Archive for the ‘mindanao’ Category
abu sayyaf: kidnap-for-homeland
ces drilon was in and out in nine days. the red cross workers swiss andreas notter, italian eugenio vagni and filipina jean lacaba have been in the hands of the abu sayyaf since jan 15, that’s two months and 10 days today and still no release in sight.
as it turns out, this is no ordinary abu sayyaf venture pala. hindi ito tulad noong kay ces na kidnap-for-money raket, na even if the government was adamant kuno na hindi sila nagbabayad ng ransom, ever, kuno, still they didn’t stop the drilon family from paying up in the millions of bucks.
the red cross hostage-taking is different, radically different. it is, so far, no less than a kidnap-for-homeland gimik.
INDANAN, Sulu: The Abu Sayyaf is not demanding a ransom for the release of three volunteers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) whom the group abducted on January 15.
Abu Ali, a senior leader within the Abu Sayyaf, told The Manila Times that what they want is an independent Bangsamoro homeland.
“I would like to announce to all our Muslim brothers in the Philippines that what we are doing is not for our self-vested interest but for the interest of the Muslim ummah [community] in order to give them freedom as a Bangsamoro people as well as their right to self-determination,” Ali said.
further, according to ding gagelonia atmidfield :
… a reliable source told luwaran.com/net that the ASG has already released their demands to the government for the release of the three staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) kidnapped in Sulu on January 15.
The ASG demands are: 1) For the military to pull out their troops in the entire province of Sulu; and 2) For the government to declare Jolo as an open port between Malaysia and Sulu to boast the economic development of the people of Western Mindanao.
tugon ng red cross, at balik ng abu sayyaf:
A representative of the Red Cross who asked not to be identified and who was with Gordon in Mindanao said the organization could give millions of pesos in livelihood assistance to Sulu so that the peace would be restored in that province.
But Abu Ali said they would not sacrifice their lives if they are only after livelihood assistance.
“If we are only fighting for our livelihood, we might as well lay down our arms and turn into businessmen or farmers to earn a living. But that is not our motive but rather we are fighting for our homeland,” he pointed out.
When asked why they must kidnap Red Cross volunteers, Ali said that is the only way his group can gain attention, especially from the Philippine government.
“No matter how loud we shout and cry even everyday, still the Philippine government would not listen to us.”
tugon ng muslim oppositionist lawyer adel tamano:
Tamano told The Manila Times that “enough is enough” for Abu Sayyaf and all these kidnappings should stop once and for all as it has dragged the names of peace-loving Muslim Filipinos. He also sent a message to the Abu Sayyaf that if they are fighting in the name of Islam and for the sake of Bangsamoro people, they must not perpetrate kidnapping at the expense of the innocent.
so it’s not true that the abu sayyaf guys are not asking for anything in return for the release of the hostages. what’s true is that the palace chooses to ignore the kidnappers’ demand-for-homeland — it is simply not talked about, because how preposterous, how outrageous, how priceless?
instead the afp, on orders no doubt of the president or the-defense-secretary-who-would-be-president, has, with the help of visiting american technology, tracked down the whereabouts of the kidnappers and hostages and thrown a military cordon around the area, i suppose to limit the abu’s movements while the troops await the order to attack and rescue. rescue and attack?
meanwhile of course civil society and the international red cross have been calling for a peacefully negotiated release of the hostages. senator dick gordon, chair of the philippine red cross, had been negotiating with the abu via cellphone and the abu had agreed to release one hostage if the military would pull out from the area. instead there was a firefight last march 16 — the abu say the afp started it, but the afp will neither confirm nor deny (tulad ng kano) — and nothing to show but dead and wounded on both sides, buti na lang the hostages were not harmed.
no wonder gordon is fit to be tied. it doesn’t help, or maybe it does, that major general juancho sabban, commander of what seems a failed attack-and-rescue operation, has taken off for a week to speak at a columbia conference on anti-terrorism *lol*. seriously though, what’s up with our military? haven’t they been training all these last 8 years with the visiting american forces? why then do they continue to be such dismal failures at stopping the abu sayyaf, among other terrorist groups, and ending the reign of terrorism in sulu?
the latest is this abu sayyaf ultimatum:
Muslim militants holding captive three Red Cross workers in the southern Philippines have threatened to behead one of the hostages if government troops do not move out of their jungle hideouts by the end of the month, officials said Wednesday.
The latest threat was issued by Abu Sayyaf rebel leader Albader Parad on Monday as the military stepped up a blockade to prevent food and supplies from reaching the guerrillas in the hinterland of Indanan town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila.
tugon ng militar:
Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, commander of military forces overseeing the operations in Sulu, said security forces will continue to maintain its presence in Indanan town and is closely working with Kasim and Sakur Tan, the provincial governor, who heads the government task force in-charge of securing the safe release of the hostages.
