U.S. says no concessions on Philippine hostage

U.S. says no concessions on Philippine hostage

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (Agencies): The United States said on Wednesday it would give no concessions to rebels holding an American hostage in the southern Philippines but formally asked Manila for help in securing his release.

"We will not pay ransom, change policies, release prisoners or make any concessions that reward hostage-taking," said a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Manila on the kidnapping of Jeffrey Schilling, from Oakland, California.

Schilling, 24, was abducted by Abu Sayyaf rebels on Monday in the southern city of Zamboanga and is now being held on the island of Jolo along with a Filipino and six European hostages kidnapped months ago.

Schilling has been seen by residents of a village controlled by Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in the remote southern Philippines island of Jolo, local police said Wednesday.

He was aboard a boat which docked at the village of Tanum on Jolo's north coast on Monday afternoon, police in the town of Patikul told AFP, citing residents' accounts.

The "Black American" was collected by Abu Sayyaf leader Aldam Dillaw, who took him to the village of Pansul where he has stayed since Monday night, the police report said.

Police said Dillaw is the same Abu Sayyaf spokesman who uses the assumed name of Abu Sabaya. Sabaya announced Schilling's abduction in a telephone call to a Zamboanga radio station on Tuesday morning.

Sabaya warned that the group would "behead" their captive if the United States refused to free World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Youssef and two other people held in U.S. jails.

Residents on Jolo, 960 km south of Manila, said on Wednesday more troops than usual were on patrol in the main town and that additional checkpoints had been set up on the roads to the hills where the Abu Sayyaf has its camps.

The Philippines has previously said it will not use force to win the release of hostages. It said it would respond to the request for help from the United States, but its chief hostage negotiator said he had not been called upon yet.

Chief government spokesman Ricardo Puno told reporters: "Of course, we are going to negotiate for the release of the American. It's the Philippines' responsibility to do so. Let's see what happens beyond that."

A spokesman for the rebels renewed threats to kill Schilling, a convert to Islam, if three Muslim fundamentalists held in U.S. jails for the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center were not released.

"Maybe we will behead him," the spokesman said in a call to dxRZ radio.

"We are fully prepared to talk," he added. "The door to negotiations is open for the release of this American...but we hope the results will be good and that (Philippine President Joseph Estrada) will not try to intimidate us."

The spokesman later said the rebels were prepared to receive emissaries from the Philippine and U.S. governments on Thursday and also demanded that representatives from China, Libya, North Korea and Iraq be present.

Libya has helped in the freeing in recent weeks of 17 mostly foreign hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf and is involved in a major initiative to secure the release of the rest with the tacit support of the countries involved -- France, Germany, Finland, South Africa, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Meanwhile in Tripoli, the last former hostages left Libya on Wednesday after a day of thanksgiving and listening to anti-U.S. speeches -- but without seeing Muammar Qaddafi, the controversial leader responsible for freeing them from guerrillas in the Philippines.

It had been widely predicted that Qaddafi would personally greet the six former hostages from France, Germany and South Africa after his government was instrumental in gaining their release. But Qaddafi has long been known as unpredictable.