withdraw its forces from Iraq “as soon as possible.”
In a statement he read on the Arab-language news channel Al-Jazeera, Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Seguis said his country’s “humanitarian forces” would be pulled “in response to your request.”
The deadline for the execution of the hostage, Angelo dela Cruz, 46, a truck driver, passed in silence at 3 a.m. Tuesday in his home village (3 p.m. ET Monday) as family and friends exhausted by days of uncertainty slept.
Al-Jazeera broadcast a videotape earlier Monday in which the militant group, the Iraqi Islamic Army-Khaled bin Al-Waleed Corps, said dela Cruz had been taken to the place where he would be killed if the Philippines failed to agree to pull its troops from Iraq by July 20. It said its had done everything in its power to prove that it wanted to spare his life.
Dela Cruz was shown pleading for his life in the new video, in which he asked that his body be sent to the Philippines for burial should he be killed. He was wearing an orange garment similar to those worn by two other hostages who have been beheaded: U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg and South Korean translator Kim Sun-il.
Confusion Over Deadline
The group originally had said it would kill dela Cruz by Sunday if the Philippines did not comply. The Philippines government said Monday morning that the group had extended the deadline by 48 hours, until 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, but in its new videotape and statement, the group said it was extending the deadline for only 24 hours.
Up until Seguis announced his government’s compliance, the Philippines had rejected the demand and said its 51 soldiers and police would leave Aug. 20, as scheduled.
U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone expressed support for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s efforts to obtain the hostage’s release while remaining one of Washington’s closest supporters in the war on terrorism.
“She’s shown a deep, deep care for this hostage but also careful of the country’s long-term interests,” he said on ABS-CBN TV.
A protester shouts anti-government slogans last week during a rally outside the Foreign Affairs Department in Manila.
The drama has prompted prayer vigils throughout the sprawling Philippine archipelago. On a Manila street, taxi drivers lit candles on a roadside and prayed for dela Cruz. Television and radio stations in the predominantly Roman Catholic country broadcast appeals by Muslim and Christian leaders for his release.
A senior government official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that dela Cruz may now be in custody of another cell of the same group of militants that seized him.
He said government negotiators were trying to contact the kidnappers through intermediaries, including Pakistani officials in Baghdad who had secured the release of one of their citizens.
Hope for Bulgarian Captives
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. The new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, pulled out the troops soon after taking office.
Militants also tried to pressure South Korea by kidnapping Kim in Iraq and demanding that Seoul drop plans to deploy 3,000 troops beginning in August. South Korea refused, and Kim was beheaded last month.
Bulgaria said, meanwhile, that it was still confident that two of its nationals were alive despite the passing of an execution deadline Friday.
“We ... have enough operational data which show that the two are alive and that the captors are receiving our messages through the Arabic satellite television Al Jazeera and the Bulgarian media,” Defense Minister Nikolai Svinarov said.
Kidnappers threatened to kill the Bulgarians within 24 hours unless the United States freed Iraqi prisoners.
President Bush spoke Sunday with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and received reassurances that Bulgaria’s troop commitment in the country remained strong despite the threats. Bush offered to assist but refused to negotiate with terrorists, the White House said.
Bulgaria has a 480-member infantry unit in Iraq that is under Polish command in the city of Karbala. Its main duties are patrolling the center of the city and guarding public buildings.
Five Bulgarian soldiers died in a suicide attack against their base in December. In April, a sixth Bulgarian was killed in a skirmish with insurgents.
