[Reuters] Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday appealed to the Abu Sayyaf to end their campaign of piracy and kidnapping and begin direct talks with him, offering an olive branch towards a brutal terrorist group he previously vowed to destroy.Just a few months ago, Duterte said there could be no peaceful solution for dealing with the Abu Sayyaf. But with 10,000 troops in the southern Philippines unable to curtail the hostage-taking and with civilians in the line of fire, he said all-out war is not the answer.
"I can be nasty, I can be a bad boy but I am talking about the nation. I can do it even now. I can bomb the hell out of them...but what would it bring us? You kill 20,000, you wipe out, blast it to kingdom come. Would it bring us peace if I use force? If you want to talk I can go to them anywhere. I can go alone. Let us give our people a chance," Duterte said of destroying the Abu Sayyaf, after visiting soldiers injured while fighting the rebels.
Yesterday, he said talks could happen if the militants stopped their illegal activities. He said, "I will build a hospital in Basilan, don’t kidnap the workers, allow them to work but if you can really stop it for a while, we'll talk."