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CNN Sunday Morning
U.S. Troops Help Fight Muslim Rebels in Philippines
Aired March 17, 2002 - 08:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to another front in the war against terror, U.S. special forces have been helping Filipino troops fight the Muslim rebels in the south of that country. The rebels who have been linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network are still holding an American couple hostage.
As Maria Ressa explains, kidnapping for ransom has become a multimillion dollar business for the rebels.
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MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the jungles of Basilan in the southern Philippines, thousands of Philippine troops, backed by 160 U.S. special forces, are looking for the Abu Sayyaf, an al Qaeda-linked group holding three hostages: Americans Martin and Gracia Burnham, and Filipina Deborah Yapp (ph). They were kidnapped nine months ago; the last of more than 200 hostages since 2000.
Kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative industry for the Abu Sayyaf. Officials here estimate the group earned about $18 million in ransom in 2000 alone. Reporting their story, as well as the plight of their hostages, carries many challenges for journalists.
ED LINGAO, FILIPINO JOURNALIST: It's dangerous for your peace of mind. It's also dangerous for your body. It's also dangerous for your wallet.
RESSA: It began when the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped this group of 21 tourists and workers from a Malaysian resort. Hundreds of international journalists came to the southern Philippines and found it difficult to do the story without access to the camps of the Abu Sayyaf. To get that, many admit they paid.
PEKKA MYKANNEN, FINNISH JOURNALIST: This is normal. Journalists are working in crisis situations, war areas. They are familiar with bribing the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from the ground just for their own security or access. But in this case, the camp became like a railway station of journalists.
RESSA: In the camp, they had a makeshift price list telling journalists how much they had to pay for a picture or an interview. Many international journalists paid in cash. Local journalists paid in (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Whatever the Abu Sayyaf wanted -- a watch on a journalist's wrist, another man's shoes. MARITES VITUG, EDITOR: Filipino journalists can't afford to pay such amounts to the Abu Sayyaf. So when the foreign journalists came in, this idea that they had the money to pay, so Abu Sayyaf made demands freely. Imagine hitting two birds with one stone. They can get media (UNINTELLIGIBLE). At the same time, they get rich for it.
RESSA: Much of what the Abu Sayyaf learned may have come from this woman, local journalist Aryln de la Cruz. This tape shot by De la Cruz was the first video of the hostages from the Malaysian resort. With their kidnappers behind her, here is one question she asked all the hostages...
ARYLN DE LA CRUZ, JOURNALIST: Who do you blame for this incident, the militia or the Philippine government?
RESSA: Local media reports say this tape was sold for $15,000. Last year, De la Cruz scored another exclusive, this time with the American hostages. That tape was offered to American networks, including CNN, which declined the deal. But an American network did buy the material and flew De la Cruz to New York to talk about the Abu Sayyaf.
Now, a new twist. De la Cruz has bee missing since January 19th, when she went to Basilan to again interview the hostages. A former hostage negotiator says De la Cruz phoned him to say she was being held for ransom.
LINGAO: It's surprising, but nobody seems to be so alarmed. In fact, you know, fellow journalists are wondering if it's a gimmick. This is all so tragic. We don't know if it is or if it is not.
RESSA: She wouldn't be the first journalist to be kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf. In 2000, nearly 30 journalists, many of whom walked into their camp, were held by the Abu Sayyaf until money was paid for their release.
(on camera): Journalists here point out much that has been written the past three years criticizes the Philippine government for condoning and, in some cases, helping pay ransom for the release of hostages without looking at the role media has played in the growth of that greed for money.
Maria Ressa, CNN, Manila.
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