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American hostage visited rebel camp |
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October 1, 2000
JOLO, Philippines (AP) - An American being held hostage by Muslim rebels visited their camp twice before being abducted and discussed procuring night vision goggles for them, the Philippine national police chief said Saturday. Jeffrey Schilling of Oakland, California, was taken captive by the Abu Sayyaf rebels Aug. 28 after he visited their camp on southern Jolo island in Sulu province. Schilling says rebel leaders abducted him after they began suspecting he was a CIA agent, which he denies. National police chief Panfilo Lacson said Schilling had also visited a rebel camp on the nearby province of Basilan. "Twice in the past two years Schilling visited the Abu Sayyaf camp in Basilan (and met) with Abu Sayyaf leaders for the procurement of night vision goggles," Lacson said in an interview with ABS-CBN television. "Because he went there without any difficulty, we are wondering why he was kidnapped, because he went to Sulu and transacted business." The rebel faction holding Schilling previously operated on Basilan, but fled to Jolo to escape a military assault after they kidnapped about 50 children and teachers from two schools. On Sept. 16, the military also launched a massive attack on Jolo to rescue 17 other hostages being held by the Abu Sayyaf, including Schilling and three Malaysians. Philippine officials have raised questions about Schilling's relationship with the rebels, although they say they continue to believe he is being held against his will. Schilling's wife, Ivi Osani, is the second cousin of the Abu Sayyaf's spokesman and the widow of a rebel killed several years ago by government troops. Osani, who went to the rebel camp with Schilling but was not abducted, is being held by police. Schilling, 24, majored in Near East studies at the University of California at Berkeley and converted to Islam in 1994. He is deeply interested in the status of Muslim minorities in countries like the Philippines, his family says. The Abu Sayyaf claims it is fighting for an independent Islamic state in the impoverished southern Philippines. In the past six months it has kidnapped scores of people. Most were released after Libya and Malaysia paid more than dlrs 15 million in ransom, negotiators say. Several Philippine news reports have accused Schilling of discussing procurement of supplies such as camouflage uniforms, combat boots and night vision goggles from the United States. Schilling's mother, Carol, has denied he was an arms dealer. Earlier this week, presidential spokesman Ricardo Puno said the government still considered Schilling a hostage and was attempting to free him, but would charge him if any evidence is found that he committed crimes. On Saturday, at least two rebels were killed and one soldier was wounded after a gunbattle erupted between government troops and about 100 rebels in a mountainous area in Patikul town, military officials said. One truckload of soldiers and one armored vehicle providing security for a relief operation for refugees in Maimbung town were pulled out to reinforce troops in Patikul. A group of reporters saw six tanks, one armored vehicle and one truckload of soldiers being pulled out from an outpost in Indanan town to be deployed to the scene of the fighting. They saw the soldiers cocking their weapons as they clambered onto the vehicles. One air force officer said two attack helicopters were unable to fire rockets at rebel positions because of the close combat on the ground. The latest rebel casualties raised to 113 the number of rebels believed to have died in the rescue operation by 5,000 troops on Jolo. Four government soldiers have been killed and more than 80,000 villagers have been forced to flee their homes, officials say.
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