No armed rescue for Jolo hostages

Tight security has surrounded the negotiating team

Negotiators in the Philippines say they have no plans for an armed operation to rescue 21 tourists kidnapped by Muslim rebels seven weeks ago.

The government panel does not consider, much less endorse, an armed response to the hostage crisis

Roberto Aventajado

Roberto Aventajado, the most senior government negotiator to have been in contact with the hostage takers, said his team was "committed to exhausting every peaceful remedy to the crisis".

"I would be telling a blatant lie if I said that a rescue attempt was never an option for the Philippine Government," he said.

"But as chief government negotiator, I would be the last person to contemplate a military solution."

The announcement comes a day after the government called a four-day break in negotiations with the Abu Sayyaf rebels following demands that Mr Aventajado be replaced.

The Abu Sayyaf camp where the hostages are being held

Government Press Secretary Puno said Mr Aventajado would remain in Manila for at least the next two days while officials conduct an "assessment and reflection as to where we are really in this particular negotiation".

Analysts say suspending the negotiations could be a government tactic to force the gunmen to take the initiative in bringing the crisis to an acceptable conclusion.

The tourists were kidnapped on 23 April from a diving island off the East Malaysian state of Sabah and taken to the island of Jolo in the southern Philippines.

Rebels' demands

The gunmen are demanding an Islamic state

The rebels have expressed a number of political demands including the establishment of a separate Islamic state in the south of the largely Roman Catholic Philippines.

Emmisaries from the rebel leadership are reported to have also demanded a ransom ranging from $15 million to $20 million. However, Mr Aventajado's negotiators said they had not received any such demand and would not pay anyway.

His assurance that "not a single life" would be put on the line in any effort to end the crisis will be welcomed by the leaders of Germany, France and Finland who have expressed concerns about the security of their citizens being held hostage.

In a statement on Tuesday the German Foreign Ministry said diplomats from the three countries and South Africa - which has two of its nationals among the hostages - would be discussing the situation in Berlin.