The presence of Indonesian radicals in Mindanao has emboldened Moro rebels holding an ailing Italian Red Cross worker to become more defiant, complicating efforts to negotiate his freedom, an official said Tuesday. Government forces plan to take unspecified military action soon to pressure the Abu Sayyaf militants holding Eugenio Vagni to release him after five months of jungle captivity, said Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who is helping oversee rescue efforts. “We are about to embark on another serious effort at enforcement if it will not endanger the life of Mr. Vagni,” Puno told reporters at a news conference. He did not elaborate. The militants, he said, will not likely budge “unless they are challenged” by troops and police. While some Abu Sayyaf commanders appeared to be reasonable during negotiations for Vagni's release, others known to be close to Indonesian terrorism suspects hiding on Jolo have been “recalcitrant and harder to talk with,” often stalling the talks, Puno said. One such foreign radical is Umar Patek, an Indonesian member of the regional group Jemaah Islamiyah, who fled to Mindanao after being accused of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings.
