U.S. hostage again appeals for end to Jolo assault

Jeffrey Schilling

MANILA (Reuters) -- An American held by bandits on a southern Philippine island appealed to the government on Friday to halt its military assault, echoing two former French hostages who denounced Manila for its "criminal" handling of the crisis.

"Make sure you tell the Philippine government to stop the operation because right now that's the biggest threat to my life," Jeffrey Schilling, 24, told his mother, Carol, in a telephone call broadcast by local radio.

"If I do die because of the operation... Look I can't be released if the government is conducting operations and not negotiating."

MESSAGE BOARD Philippine kidnappings

Schilling made a similar appeal on Thursday. The government has pledged to intensify the assault until all 17 remaining hostages are released.

Journalists Jean-Jacques Le Garrec, 46, and Roland Madura, 49, arrived in Paris on Thursday after escaping their Abu Sayyaf captors under the cover of dark on the southern island of Jolo.

Their release had appeared to be a huge political fillip for President Joseph Estrada, but on Friday it looked like the criticism had only just begun.

Le Garrec, a cameraman for France-2 television, denounced Estrada for launching the attack, which began on Saturday, saying the army had bombarded civilians and given the Abu Sayyaf credibility they did not deserve.

"What was essentially a bunch of racketeers has become in some ways a political movement thanks to the criminal operation sent in to respond to it," he said.

"...It was impossible to imagine, in this mountainous region, an army operation that could have got us. We risked being stuck in the middle. There would have been a massacre," he said.

Chief Philippine government spokesman Ricardo Puno said on Thursday the group holding Schilling had been located and that there were signs his rescue was imminent.

There was no word of any progress on Friday.

Schilling was taken hostage on Jolo, 960 km (600 miles) south of Manila, on August 28. He is being held separately from 16 other hostages, of whom three are Malaysian and the rest Filipino.

Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Sabaya, also interviewed on mobile phone by dxRZ radio, was asked why not release the hostages and surrender.

"You should ask Erap (Estrada) if he will surrender to us," he said. "I am not boasting."

"We are not afraid, I want you to know that the military operation has no effect on us. The ones affected are the civilians. We are here very much alive."

Asked if he was still on Jolo, he asked cryptically: "Why, are there signals on Jolo?"

His answer suggested his faction of the rebel group might have left the island despite a tight naval cordon.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Philippine Information Agency
Library of Congress Country Studies: Philippines
Terrorist Group Profiles: Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Shooting the MILF, Photo Essay
Understanding Islam and Muslims
Human Rights in Islam: The Political Framework Of Islam
Governments on the WWW: Philippines

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