Former Finnish hostages reflect on death of "Commander Robot" and other Abu Sayyaf members

Seppo Fränti and Risto Vahanen were held with other tourists for 140 days in the summer of 2000

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The news that several leaders of the Abu Sayyaf  muslim militant group were killed in a Manila prison revolt on Tuesday brought back memories of an incident that gripped Finns during the summer of 2000.
      Among the dead prisoners was Ghalib Andang, alias "Commander Robot", who became a familiar name during the 140-day hostage drama on the island of Jolo. Two of the hostages were Finnish. They commented on Tuesday on the demise of the man who dominated their life nearly five years ago.
      The details of the hostage-taking incident and its eventual successful resolution can be found from the many linked stories below. The subject was front-page news in Finland for several months, owing to the presence among the 21 foreign tourists and an Asian employee held on Jolo of two Finns, diving enthusiasts Seppo Fränti and Risto Vahanen. Vahanen emerged as something of a group-leader and was widely praised in the wake of the ordeal.
     
On hearing of the death of the kidnappers' leader and some other members of the Abu Sayyaf group, Seppo Fränti admitted to mixed feelings. He commented that Commander Robot and another gang-member Mujib Susukan, who was killed in 2003, had raped two of the female hostages on several occasions during the course of the hostage drama.
      Another of those killed in the prison riot, Nadzmi Sabdullah, a.k.a "Commander Global", was described by Fränti as a cold and brutal man, "who treated us like animals".
      Fränti, who was seriously affected by the siege and has not returned to his former work in a children's hospital, nevertheless commented that he could not wish death upon anyone, be they a murderer or a criminal, and that he was left with very conflicting feelings at the news, which inevitably brought back memories of the long ordeal in the jungle.
     
When contacted by phone while on a diving holiday in Zanzibar, Vahanen, who apparently emerged from his ordeal the stronger of the two men, noted that crime has its own rewards and that Commander Robot had behaved like a pig-headed 15-year-old adolesecent.
      For both men, it remained unclear just how strong a role Islam had played in Commander Robot's life and actions, if it had played any at all.
      He may have begun his actions on ideological grounds, but the millions paid in ransom money for hostages to be released caused him and the others to behave like nouveau riche criminals.
     
Vahanen does not believe for a moment that the deaths of Ghalib Andang and other Abu Sayyaf  leaders will fundamentally change the lives of people in the Southern Philippines. He believes that the poverty and inequality in the southern islands will have to be weeded out first. "The death of Robot is not a victory or even a success. Terrorists will emerge from that region for as long as there is no economic justice to be found there", said Vahanen.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Fränti and Vahanen finally come home (13.9.2000)
  TIMELINE: 140 days in captivity

Links:
  Seppo Fränti and Risto Vahanen describe their 140-day ordeal (12.9.2000)
  BBC: Bloody end to Manila jailbreak

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