Manila Hostage Drama Ends: Sid Harth
navanavonmilita
http://cogitoergosum.co.cc/2010/08/24/manila-hostage-drama-ends-sid-harth/
Manila Hostage Drama Ends
Manila Hostage Drama Ends
Manila Hostage Drama Ends
Manila Hostage Drama Ends
Manila Hostage Drama Ends
Manila Hostage Drama Ends
Hong Kong angry, sad at handling of Manila siege
By Greg Hughes and Kevin Voigt, CNN
August 24, 2010 — Updated 0654 GMT (1454 HKT)
A news agent hands out free newspapers in Hong Kong on Tuesday with
headlines and photos about the bus hijacking crisis in Manila the
previous day.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Hong Kong leader expresses “disappointment” in the handling of the
crisis
Hong Kong residents question the “indecisiveness” of Manila police in
storming the gunman
Hong Kong government sends black signal warning to “avoid all travel”
to the Philippines
Hong Kong’s Filipino community fear anger at Manila’s handling of
crisis could cause a backlash
Hong Kong, China (CNN) — The hostage crisis in Manila that left eight
Hong Kong tourists dead has generated sorrow and anger as well as
raised many questions over the handling of the situation by the
Filipino authorities.
“This is a serious blow to Hong Kong people. We all feel very
devastated,” Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang told a press
conference Tuesday, saying that the government would soon announce
community mourning events.
In local media, under the headline “Tsang slams siege tactics,” the
South China Morning Post highlighted Donald Tsang’s “disappointment”
over the handling of the crisis, reporting that he was close to tears
during a press conference.
The Standard reported that “hundreds of Hong Kong residents expressed
disbelief and disappointment in discussion forums and on Facebook,
saying the police officers were overcautious, if not slow, to storm
the bus.”
Video: Tour bus hostage nightmare
Video: Inside the mind of a hostage
Video: Hostage drama in Philippines
Video: Hostage taker sprayed weapons fire
“Is there only one ax in the Philippines?” “Why didn’t the police
shoot the gunman earlier?” said one comment posted in a forum, The
Standard reported.
Another Facebook page asked people to wear black on Tuesday to mourn
the dead.
An editorial in The Standard also questioned the approach of the
rescue operation, noting that an “entire hour” passed from the time
the police tried to break into the bus to the time the gunman was
declared dead.
Joesph Tung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong
Kong, said: “Watching on the live broadcast, a lot of people here in
Hong Kong are very much furious about the action from the Philippine
police.”
With Hong Kong residents watching the events unfold live with the rest
of the world, its bloody conclusion has ratcheted frustrations with
the Philippine government.
“As we were watching this, in the beginning it seemed his demands were
very simple and everything was very easy going … you never thought it
would come out like this,” Tung said.
The Hong Kong government put up a black signal warning to “avoid all
travel” to the Philippines, its most severe warning.
The last time Hong Kong issued a black alert was for travel to Bangkok
during violent protests there earlier this year, Tung said.
There are currently three other tour groups from Hong Kong traveling
in the Philippines with about 60 people, Tung said. All are expected
to return home Tuesday.
Tung thinks the bloodshed will undoubtedly hurt Hong Kong travel to
the Philippines, where the beaches of Cebu are especially popular for
local travelers.
On Tuesday, members of the local Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) political party held a
protest at the Consulate General of the Philippines, chanting: “We
protest against the police. There rescue efforts were incompetent.”
There were fears among the Filipino community in Hong Kong that anger
at Manila’s handling of the hostage drama could cause a backlash
against those living in Hong Kong.
“We have to make clear our position on the issue; that this is not
something about Filipinos against Chinese or Chinese against
Filipinos,” said Eman Villanueva, executive director of United
Filipinos in Hong Kong, an umbrella group that represents migrants
working in the southern Chinese enclave.
About 150,000 Filipinos live and work in Hong Kong, the majority of
which are employed as domestic helpers, said Villanueva.
“The United Filipinos in Hong Kong condoles with the families in Hong
Kong of those who died and sympathizes with the other victims who got
out safely but were surely traumatized by the tragic event of the past
hours,” the group said in a statement.
“Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong are appalled by this crime and
greatly saddened by its ending.”
Some employers have told Filipino workers to stay at home today to
avoid any potential conflicts, Villanueva said, but his group has not
received any reports of actions against Philippine nationals working
in Hong Kong.
soundoff (33 Comments)
jch12345
The Filipino SWAT is useless. They tried to pull open the front door
when they should push to open it.
38 minutes ago | Like (9) |
Calshadow 1.
The forces obviously came unprepared.2. There is not enough or maybe
no resources available to be used or maybe inappropriate resources
were there.3. It seems our forces were not trained properly for this.
