Abu Sayyaf have money, men, arms

The leaders of the hostage-taking Abu Sayyaf group have money, lap top computers, high-calibre firearms, and 40 new recruits, said a former hostage who was held captive in the south for three years.

About 40 newly recruited Abu Sayyaf members were trained by Khadaffy Janjalani, Abu Sayyaf's chieftain, Abu Suleiman, an Abu Sayyaf leader, and two Arab-speaking and Indonesian-looking foreigners in Sulu last March, said Roland Ulla, who was released last week, after three years of captivity in Sulu, the turf of the hostage-taking group.

Last year, the foreigners arrived in Sulu with Janjalani. They gave them training on bombings and demolitions, combat, and other military operations at the Abu Sayyaf camp in the hinterlands of Sulu, he said. But the recruits, including Janjalani, Sulaiman, and the foreign leaders left Sulu, for the mainland last March, said Ulla.

He said the new Abu Sayyaf recruits were young residents of Basilan. The two foreigners, who were instructors on terrorism, were between 28 and 30 years old. "They spoke Arabic to Janjalani but a few also spoke Tagalog during the training. The Abu Sayyaf leaders wanted to release me, but the leaders decided against it when they found out that I have contact with the Malaysian police. I tried to convince them that I was not harmful but they did not listen to me.

"They also threatened to kidnap my wife and two children, if I did not cooperate with them. I was forced to cook for them. I was like a slave to them. I had to carry heavy firearms for them while we were forced to run for safety in the forest.

"I really felt bad when I learnt that the military believes that I served as a mole for the hostage-takers when they went to abduct their victims in Malaysia. I am willing to help the military because I know a lot of things about the Abu Sayyaf group. At the same time, I wish for economic and livelihood assistance."

His recent reunion with his wife and two children in Zamboanga City, was not very warm. He said: "I do not seem to adjust to my newfound freedom." Ulla, 43, was abducted together with 20 German, French, Finnish, South African and Malaysian tourists from a resort in Malaysia's Sipadan Island on April 23, 2000.