The military said yesterday that the no-ransom policy of the government stands amid the Abu Sayyaf Group’s (ASG’s) threat to behead their German hostage Jurgen Kanter if their P30-million ransom demand is not met.
AFP Public Affairs Office (PAO) chief Marine Colonel Edgard Arevalo, at the same time, said they have to validate first the two-minute and 19-second video showing a frail Kantner appealing to German and Philippine authorities to help facilitate the payment of the ransom lest he will be beheaded by 3 p.m. on February 26, 2017.
“We will look into it and we will validate for us to be sure. In the first place, personally I haven’t seen the video,” Arevalo said.
“But on the side of government we do not negotiate with terrorist, other than that we do not sanction it. The government doesn’t pay ransom and we do not pay ransom to terrorists,” Arevalo reiterated.
Arevalo, however, assured that the AFP would exert all efforts to rescue the victim.
“Especially that we now have a continuing operation against the Abu Sayyaf Group and we can see that our ongoing operations have been yielding good outcomes,” Arevalo said.
Arevalo said it has been the policy of the AFP to discourage the payment of ransom in order to discourage terrorists from making money through kidnapping.
“Yes, our position has been consistent, we discourage payment of ransom because we believe that payment of ransom continues to embolden them, continues to capacitate them and they can buy the loyalty of the community,” Arevalo stressed.
For his part, Army Colonel Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the AFP’s Joint Task Force Sulu, also stressed that paying ransom to terrorist would only strengthen them.
“We don’t support ransom because they will just build their capability some more if they have money,” Sobejana said.
Guarded by four heavily armed men believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf Group, Kanter was seen kneeling and airing his appeal in his native German language while an unidentified man was pointing a jungle bolo to his neck. Another man was recording Kanter’s appeal on video.
In the video, Kantner, clad in orange shirt and sporting a long hair and beard, said: “My name is Jurgen Kantner. And the pirates, they are giving me a last chance that they get P30 million pesos. And I want to say that the execution shall take place on the 26th at 3 in the afternoon,” Kantner said.
“If the money is not in the hands of the pirates at this time, they will behead me. And I want to ask my government to support this and maybe talk to the Philippines again to make sure that they come out with the money because obviously they already have it, the pirates are saying,” he added.
With tears flowing, Kantner ended his message by bidding goodbye to his family in case something goes wrong and no money is delivered to the terrorist group.
“And if everything goes wrong, I want to say ‘goodbye’ to my family. I don’t think I have a chance to get out here alive. Because nothing is moving. Everyone is giving the bullet to the other. I am over. I don’t have anything more to say. What will be, will be,” the victim said.
It remains unknown where and when the video of the victim was taken by the bandit group.
Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Muamar Askali alias “Abu Rami” earlier claimed to have kidnapped the 70-year-old Kantner while on board his yacht off the waters of Tanjong Luuk Pisuk, Sabah, last November.
Kantner’s female companion said to be his wife Sabrina Wetch was later found lifeless inside the yacht on Laparan Island, Pangutaran, Sulu, on November 6, 2016. (FRANCIS T. WAKEFIELD)