4. It seems there was no planning done on how the operation will be
done, or if there was.. … more
1. The forces obviously came unprepared.
2. There is not enough or maybe no resources available to be used or
maybe inappropriate resources were there.
3. It seems our forces were not trained properly for this.
4. It seems there was no planning done on how the operation will be
done, or if there was.. its not well planned.
5. The use of rope to pull the bus’ door… its ridiculous!
6. The crowd control.. it’s embarrassing! Now we know how a young boy
was shot accidentally!
7. The hostage taker was just asking for simple requests.. he can be
FOOLED and cooled perhaps by telling him he can be reinstated.. that
would need somebody with good position to talk to him and convince him
until he frees the hostages, and put him to jail after!
8. His brother was taken by Policemen and were openly warned that he
will be charged for being an accessory to the crime.. that probably
agitated him (the hostage-taker) and killed one or some of the
hostages. less
40 minutes ago | Like (7) |
Calshadow
A gross mishandling of the hostage crisis! it took the police over an
hour after they tried to storm into the bus. What a bunch of
cockroaches and turtles!
42 minutes ago | Like (6) |
Guest
Whats wrong?1) Gov. agency do not know how to set priority – Press
‘freedom’ or Human lifes at stack?,2) ‘Special forces’? Gee doesn’t
look like one! 3) Only one hammer/axe, that keeps flying off – what a
joke4) Only one idea how to storm the bus? Cannot even break a bus
open! Should be within a few… more
Whats wrong?
1) Gov. agency do not know how to set priority – Press ‘freedom’ or
Human lifes at stack?,
2) ‘Special forces’? Gee doesn’t look like one!
3) Only one hammer/axe, that keeps flying off – what a joke
4) Only one idea how to storm the bus? Cannot even break a bus open!
Should be within a few seconds or less man!
5) Most importantly – failed negotiation! And a simple demand.
P.S. Let’s learn from mistakes, an awful one though. less
47 minutes ago | Like (12) |
Gge
Sad day…. this event highlights another inadequacy of the Philippine
Police, whether its training, equipment or resolve to deal with the
situation, I hope that the politicians, corrupt as they may be, find
it within their shallow hearts or deep wallets to seek a way to
prevent this senseless act of violence in the future. I hope that they
do a serious inquiry on the people in charge of that incident and let
justice be done. less
47 minutes ago | Like (5) |
PnoyTaxPayer
Some other Filipinos blame the police ineptitude on previous president
Arroyo, who is always demonized by the media.
Why don’t you blame past presidents too? like his “saintly” mother who
is always “sanctified” by the media…was Cory Aquino able to train the
policemen properly in her 6 whole years as president from 1986-1992?
If Cory did, then the next presidents (including her own son) would
have had inherited a well-equipped police force! But the reality is…
No.
Maybe is it because the country’s money went to the pockets of Cory
Aquino’s KAMAGANAK Inc. (the numerous relatives she installed in
various government positions)? less
51 minutes ago | Like (2) |
Gge
What makes her saintly? I know, its the lemmings that make up the
majority of the country that believe all of the crap they see on tv,
including those I.Q. degenerating noon time shows…… ok ok, I admit i’m
mean, but its the sad truth, and the politicians are only making it
worse by taking advantage of the population……..sigh…. where have the
glory days of the Philippines gone to? less
35 minutes ago | Like (1) |
PnoyTaxPayer
Some of Aquino’s defenders react by saying: “even the US president can
not stop a kidnapping in USA anyway”, so I will not be available to
speak to the HK president.
Then why elect someone who thinks like you (“the US president can not
stop a kidnapping in USA anyway”) and uses it a reason so as not to be
available to speak to the HK president during a crisis.
WAKE UP PHILIPPINES the PRESIDENCY is a HARD JOB, don’t just elect
POPULAR AMATEURS with nice-sounding names or backgrounds…instead,
ELECT PEOPLE who can DO the JOB! less
51 minutes ago | Like (4) |
PnoyTaxPayer
Now Aquino publicly defends media’s sensationalist coverage of the
hostage-taking by saying it is part of his “transparency” style…what
kind of rationalization is that?
Yes, you should be *transparent* in all government transactions but
this doesn’t mean you should broadcast all camera angles of a hostage
crises on TV for the hostage-taker to watch and gain strategic
control! that’s not transparency, that’s simply MISMANAGEMENT.
Is this where my TAXES go? less
52 minutes ago | Like (12) |
PnoyTaxPayer
This is why I’ll take a COMPETENT though UNPOPULAR President anytime!
Philippine Pres. Aquino, as Commander in Chief of the Philippines,
must take Command Responsibility for the INCOMPETENT handling of the
situation, displayed for the world to see.
