Kidnapped Australian in Philippines pleads for life in video, says kidnappers want $2 million

Kidnapped Australian in Philippines pleads for life in video, says kidnappers want $2 million

www.washingtonpost.com

A former Australian soldier kidnapped in the southern Philippines is seen pleading for his life in a video sent to his family and urging Manila and Canberra to raise a $2 million ransom being demanded by his captors.

Rodwell, who also previously worked as a university teacher in Shanghai, was taken at gunpoint by about six men on Dec. 5 in southern Ipil town in Zamboanga Sibugay province. It was the latest abduction of a foreigner in the country’s volatile south.

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The Australian Government has refused to pay the ransom, of $2 million which i can understand, however, they say they are persuing this crime with the help of Phillipine police. One concern of mine though, is that most cops in the Phillipines are very corrupt, so it makes this operation very difficult.

As of now, the Australian Government is negotiating with the terrorists for his release. In my opinion, i think that they should get ASIS to track the phone calls to a specific location, then get an overview of that location via satellite. Once that is complete, i fell that the government should organise an SASR team to go in there and rescue the man.

www.washingtonpost.com
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God how this man must be feeling.
Lets pray for his release and understanding.

Originally posted by daaskapital

The Australian Government has refused to pay the ransom, of $2 million which i can understand, however, they say they are persuing this crime with the help of Phillipine police. One concern of mine though, is that most cops in the Phillipines are very corrupt, so it makes this operation very difficult.

As of now, the Australian Government is negotiating with the terrorists for his release. In my opinion, i think that they should get ASIS to track the phone calls to a specific location, then get an overview of that location via satellite. Once that is complete, i fell that the government should organise an SASR team to go in there and rescue the man.

www.washingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

As I suspected it's probably a militant Muslim group, Abu Sayyaf.

Just sickening. I feel sorry for what this guy is going thru.

The Philippines is so poor & corrupt and it's just this kind of thing that will drive away any tourist dollars.

I hope they are able to rescue him.

reply to post by AuranVector


What makes you think it is a Muslim terrorist group?

Suspected does not mean it is the truth... in fact they have not proven one case of kidnapping to be the result of a militant Muslim group...

Sounds like the local police are doing this and using a common enemy to cover their tracks to me.

reply to post by mileysubet


Their are a lot of Islamic Militants in Mindanao. This has been a fact for a very long time...My friends that are Filipino say those areas are really bad. Obviously this guy didn't get that message...

Mindanao Militants

I can tell you as a muslim. That this is not the work of the mujahadeen there. One must understand. That its not the true way of islam to do this sort of thing. And if they are muslim or claim to be. Please dont dam all of islan for a group of people who are not fallowing true islam.but i know my words here will be met with hostile replys. Sorry for the actions of thesr people ...

reply to post by mileysubet

What makes you think it is a Muslim terrorist group?

Just by numbers it is a better than even chance that they are Muslim. However they may not be "Religious based". They could be just materialistic animals who only want money and are even condemned by the Muslim "religious fanatic groups!" Who knows. Who even says they are representative of the general population of that area. I sure as hell would not. Once more info comes out everyone will have better picture.

reply to post by KonquestAbySS

Their are a lot of Islamic Militants in Mindanao. This has been a fact for a very long time...My friends that are Filipino say those areas are really bad. Obviously this guy didn't get that message...

100% agreed. This person should have known better. I am disgusted that the Australian Gov't even spends one cent to help this person who should have used his brain and not gone there. I believe the family should be on their own on this one and the only help they should get should be from the Philippine authorities. The man has as much common sense as Chappelle Corby. I don't pay taxes to help fools get out of trouble! It is bad enough funding houso's to live the way they do. We don't need this!

This is weird. How come the initial ransom was 23,000? To 2 million? That soldier, God bless his tortured soul, is not worth 2 million dollars. Those hostiles are not worth 2 million. All of them, there has been an image in my mind, and I didn't know what to make of it until I saw this news: Gilligan's Island. I don't know why, it would be insane to connect that image to this morbid news, but it came up. Readers do what you want with that, but it's strange how that guy is Gilligan in the back of my mind.

It doesn't help my weirdness that Gillard is the last name of the Australian Prime Minister. This is what I get for not watching TV news. This is a big scene.

23 is an Illuminati lucky number. Why would terrorists of this variety demand cash? It's fiat money! Commodoties like getaway boats or barrels of oil would be better in the Philippines. It's a cryptic news message. What are they using their hostages for besides a meal ticket? Had to notice that a Japanese treasure hunter is also on the list; why aren't they bartering that one?

That area is close to the area of the Abu Sayyaf, a local terrorist/bandit group known to kidnap foreigners. The kidnappers are either the Abu Sayyaf group or the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), another Muslim group in the southern Philippines. The bigger probability is that they are the Abu Sayyaf group.

There are indeed bad cops in the Philippine local police but that is also true for every other cops in other countries. Saying that the Philippine police is so corrupt is just someone talking out of ignorance. Sometimes, perception doesn't equate to reality. Metro Manila is even as cosmopolitan as any big cities in the world. Again, perception is one thing, reality is another thing.

Originally posted by Sandalphon
This is weird. How come the initial ransom was 23,000? To 2 million? That soldier, God bless his tortured soul, is not worth 2 million dollars. Those hostiles are not worth 2 million. All of them, there has been an image in my mind, and I didn't know what to make of it until I saw this news: Gilligan's Island. I don't know why, it would be insane to connect that image to this morbid news, but it came up. Readers do what you want with that, but it's strange how that guy is Gilligan in the back of my mind.

It doesn't help my weirdness that Gillard is the last name of the Australian Prime Minister. This is what I get for not watching TV news. This is a big scene.

23 is an Illuminati lucky number. Why would terrorists of this variety demand cash? It's fiat money! Commodoties like getaway boats or barrels of oil would be better in the Philippines. It's a cryptic news message. What are they using their hostages for besides a meal ticket? Had to notice that a Japanese treasure hunter is also on the list; why aren't they bartering that one?

That would have to be one of the most stupid things I've read on ATS.

Originally posted by mileysubet
reply to post by AuranVector

 

What makes you think it is a Muslim terrorist group?

Suspected does not mean it is the truth... in fact they have not proven one case of kidnapping to be the result of a militant Muslim group...

Sounds like the local police are doing this and using a common enemy to cover their tracks to me.

edit on 5-1-2012 by mileysubet because: (no reason given)

Errr, well the south of the Philipines is crawling with them.
The only terrorist organisations in the South are muslim.
They've a track record of kidnapping foreigners (usually white Europeans) to fund their activity's.
What else do you need?