Abu Sayyaf claims to have beheaded two teachers

Muslim fundamentalist guerrillas holding 29 hostages beheaded two male captives after the government failed to meet their demands, their spokesman claimed yesterday.

"Our demands were not met so we had no choice," Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Ahmad Salayuddi said over a Zamboanga City radio station. He described the execution as a "ribbon-cutting."

Ahmad said those who were beheaded were school teachers who were former soldiers.

"As former soldiers, those who were beheaded were also our enemies," he said without identifying the victims.

The military immediately vowed action against the rebel group.

"They have drawn first blood and they have signed their own death warrant," Armed Forces spokesman Col. Rafael Romero told reporters. "The military forces on the ground will take appropriate action against them."

At Malacañang, Press Secretary Ricardo Puno admitted having received confirmation of the beheading from sources he refused to reveal as of presstime last night.

"It's deplorable but in the light of this development the government will consider other options. However we will continue to act through the Crisis Management Committee which had been given the guidelines to proceed," he said.

Puno refused to further elaborate, citing the hostage situation was very sensitive and fluid.

House Assistant Minority Leader Prospero Pichay (Lakas, Surigao del Sur) condemned the beheading, terming it "a brazen act of terrorism against innocent civilians."

"Peace and the addressing of the rebels' legitimate concerns cannot be won through acts of terrorism, but only through constructive dialogue. By their action today against innocent civilians, the Abu Sayyaf has shed any semblance of legitimacy," Pichay said in a statement.

The Abu Sayyaf spokesman said that while the bodies of the two executed hostages will be buried at Camp Abdurajak, their severed heads will be brought down from the mountain lair. He said they will be shipped as a birthday gift to President Estrada, who turned 63 yesterday.

The Abu Sayyaf had demanded the release of Arab terrorists, including three held in US prisons. One of the three, Ramzi Youssef, is the convicted mastermind in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York.

Meanwhile, the military is expected to launch a massive attack anytime on the lair of the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan after the extremist group made good its threat to behead two hostages.

Romero said the government has "several military options" in dealing with the hostage crisis which can be activated once President Estrada gives the go-signal.

At Malacañang, the President told reporters the government will not be intimidated into giving in to the Abu Sayyaf threats to kill or behead any of their hostages.

The President, however, refused to say if he will authorize the military to conduct a commando-style raid to rescue the hostages.

"I cannot answer that. I think I've answered everything," he said. "I hope they (Abu Sayyaf) will be enlightened. If they still have a God, I hope God will enlighten them."

The President said he was not imposing any deadline for a resolution to the crisis in Basilan, which stemmed from a failed raid on a military outpost last March 20. The proper timing was paramount, he said, as the safe release of the hostages was still the top priority.

Asked if he was willing to speak to the extremists to help release the hostages, Mr. Estrada said why not, although he pointed out that National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre was already there to represent him.

In his weekly radio program yesterday, the President reminded the Abu Sayyaf, now known as the Al Harakatul Islamia, that their Allah would not countenance such barbaric acts as the beheading of people.

It was easy, he said, to order a counter-offensive to rescue the captives, but the safety of the hostages might be compromised.

On the demands of the rebel band, he said the release of terrorists from US jails was entirely out of his hands. This was why, he said, he supported the proposal of the Armed Forces for the local press not to give so much media coverage to the Abu Sayyaf.

Based on the analysis of military intelligence experts, the President explained that the Abu Sayyaf demand for the release of Youssef was obviously aimed at generating financial support from Islamic fundamentalist countries.

Aside from the release of Arab terrorists in both US and local jails, the Abu Sayyaf also wants all crosses removed in Basilan; the banning of foreign fishermen in the island's fishing grounds; the practice of the Muslim religion in schools; and the presence of a Vatican representative in the negotiations.

The group's wish to have actor Robin Padilla as government panel negotiator had been granted, and this led to the release of two hostaged children.

Salayuddi said: "For every negative reaction of President Estrada means another execution," stressing the beheading yesterday was the decision of a committee formed by the extremists. --With Marichu Villanueva, Efren Danao, Sandy Araneta, Jess Diaz, AFP