Most people on Jolo appear to have turned against Abu Sayyaf, which has squandered whatever sympathy it once enjoyed for its purported goal of achieving a separate Muslim state in the south. The latest kidnapping crisis has only intensified local opposition to the group. For years Abu Sayyaf fighters have extorted protection money from the local population to finance their operations. A member of the government militia waits outside Abu Sayyaf's camp on Jolo Island, where 21 hostages, mostly foreigners, are being held. An ominous calm now shrouds the town of Jolo, and the streets are deserted long before the official 9 p.m. curfew.
Some shops stay closed all day.
Residents say they have seen some of the Abu Sayyaf fighters in the town, and there are fears of more kidnappings. Late last week a Malaysian journalist was forcibly taken to a jeep from outside his Jolo hotel by six men but then released. By the end of the week, the captors had reportedly split the foreign hostages into four groups, making any attempt at a rescue even more difficult. They have threatened to behead two of the hostages if the government does not negotiate. For Estrada, the situation is equally desperate.