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Interview with ABU NIDAL (alias), 35, from Basilan Abu Sayyaf Group
Abu Nidal is a senior member of the Abu Sayyaf Basilan Island group, and a close confidante and personal bodyguard of Abu Sayyaf group leader Khadafy Janjalani.
This interview was recorded for Foreign Correspondent with questions prepared by Evan Williams, on Friday March 1, 2002
in an undisclosed location.
Q: What do you want in exchange for the release of the Burnhams?
ABU NIDAL: The group wants the big fishing boats (owned by outsiders) to be out of Basilan waters for Moslem women students should be allowed to wear the Moslem head scarf and at physical education classes they should not wear shorts.
Q: What about the American Forces now in Basilan?
ABU NIDAL: They should get out - they should leave Basilan.
Q: What is your message to the United States forces now in Basilan?
ABU NIDAL: There's no problem because they're already here but we're asking they should not violate Islamic law.
Q: What if they do?
ABU NIDAL: We will confront them.
Q: How will the Abu Sayyaf be able to survive in the face of the American firepower and technology they either use or share with the Filipino armed forces?
ABU NIDAL: It's not a problem for us at all if they bring all their firepower and technology they are not God, only Allah is the supreme.
Q: Many say that you are simply kidnap for ransom bandits - not fighting for Islamic law et al - what's your response?
ABU NIDAL: We are not - we are doing it so that they can know that we don't want them (foreigners and other Christians) here until Islamic law is practiced here.
Q: What will happenif the ransom is not paid for the Burnhams?
ABU NIDAL: They will be killed
Q: .. Beheaded? ..
ABU NIDAL: Yes, beheaded.
Q: What will the Abu Sayyaf do if you are in fact defeated and driven from Basilan Island?
ABU NIDAL: We cannot say that we are 100 percent defeated yet on Basilan because will not be left by allah.
Q: Is it true the Filipino army shares in ransom money?
ABU NIDAL: No comment.
Q: Do they sell weapons to you?
ABU NIDAL: No comment.
Q: What is the Abu Sayyaf link with Al-Qaeda and Islamic militant groups?
ABU NIDAL: We are not one and the same but if America will not stop sending US troops here they (al-Qaeda) will not leave us behind.
Q: They will not leave you behind?
ABU NIDAL: The islamic countries will not leave us behind.
Q: What is the Abu Sayyaf fighting for?
ABU NIDAL: We will not stop fighting until the Islamic law is implemented here in Mindanao because Moslems are the original settlers here.
Q: What is the future of the Abu Sayyaf when many of your supporters have been arrested?
ABU NIDAL: It's not a problem. There are a lot of people behind us ok, let's say a lot of us have been martyred but there are still many young ones who will follow our footsteps.
Q: How will the Abu Sayyaf survive the US war on terror?
ABU NIDAL: We are not terrorists, we are not terrorists...
Q: Can the Abu Sayyaf survive?
ABU NIDAL: We will survive, God willing.
Q: What other statement would you like to add?
ABU NIDAL: Hopefully we in the Philippines, our difficulties and problems which are now only at ninety percent, will not be added to with the arrival of the Americans, because the problems will grow to three hundred percent now they are here.
Why would they come here to solve our problem - the problem between us Filipinos? They come here even before they have solved their problem with the Taliban.
They should have solved... first solved the Taliban - then come to the Philippines.
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