News From the Region (Last Updated On: ) Southeast Asia President Elect Pirkko Lahti, Executive Director of the Finnish Mental Health Association,. went to New York in early June as a member of the Finnish Government’s delegation attending the Beijing Plus Five General Assembly Session at the United Nations. From there she flew to the Philippines, following an unexpected request from her government to join medical personnel ready to provide assistance to hostages from several countries, including two from Finland, held by the Abu Sayyaf guerrilla group. The hostages had been kidnapped in April from a Malaysian diving resort and taken to a remote area in the southern Philippines. She waited on Jolo island with French and German doctors willing to enter the hostage camp if permitted to do so in order to provide medical and psychological assistance for the captives. She returned to Finland after nearly three weeks of unsuccessful negotiations. Many of the hostages, including the two Finns, were released in September.