US hostage pleads for halt to assault, Manila
says no
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Sept 21
(AFP) - US hostage Jeffrey Schilling has told Philippine radio he is alive and urged the
military to stop a rescue operation, according to a telephone interview monitored
Thursday.
The government, buoyed by the
escape of two French hostages, again rejected any halt to the ground and air attack until
Abu Sayyaf kidnappers free all their 17 captives.
"I'm alive. I'm fine. The
Philippine government seems to believe that by declaring me dead and sacrificing my life,
they can eliminate the Abu Sayyaf. But the group will escape as soon as I'm dead,"
Schilling told DXRZ station.
Schilling was apparently
referring to earlier rumours that he had been killed.
The station said Schilling and
Abu Sabaya, an Abu Sayyaf leader, called by satellite phone at 8:45 p.m. (1245 GMT)
Wednesday.
This was around the time the
two Frenchmen flew out of the Philippines after escaping from another Abu Sayyaf unit in
the remote southern island of Jolo.
"I am appealing to the
negotiators to talk to the United States government to have the operation immediately
cease and negotiations continue," Schilling said.
"Just tell my mom that I
am fine and that she should not worry about the Abu Sayyaf. The problem now is the
Philippine government and the military's stance is not necessary at this time," the
24-year-old from Oakland, California said.
"If they are planning a
rescue operation, they should target the group specifically and not the hostages and the
civilians. They are going to make an excuse for dropping bombs to innocent civilians. This
should not be called a rescue operation."
He said the alleged
indiscriminate bombing "will create plenty of support to the Abu Sayyaf and therefore
the operation will fail even if all the members of the Abu Sayyaf are killed. There will
still be hostilities and resistance to the government because of the actions toward the
civilians."
It was unclear whether
Schilling was speaking under duress.
Roland Madura, one of the
former French captives, also said the bombing in Jolo appeared to be indiscriminate and
that he never saw or heard any ground clashes.
Sabaya told the radio that four
of his men have been killed since Saturday.
The official death toll is
seven rebels killed and 20 captured in addition to four civilian deaths and seven soldiers
and police wounded.
"The government went for
the hard kill. They said commando-type rescue operation but this is not commando-type.
This is a Third World War kind of operation," Sabaya said.
He claimed his men have killed
"hundreds" of soldiers while "a lot" of civilians were killed and
wounded. "That is the reason they imposed a news blackout."
Reporters are barred from
travelling to Jolo and communications are intermittent.
"We are open to
negotiations if the Philippine government and the US government are willing to negotiate.
They cannot pulverize us," Sabaya said.
But he warned: "If the
government (succeeds) to get Jeffrey Schilling ... we'll do it again. We'll execute all
foreign hostages."
Sabaya said another Abu Sayyaf
faction was holding the three Malaysians kidnapped at a resort across the border on
September 10. Thirteen Filipinos are also held.
Libyan leader Moamar Kadhafi
also asked President Joseph Estrada to halt the assault and resume negotiations, according
to a foundation led by Kadhafi's son.
The foundation earlier
negotiated the release of 10 foreign captives.
In a report from Tripoli it
said Kadhafi made the appeal in a telephone conversation with Estrada this week.
But Estrada's spokesman Ricardo
Puno reiterated that "as far as the government is concerned they should release all
the hostages first... then we can talk to him."
Puno said "there are
promising prospects" for the operation launched Saturday but declined to elaborate.
The hostage crisis began on
April 23 with the abduction of 21 people from the resort island of Sipadan in neighbouring
Malaysia.
All but one of the Sipadan
captives has been released, reportedly in exchange for millions of dollars in ransom. But
the Abu Sayyaf had been replenishing its pool of hostages even while negotiating with the
government.
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