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.