He himself was chided by HK President Tseng when the latter can not
reach his phone during the crisis.
Aquino should have been the one to *initiate* contact with the
aggrieved party, HK President Tseng…instead, Aquino’s phone can not be
reached?
That’s simply Irresponsible and Complacent! less
53 minutes ago | Like (8) |
80sGuy
The crazy Asian killed ONE person because supposedly he had some
issues with him, but whatever the reason it was sick and gruesome. I
didn’t think he ate the head though.
The incident happened in The Philippines came from a police captain
that lost his job. He wanted to kill EVERYONE on board and the whole
army of the Philippine police couldn’t take him down. less
58 minutes ago | Like (2) |
80sGuy
Okay, I was replying to someone else’s comments and his post got
deleted, so my earlier post was in response to that.
57 minutes ago | Like |
Philippines hostage shootings: two Britons among survivors
Two elderly British tourists narrowly escaped a bloodbath after police
commandos in the Philippines botched the storming of a bus to end ten-
hour drama that left eight hostages dead.
By Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok and Peter Foster in Beijing
Published: 6:41AM BST 24 Aug 2010
Link to this video The ethnic Chinese couple, a man of 72 and his 66-
year-old wife, were among nine hostages the police inspector
disgruntled over his sacking had allowed off the bus five hours after
the hi-jacking began.
As darkness fell after nine hours of negotiations, the mood changed
dramatically and Rolando Mendoza, 55, a highly-decorated police
officer, began shooting the hostages and firing out at police
snipers.
Rescue of US freighter captain: Somali pirates vow revengeBut as
criticism by the Chinese government and Hong Kong authorities mounted
over the handling of the police operation the Philippines new
president Benigno Aquino promised a full inquiry.
The bloody denouement played out live on television showed ill-
equipped and confused police teams surround the bus, but then take 70
minutes to gain entry.
The gunman was shot in the head by a police sniper after he wounded
one policeman and teargas grenades were finally tossed into the
vehicle.
By then eight of the hostages were dead in grim scenes that sparked
sadness and outrage in Hong Kong, even though six other tourists
miraculously escaped injury along with the Filipino driver.
Police admitted today that they had made blunders in efforts to end
the hi-jacking by the former policeman trying to win his job back
after he was dismissed on charges of robbery and extortion.
Manila police commander Leocadio Santiago: “We saw some obvious
shortcomings in terms of capability and tactics used, or the procedure
employed and we are now going to investigate this.”
The lucky British couple, who have not been named, were among nine
hostages released earlier as a gesture by the gunman. British embassy
consular staff in Manila spoke to the couple who were unharmed and
they spent the night in a hotel.
But China called for a “thorough investigation” into the bungled
rescue mission which came after both Chinese and Hong Kong officials
had urged that Philippines police not to use violence in resolving the
stand-off.
China’s foreign minister Yang Jiechi was said to be “appalled” at the
bloodshed and telephoned his Philippines counterpart Alberto Romulo to
voice his concern about the incident, according to the state-run
Xinhua news agency.
“The Chinese government demands the Philippine government launch a
thorough investigation into the incident and inform the Chinese side
of related details as soon as possible,” Mr Yang said, according to a
statement released by the foreign ministry.
For his part, Mr Romulo said the Philippines government felt “deep
sorrow” for the incident, pledging to everything possible to save the
injured and promising to carry out a complete investigation into the
incident and convey the results to the Chinese side as soon as
possible.
Following the shootings, China has dispatched a team of officials to
Manila to deal with the aftermath of the hijacking.
“China has requested the Philippine side to take pragmatic measures to
ensure life and property safety of Chinese nationals in the country,”
a foreign ministry spokesman added.
In Hong Kong, the leader of the Chinese territory, Donald Tsang,
called the attack a tragedy, his voice choking in a rare display of
emotion.
“It’s disappointing that Hong Kong residents tried to make a pleasure
trip to Manila and ended up with death and casualties,” he said. “This
is very tragic. And the way it was handled and particularly the
outcome I found it disappointing.”
In Hong Kong flags on government buildings flew at half-mast and a few
Chinese-language newspapers changing their mast-head colour from red
to black, their front pages dominated by graphic photographs of the
bloodbath.
The government’s anger was reflected by the survivors. One said her
husband and two daughters were killed in a hail of bullets while her
son was in intensive care in hospital.
The woman, identified only as Mrs Leung expressed her anguish to Hong
Kong officials in remarks broadcast on Cable News TV.
“The Philippine government . . . I can’t accept this. Why did they do
this to us?” she said, sobbing. “[The gunman] did not want to kill us.
He only shot us after the negotiations failed.”
Manila bus siege ends in dramatic shootout
Published: 1:25PM BST 23 Aug 2010
Philippines police have stormed the bus where an ex-policeman was
holding hostages and are believed to have killed the gunman.
