The formal request was made in meetings between the Irish Ambassador to Singapore, Richard O’Brien, and senior commanders in the Muslim separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),within days of the kidnapping of the 79-year-old priest on October 11.A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it had made the appeal to the MILF.
O’Brien was deployed to the southern Philippines immediately after the kidnapping of the Wexford born Columban missionary.
Meanwhile, it is understood the state has established links with a Filipino taskforce dedicated to securing Fr Sinnott’s release.
The most senior Columban in the Philippines, Fr Patrick O’Donoghue, had complained in a confidential memo that the mission was being kept in the dark by Filipino authorities in relation to the kidnapping.
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SIC: SBP