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SANFORD, Florida (May 1, 2002): New Tribes Mission was made aware early this morning of a threat made against our kidnapped missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham. We have read the media reports stating that a spokesman for the Abu Sayyaf Group has made threatening remarks in response to the Philippine government's refusal to negotiate a ransom payment for the Burnhams. Any threat made against the Burnhams, or any other missionary, concerns us. Such a threat reinforces the urgency of the situation. This latest report reminds us all of the importance of praying for Martin and Gracia. Pray also for the...

Philippine Militants Threaten U.S. Missionaries By OLIVER TEVES .c The Associated Press ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (May 1) - A Muslim extremist group threatened Wednesday to kill an American missionary couple it is holding hostage, saying it is no longer interested in negotiations. The message from Abu Sabaya, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, came just days after he said the al-Qaida-linked rebels were open to ``last deal'' talks. The government responded by ruling out ransom and saying it only would negotiate the unconditional surrender of the Abu Sayyaf and the release of its hostages. The Abu Sayyaf is holding Martin...

MANILA, the Philippines (April 18, 2002): US troops have begun accompanying Filipino troops on combat patrols on the island where kidnapped NTM missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham are being held. Please pray that this development will increase pressure toward ending the captivity of the couple and their fellow hostage, Filipina nurse Deborah Yap. We continue to pray and hope for a solution that does not involve a military engagement. Reports are continuing to come in that Martin and Gracia are alive and together on Basilan Island, and that their food supply is better. However, they are still in captivity. Please...

A senior military official said yesterday that prospects "are very, very high" for the safe rescue of American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf bandits for nearly 11 months now in Basilan. Gen. Teofilo de los Santos cited as basis for his prediction the surrender over the weekend of 18 suspected Abu Sayyaf members as government troops closed in on the kidnappers. "The surrender of the group points to the fact that these people are already having limited space... to escape. They are hopelessly short of foodstuff to support their day-to-day sustenance," De...

A senior military official said yesterday that prospects "are very, very high" for the safe rescue of American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf bandits for nearly 11 months now in Basilan. Gen. Teofilo de los Santos cited as basis for his prediction the surrender over the weekend of 18 suspected Abu Sayyaf members as government troops closed in on the kidnappers. "The surrender of the group points to the fact that these people are already having limited space... to escape. They are hopelessly short of foodstuff to support their day-to-day sustenance," De...

Malacañang remained in the dark on the reported ransom negotiations for the release of American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, held hostage by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan province for nearly 11 months now. National Security Adviser Roilo Golez did not confirm or deny on-going talks with the kidnappers, but said the United States government has not wavered in its no-ransom policy. "If ever there are such negotiations, why should we talk about it openly?" Golez asked. He admitted, however, that the government was confirming if negotiations were really taking place "because there may be some people who might...

MANILA, the Philippines (April 9, 2002): New Tribes Mission has reason to believe that kidnapped missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham are alive, and relatively safe and healthy. Sources that NTM considers reliable have recently reported that Martin and Gracia are alive and together. Their kidnappers, the Abu Sayyaf Group, are reportedly holding the third hostage, Filipina nurse Deborah Yap, at another location. She is said to be tending members of the ASG who were wounded during combat with the Philippine military. Over the Easter weekend, we were concerned by reports of combat in the area where Martin and Gracia were...

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The United States military expressed hope yesterday that the three hostages being held by Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Western Mindanao would also be released like Italian priest Fr. Guiseppe Pierantoni. US army Maj. Cynthia Teramae, spokeswoman for the US forces participating in the ongoing joint RP-US military exercises, said Pierantoni’s release from the custody of the Pentagon based in Central Mindanao was a good sign. "We are proud to hear about the hostage released this morning. With the intensified operations, we hope the Burnhams and Mrs. Yap would come home very soon," Teramae said. "It shows what...

I N T E R V I E W  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...

(Philippines) -- Our newscast begins today in the Philippines, where U.S. planes have reportedly tracked down hostages that include an American missionary couple. Filipino media reports indicate Martin and Gracia Burnham may have been separated in the latest bid by the Abu Sayyaf to thwart government rescue operations. We spoke to New Tribes Mission's contingency spokesman, Guy Sier. While he declined to go on tape, he stated that their local sources have information contradicting the area's media information. A key issue, Sier points out, is that they haven't been able to verify the reports or locate the sources behind the...

