Decisive action needed to stop atrocities

The military has barely recovered from the casualties it sustained when its troops clashed with the Abu Sayyaf last weekend, killing 23 soldiers. Reports say that Arrmed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) soldiers, in respect of the peace negotiations, had first asked permission from the MILF command before attacking a main enemy camp of the bandits in Tipo Tipo, Basilan. Apparently the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had warned the Abu Sayyaf, allowing them to prepare for the attack and escape. This happened while President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was having a command conference with top officials of the Western Mindanao Command in nearby Zamboanga City. Now again we hear the news that two government helicopters carrying senior military officials and media personnel were hit by fire from automatic rifles, injuring some of the passengers. The bandit group Abu Sayyaf is being blamed but it is being cleared whether the MILF is also involved. The rebels, which we hope are the Abu Sayyaf rather than the MILF, have been brazenly warring with the government forces, their arms and firepower even matching those of the military. Suspected of being involved in terrorism, the MILF rebels plant and explode the bombs while the Abu Sayyaf kidnap innocent people for ransom to sustain their existence and operations. We wonder if a “working collaboration” is in place. 

The MILF, which separated from Nur Misuari’s Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1977 had always been known for having a more noble cause of creating a separate Islamic state. It had always put more emphasis on its Islamic roots, with many of its senior leaders being clerics. It has gathered more popular support in the rural areas mostly in Central Mindanao, where the prevalence of poverty has encouraged dissent. Thus it has the most number of members in the force, about 12,000 and the most number of arms and weapons too compared with Misuari’s followers, the Communist Party remnants and the Abu Sayyaf. With the recent encounters and spate of kidnappings, we observe that the actions of both the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf seemed to overlap making us wonder whether the MILF has evolved into another purpose or persuasion. The MILF spokesmen have never acknowledged, so far, any involvement with the bandit group in all the atrocities it committed in the past including the latest incident. We do hope they have not forged an unholy alliance. 

Another observation is, every time the government plans to resume peace negotiations, attacks and fighting among soldiers from both camps would escalate. The worst part about this is when innocent civilians get hurt or are killed and displaced in the process. Now the government is preparing for another round of negotiations in the next few months centered on a long-term Mindanao Peace and Development Framework Plan. Why government representatives need to go to Malaysia to resume peace talks with the MILF is incomprehensible, unless we want their support in getting rid of the impudent Abu Sayyaf members who have done nothing but worsen the situation for the peace loving citizens of the affected communities, tarnish the image of our country and make the poor and hungry citizens there poorer and more vulnerable to the culture of violence around them. 

Before the Supreme Court issued a restraining order last year, the peace talks centered on certain regions in the country proposed to be ceded to the Bangsamoro. This was met by strong opposition from majority of the population in these proposed regions which is composed of about 75 percent Christians, 20 percent Muslims and five percent lumads (highlanders), among whom are members of 13 ethnolinguistic Muslim groups, historically clustered in the Sulu archipelago and the island of Mindanao. Most of these do not want to be part of a Moro nation at all. We must not forget the poor and disadvantaged among these people who, powerless as they already are and caught in the middle, may be doomed to a lifetime of destitution if their welfare is continually left to chance. 

There is mounting pressure on the military to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf which has about 200 members. But as of now there is no assurance that any of these plans will bring final and lasting peace in Mindanao. We want the military not only to show more force but to be more decisive in its moves to quell all these negative forces. Terrorists and criminals should never prevail against the government.