| Philippine rebels say American hostage
is on hunger strike, needs medicine ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) - An American man kidnapped by Muslim rebels in
the southern Philippines is on a hunger strike, the guerrillas said Saturday.
The Abu Sayyaf rebels had
requested food and medicine be sent to their camp on remote Jolo island for Jeffrey
Schilling, 24, of Oakland, Calif. U.S. officials say he is seriously ill and needs regular
prescription medicine, but the nature of his condition was not clear. Asked Saturday how
Schilling was, rebel spokesman Abu Sabaya replied: "He is still there. He is on a
hunger strike now." He did not elaborate.
Philippine Red Cross officials
instructed their staff not to deliver food to the rebels' camp because of the danger of
abduction, the Radio Mindanao Network said.
The Abu Sayyaf, which says it
is fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines, is holding six
other foreigners and 12 Filipinos. The group freed six hostages last week for a reported
$6 million US ransom, paid by Libya. It had freed other hostages earlier.
Philippine negotiators had
hoped the Abu Sayyaf would release the six Westerners, including two French television
journalists, this weekend. But chief negotiator Robert Aventajado said the release would
be delayed until after the return of a Libyan envoy on Monday, at the earliest.
Libya has played a prominent
role in negotiations for 21 tourists and workers, mostly foreigners, kidnapped by the Abu
Sayyaf from a Malaysian dive resort on April 23.
The Abu Sayyaf are also holding
12 Filipino Christian evangelists who were seized in early July when they visited the
rebels' camp to pray for the other hostages.
Sabaya said the group's leader,
Wilde Almeda, is in serious condition, possibly because of a stroke.
"He can no longer move.
Almeda has committed a lot sins against Islam, saying a lot of things not only against the
group, but also against Islam," Sabaya said. "So if the group decides, he may
just become fertilizer here in Jolo."
Schilling, abducted Sunday, is
being held on Jolo by a different Abu Sayyaf faction. The rebels holding him are
responsible for kidnapping about 50 schoolchildren and teachers in March on neighbouring
Basilan island.
Two of the teachers were
beheaded after the United States ignored the group's demand for the release of several
Arab terrorists held in U.S. jails. The faction also is accused in the torture and death
of a Catholic priest.
The rebels had threatened to
behead Schilling, but Sabaya pledged no harm would come to him during negotiations.
"While we are conducting
talks . . . we will not consider any violence against Mr. Schilling,"
Sabaya pledged. "But if we lose our patience, then the U.S. will really regret
it."
An emissary who visited the
rebels' camp reported that Schilling had been tied up after resisting captivity. The
report could not be verified.
The rebels had demanded $10
million for Schilling's release Thursday, with Sabaya reportedly saying that "one
American is worth 10 Europeans."
But in a radio interview
Saturday, Sabaya said the group intended to make political demands.
"We want only one thing
and that is our political demands. If we talk about money, many anti-American groups are
offering us money and arms if we kill this American," Sabaya said.
The U.S. State Department has
ruled out paying ransom to the rebels. © The Canadian Press, 2000
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