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels gave the government yesterday a last chance to negotiate for the release of two kidnapped Americans and a Filipina nurse held for 10 months in the jungles of Basilan. An Abu Sayyaf spokesman said they wanted to open talks for the release of missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and nurse Deborah Yap, remnants of a kidnapping spree by the rebels last year. Meanwhile, President Arroyo predicted yesterday the inevitable destruction of the Abu Sayyaf and expressed as her birthday wish the safe rescue of the Burnhams and Yap. The President cited the...

A DOZEN American soldiers joined Filipino troops in pursuing Abu Sayyaf terrorists Thursday night in Lantawan town, Basilan, the military said yesterday. It was the first time a subs-tantial number of US forces accompanied Filipino troops on a combat mission in Balikatan, the joint military exercise designed to train the Philippine military in counter-terrorism techniques. Capt. Noel Detoyato, Southcom spokesman, said a team from the US Special Forces and elements of the Army’s 10th Infantry Battalion set out from battalion headquarters in Matarling village in Lantawan at around 11:30 p.m. Detoyato said that under Balikatan guidelines, American forces are allowed...

ZAMBOANGA CITY — US spy planes have caught digital images on Basilan island of the three remaining hostages of Abu Sayyaf terrorists, who appear to have divided into small groups in a bid to escape the tightening military cordon around them. Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) chief Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu ordered Marines to scour islets off the main Basilan island after Navy gunboats clashed with gunmen who were fleeing on two high-speed pumpboats. Cimatu refused to reveal where the aerial digital photographs, showing American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipina nurse Deborah Yap, were taken but assured...

ZAMBOANGA CITY — American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipina nurse Deborah Yap are still being held in the jungles of Basilan, the military said yesterday. Lt. Col. Danilo Servando, spokesman for the Armed Forces Southern Command, denied reports that Abu Sayyaf bandits have taken the three hostages to Sulu to escape pursuing government troops. "No, that is not true," he said. "Our information still maintains that the Burnhams are in Basilan." Earlier reports coming out of Basilan said the Burnhams and Yap are now in the hands of Mujib Susukan, one of the commanders of the Abu...

"Three million dollars in ransom funds have been sitting in banks on Basilan Island in the Philippines for over a week while officials of the Philippine Armed Forces, President Gloria Arroyo's Malacangang Palace, and Abu Sayaaf terrorist kidnappers haggle over how to split it up between them. The funds were raised privately in the United States to pay off the ransom of American missionaries Martin and Grace Burnham and others held only a few miles away from the bank that holds the key to their release."

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The family of Deborah Yap, who has been held by the Abu Sayyaf since June last year, is preparing for her imminent release this week amid reports that a P1.5-million ransom for the nurse has already been paid. In an interview with ABS-CBN television, Yap’s brother David Pamaran said yesterday their family is eagerly awaiting the release of the nurse who was seized from a hospital in Lamitan, Basilan on June 2 last year. He said they are now sprucing up their house and have prepared the foodstuff, like cake, Jelly Ace and glutinous rice, that Yap...

NTM not party to ransom SANFORD, Florida (March 26, 2002): New Tribes Mission denies any participation in attempts to pay ransom or raise money for ransom for the release of kidnapped missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham. A US news network is reporting this week that the US government has facilitated a ransom payment, but no source is cited and they have failed to verify this with the US government. If such a payment was made, it was done without our consent or knowledge. Over the course of the Burnhams' captivity -- which will span ten months tomorrow -- there have...

‘No ransom for Burnhams’ By Marichu Villanueva The Philippine Star 03/27/2002 Malacañang denied yesterday having arranged a $3-million ransom payment for an American missionary couple held hostage for 10 months now by Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Basilan. "It’s not true. We’re not aware of any ransom payments," Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said as he reiterated the government’s no-ransom policy. US television network Fox News, citing unnamed sources in Washington, reported that $3 million was paid to secure the release of Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kansas, who have been in Abu Sayyaf custody since May. The US Embassy in...

Is Bush rewarding the Abu Sayyaf?

UNITED States and Philippine officials Tuesday denied they arranged for a three million-dollar ransom to be paid for an American couple held hostage by Muslim Abu Sayyaf gunmen. US television network Fox News, citing unnamed sources in Washington, had reported the ransom was paid allegedly to the rebels who have been holding Martin and Gracia Burnham from Wichita, Kansas, since May.It said the money was paid last week, but gave no other details on how it was delivered to the rebels on the southern island of Basilan. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao said her government stands by its policy...