Sacked policeman kills 8 Chinese in Philippines coach hijacking
A former police inspector hijacked a coach filled with Chinese
tourists in Manila in a 12-hour seige that left at least eight dead.
By Ian MacKinnon and Peter Foster in Beijing
Published: 6:03PM BST 23 Aug 2010
A hostage peers from the window of a tourist bus during a standoff at
Rizal Park Photo: AP Photo: SKY NEWS
Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza stands by the entrance of the
tourist bus as negotiators talk to him Photo: AP
Filipino Rolando Mendoza, a dismissed police officer, held hostage
some 22 Chinese-Hong Kong nationals and three Filipinos. Six hostages
have been released as authorities continue to conduct negotiations for
the safe release of the other hostages Photo: EPA
Four hostaged foreign tourists, three children and their mother (C),
are escorted by negotiators (L and R) after their release from the bus
Photo: AFP/GETTY
Rolando Mendoza, a highly decorated former senior inspector who had
been sacked for extortion and robbery, took the coach hostage,
demanding that he be reinstated.
Dessed in his former uniform and armed with an M-16 assault rifle, he
hitched a lift on the coach from the Philippine capital’s historic
walled city of Intramuros.
Chinese Muslims in Guantanamo ‘to be moved’ to Pacific IslandOnce he
was on board, he told the busload of tourists, mainly from Hong Kong,
that he was taking the coach hostage.
With the vehicle cordoned off in front of the Quirino grandstand,
where President Benigno Aquino III took his oath of office in June,
the 55-year-old hijacker posted in the windows demands that he be
given his old job back.
A large piece of paper taped to the front windshield was headed
“RELEASE FINAL DECISION” and listed what appeared to be details of his
case.
Also stuck to the bus door was a piece of paper with the handwritten
message: “BIG MISTAKE TO CORRECT A BIG WRONG DECISION”.
Among the hostage negotiators was his younger brother, Gregorio, also
a senior policeman, who told of his sibling’s anger over his
dismissal.
The gunman was dismissed with four other policemen in 2008, after a
Manila hotel boss filed a complaint against them for falsely claiming
he used drugs in an attempt to blackmail him.
“His problem was he was unjustly removed from service. There was no
due process, no hearing, no complaint,” said Gregorio Mendoza.
The disaster was played out live on international television and after
five hours of talks, Mendoza released eight of the hostages – two
children, three women and three men – followed by another shortly
afterwards. He allowed food and water on to the bus for the hostages,
as well as fuel to keep the air-conditioner running.
Police negotiators talking to Mendoza said he was being “responsible”
and “reasonable” even as the hours passed, with the hostages hidden
behind the drawn curtains.
But as darkness fell, Mendoza seemed to grow agitated as he spotted
police sharp-shooters moving into position. He called a local radio
station on his mobile phone, threatening to kill the hostages, saying
he would probably die, too.
Shortly afterwards, his brother ran up to the front of the bus and
fell on the ground urging the gunman to take him hostage and release
those on the bus.
Minutes later, police arrested Gregorio Mendoza in the belief he was
hindering the operation, pushing him into a police car.
The commotion was followed by gunshots from inside the bus, which then
rolled forward about five yards before the marksman shot out the
tyres, bringing to a halt.
The hijacker called the radio station again and said he had killed two
hostages.
Six of the 15 captives survived, and four were seen on live television
crawling out the back door of the coach when police stormed it. The
fate of the remaining person was not known.
The gunman was killed with a sniper shot to the head after he used his
captives as human shields in the final moments of the standoff.
China’s foreign ministry had also issued a statement in which it said
it had made “urgent representations” to the Philippine embassy in
China “urging the Philippine side to actively seek the safe rescue of
the Hong Kong tourists taken hostage.” Within two hours of the assault
on the bus Hong Kong’s government issued a “black” travel alert for
the Philippines – its highest level of caution – advising residents
against all travel to the country.
Tour operator tells how Manila bus was hijacked
Published: 5:51PM BST 23 Aug 2010
A spokeswoman from the Hong Kong tour bus operator involved in the
Manila hijacking describes the moment the group were taken hostage.
…and I am Sid Harth
By navanavonmilita, on 24/08/2010 at 3:35 am, under Deaths, Hot Off
The Presses, Major News, News, Views and Reviews, Terrorism. . No
Comments
Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL. Edit
« FoxNoNews NoNews: Sid Harth
rst0wxyz
brainless shameless crazy sleazy slimy evil filthy ugly 丫骗狗屎 Meichi/
Dabianchen/report2009/abum_chump slut cunt chattering monkey, the ugly
Philippino lesbian pathological liar from Manila!