By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Ont. (AA) – In a new video released Tuesday, the second of two hostages held by a Muslim extremist group in the Philippines begged for the Canadian government to intervene and save his life.
Robert Hall notes his fellow captive John Ridsdel was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group because ransom demands were not met and the same fate awaits him unless it is paid.
“To the Canadian government, I’m told to tell you to meet the demand,” Hall said in the video. “I don’t know what you are doing, but you are not doing anything for us … I am not sure why or what you are waiting for.”
Hall, a Canadian, is being held along with two other hostages, a Norwegian and a Filipino woman.
Along with Ridsdel, they were kidnapped last September.
Abu Sayyaf is demanding $8 million for the release of each hostage.
A second video showing the beheading of Ridsdel and a young man holding his head was also released.
The Canadian government has not yet reacted to the new videos, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while expressing his outrage about Ridsdel’s murder, last week said his government does not “pay ransom to terrorists … directly or indirectly”.
Trudeau also pledged to work with Filipino authorities to bring the kidnappers to justice.
But in the video, Hall asked the Philippine government to back off.
“Please stop shooting at us and trying to kill us,” Hall says. “These guys are going to do a good job of that.”
It is not only Hall’s life on the line. In the video, the kidnappers said they will also kill Hall’s Filipina girlfriend, Marites Flor and, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad.
“Note to the Philippine government and the Canadian government,” a man with a mask says in the video. “The lesson is clear. John Ridsdel has been beheaded.
“Now there are three remaining captives here. If you procrastinate once again (in) negotiations we will behead this all anytime.”
At the end of the video, the terrorists shout, “God is great” in Arabic.
But Marc Singer of Pacific Strategies, a group that tracks terrorist activities, said Abu Sayyaf uses Islam as a front and employs videos to bolster demands.
“It is a manifestation of their willingness to do this to leverage their criminal activities,” he said, as reported by the National Post newspaper.
“They are first and foremost a kidnap group … they are not ideologically driven. They are driven totally by criminal intent and kidnap for ransom.”
