BlackRain
07-11-2004, 06:40 PM
Family Pray as Deadline Passes for Filipino Hostage
BUENAVISTA, Philippines (*******) - Relatives and friends of a Filipino hostage being held by militants in Iraq prayed at his house into the early hours as a deadline for his execution passed with no news of his fate.
The relatives had already complained bitterly at their government's refusal to bow to the demands of Angelo de la Cruz's captors and pull its troops out of Iraq ahead of time.
The family had been told by the government on Saturday that De la Cruz was about to be freed, but their celebrations turned sour when the militants issued a new threat to kill him if Manila did not agree by 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday to withdraw its 51 humanitarian troops by July 20.
The Philippines said it would withdraw its 51-member peacekeeping force from Iraq on Aug. 20, as planned. The announcement satisfies a demand of the militants holding the Filipino hostage, but the government did not say whether there was a connection.
Government officials in Manila said shortly after the deadline passed that they had received no new information.
Foreign Secretary Delia Albert told a news conference on Sunday there was no change in plans to withdraw on August 20.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a staunch ally of the United States, is facing heavy pressure to save De la Cruz, who was abducted last week near the Iraqi town of Falluja while driving a fuel shipment from Saudi Arabia.
He is a native of her home province and one of at least 4,000 Philippine civilians working in Iraq, many employed by contractors and working in U.S. military bases.
"Mrs Arroyo should make a firm stand," Wilma de la Cruz, Angelo's niece, told a news conference at the family's flimsy house in rural Pampanga province, north of Manila, on Sunday.
"She should save my uncle's life and not consider what benefits she might get from supporting the U.S. war in Iraq."
Three hours before the deadline, De la Cruz's wife boarded a flight to Jordan, where government officials said she would make a televised appeal to his kidnappers.
Special masses were held in Roman Catholic churches around the country and Muslim clerics joined the appeals.
HOPES DASHED
Leftist groups opposed to the government's support of the U.S. military campaign in Iraq demanded that Arroyo withdraw the force. The powerful Catholic Church has also called on her to intervene.
"Gloria has to make only one decision to stop the execution. Bring home our troops and condemn the war against Iraq," said Chat Dimaano, a spokeswoman for the Migrante group representing overseas workers.
The Philippines sent its top Middle East diplomat to Baghdad to negotiate for De la Cruz's release and pleaded with the militants not to kill him after the Al Jazeera television channel showed him making a "final appeal."
Arroyo was quoted by one of her ministers on Saturday as saying De la Cruz was close to release. But a Philippine diplomat in Baghdad said on Sunday it had been a "false hope."
Albert said on Saturday that Manila had already planned to pull out its token humanitarian force on August 20, when its one-year mandate expires.
De la Cruz's family said he had gone to Saudi Arabia a year ago to work as a driver after a long period of unemployment.
Three Philippine workers have been killed so far in attacks by insurgents opposed to the U.S. military presence in Iraq.
Around 8 million Filipinos work abroad to escape poverty and unemployment.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/*******20040711_328.html
BUENAVISTA, Philippines (*******) - Relatives and friends of a Filipino hostage being held by militants in Iraq prayed at his house into the early hours as a deadline for his execution passed with no news of his fate.
The relatives had already complained bitterly at their government's refusal to bow to the demands of Angelo de la Cruz's captors and pull its troops out of Iraq ahead of time.
The family had been told by the government on Saturday that De la Cruz was about to be freed, but their celebrations turned sour when the militants issued a new threat to kill him if Manila did not agree by 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday to withdraw its 51 humanitarian troops by July 20.
The Philippines said it would withdraw its 51-member peacekeeping force from Iraq on Aug. 20, as planned. The announcement satisfies a demand of the militants holding the Filipino hostage, but the government did not say whether there was a connection.
Government officials in Manila said shortly after the deadline passed that they had received no new information.
Foreign Secretary Delia Albert told a news conference on Sunday there was no change in plans to withdraw on August 20.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a staunch ally of the United States, is facing heavy pressure to save De la Cruz, who was abducted last week near the Iraqi town of Falluja while driving a fuel shipment from Saudi Arabia.
He is a native of her home province and one of at least 4,000 Philippine civilians working in Iraq, many employed by contractors and working in U.S. military bases.
"Mrs Arroyo should make a firm stand," Wilma de la Cruz, Angelo's niece, told a news conference at the family's flimsy house in rural Pampanga province, north of Manila, on Sunday.
"She should save my uncle's life and not consider what benefits she might get from supporting the U.S. war in Iraq."
Three hours before the deadline, De la Cruz's wife boarded a flight to Jordan, where government officials said she would make a televised appeal to his kidnappers.
Special masses were held in Roman Catholic churches around the country and Muslim clerics joined the appeals.
HOPES DASHED
Leftist groups opposed to the government's support of the U.S. military campaign in Iraq demanded that Arroyo withdraw the force. The powerful Catholic Church has also called on her to intervene.
"Gloria has to make only one decision to stop the execution. Bring home our troops and condemn the war against Iraq," said Chat Dimaano, a spokeswoman for the Migrante group representing overseas workers.
The Philippines sent its top Middle East diplomat to Baghdad to negotiate for De la Cruz's release and pleaded with the militants not to kill him after the Al Jazeera television channel showed him making a "final appeal."
Arroyo was quoted by one of her ministers on Saturday as saying De la Cruz was close to release. But a Philippine diplomat in Baghdad said on Sunday it had been a "false hope."
Albert said on Saturday that Manila had already planned to pull out its token humanitarian force on August 20, when its one-year mandate expires.
De la Cruz's family said he had gone to Saudi Arabia a year ago to work as a driver after a long period of unemployment.
Three Philippine workers have been killed so far in attacks by insurgents opposed to the U.S. military presence in Iraq.
Around 8 million Filipinos work abroad to escape poverty and unemployment.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/*******20040711_328.html