American hostage ill, could die: Filipino
kidnappers
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Sept 13
(AFP) - An American held hostage by Muslim extremists in the Philippines is sick and could
die if medicines are not sent to him immediately, his captors said Wednesday.
"Jeffrey (Schilling) is
sick and also suffering from flu and cold and he could die in captivity if medicines are
not sent immediately," Abu Sabaya, a spokesman for the rebel group Abu Sayyaf told
radio station DXRZ here.
Sabaya said the 24-year-old
American tourist was also at risk of contracting malaria as he was kept in a jungle area
where the disease is endemic.
"There are so many
mosquitoes here and Jeffrey is not accustomed to the environment in the jungle,"
Sabaya said.
He did not specify the
medicines needed by Schilling, an Oakland, California resident who was detained after
walking into the Abu Sayyaf's jungle camp with his Muslim Filipina wife last month.
A Philippine Red Cross mercy
mission dispatched by Manila's assigned negotiator for Schilling was last week rejected by
Sabaya, who demanded the negotiator be replaced by representatives from several countries,
including Libya and Saudi Arabia.
The mission, which was to have
delivered a box of medicines and food rations for Schilling, was turned back by the rebels
on reaching the Abu Sayyaf camp.
Sabaya on Wednesday demanded
that his uncle, a local Muslim elder identified as Sultan Akidjal, deliver the medicines.
The rebels earlier said
Schilling was losing weight because he refused to eat the local staple food of casava
flour and boiled bananas. Witnesses said he has also been handcuffed and caged like an
animal in a crawl space under his captor's hut.
The US State Department and his
relatives have said Schilling is suffering from long-term health problems, without
elaborating.
In a taped message sent to DXRZ
last week, Schilling appealed to the Philippine and US governments to allow Libya to
mediate in talks for his release.
He also said he was not a CIA
agent as alleged by the Abu Sayyaf, who had threatened to behead him after the US rejected
a demand to free three jailed Muslim terrorists, including Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of
the 1993 bombing of the New York World Trade Center.
Libya earlier played a key role
in freeing a group of European hostages held by another faction of the Abu Sayyaf, who
were among 21 tourists snatched by the gunmen from the Sipadan dive resort in Malaysia.
That faction is still holding
16 Filipinos, two French journalists and three Malaysian resort workers abducted on Sunday
in the Abu Sayyaf's latest cross border raid.
President Joseph Estrada on
Wednesday was conferring with top security officials following the latest abduction, and
senior presidential aides have signalled a possible military offensive to finally crush
the rebels.
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