“We will maintain our presence in Indanan town,” he said, adding, any withdrawal of troops could pave the way for terrorists to escape and consolidate their forces.”
Tan also rejected Abu Sayyaf demands for a military pull out. “That is tantamount to surrendering the whole town to terrorists. I will not allow that to happen,” he said.
say naman ni afp spokesperson lt. col. ernesto torres over dzbb radio:
“Mahirap mag-rely sa kanilang sinasabi. They are asking for something in exchange for the freedom of the ICRC workers. Vinavalidate natin kung saan galing yung mga demand na ganiyan. Medyo malaki po yung hinihingi nila,” Torres said.
“Assuming it [demand] is true, ay parang pinullout natin yung tropa sa Sulu, which is not possible,” he added.
[It will be hard to rely on what they are saying. They are asking for something in exchange for the freedom of the ICRC workers. We are still verifying whether they are indeed making the demand. But assuming it is true, they are asking too much because it will be like pulling out our troops from the entire province.]
Torres said they also doubt that the Abu Sayyaf will fulfill its part of the “bargain” because last week, the bandits reneged on its agreement to release one of the ICRC volunteers after government forces repositioned its troops in Indanan town.
Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) chair Senator Richard Gordon last Saturday said Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad “is now asking for two-thirds” of Jolo – a larger portion of the island than originally agreed upon.
He said Parad also wanted the pullout of the armed barangay guards, which was not covered by the original agreement. Parad’s supposed demands are likely to be rejected by officials and the military, Gordon said.
so this crisis is not what djb over at FV says it is:
The months-long Red Cross hostage situation in Sulu is evolving into a major crisis as the government looks increasingly unable to do anything at all about it. It’s Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s ransom paying habits running right smack into the firm and unbending policy of the International Red Cross NEVER to pay ransoms in these terrorist kidnapping cases.
indeed, if it were money the abu sayyaf wants, the crisis would have long been resolved through a pay-up from some pocket or another, matapos lang, kahiyaan na. but it’s not money that the abu want this time. it would seem na nag-evolve na ang abu sayyaf. a la MILF, looking for a homeland, na ang drama nila.
interesting, di ba? who kaya is behind this change-of-politics ng abu sayyaf? what are the implications for the peace talks and the MILF’s campaign for a bangsamoro homeland? will/can the MILF ignore the new abu sayyaf or will/can there be a joining of forces?
gma and her defense-secretary-who-would-be-president teodoro must be praying very hard na magbago sana ang isip at mag-settle na lang for millions of pesos ang abu sayyaf in aid of a dramatic rescue of the three humanitarian workers. for the sakes of the three, i pray so too.
the conceit . . .
MALAYA’s editorial today asks if, and thinks, yes, the bangsamoros’ demand for a homeland in mindanao is just.
The conceit of the Ilocanos, Kapampangans, Tagalogs, etc.
It’s probably not news to most people that among the poorest regions of the country are the Au-tonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Western Mindanao and Central Mindanao. The first is predominantly Muslim, the second (covering the Zamboanga peninsula) has also a significant Muslim population while the third (composed of the Cotabato provinces, Sarangani and Cotabato City) is where Christian and Muslim communities have a history of engaging in communal violence.
This fact should give pause to those rallying around the Republic in the name of national sovereignty and territorial integrity in opposing the grant of genuine autonomy to the Muslims. The national government has long neglected the Muslims. Were we the victims of such abandonment and discrimination – not to speak of outright exploitation – we probably would take up arms against the government too.
Let us be frank with ourselves. While we tend to see ourselves as members of a liberal, pluralist and secular society, what is the reality?
Even as our attention is focused on the rebellion in the South, the Republic remains threatened by a communist insurgency that is fundamentally rooted in the poverty and injustice that mock our deeply held pretensions to a modern, prosperous and progressive society. Let’s leave aside Gloria Arroyo and her delusion that she could defeat the communist rebellion within two years. As long as poverty and powerlessness remain the lot of the mass of our people, we will not see the end of rebellion in our lifetime.
Most of our people have already tuned themselves out from our leaders’ stirring speeches about democracy, civil liberties, the rule of law and equal opportunities for all. Many have voted with their feet to repudiate their allegiance to the Republic.
A minority with a distinct way of life and inhabiting a well-defined territory have chosen to carve out through armed means a homeland for themselves. They are, for the moment, willing to stay within the Republic, or so they say, under a framework of autonomy. But they are also prepared to secede if their demand for self-rule is frustrated.
Is their demand for a homeland just and fair? We think so. And our belief springs from what we feel is a more principled adherence to the ideals that our forked-tongued politicians spout during historic occasions such as our Independence Day celebrations.
We have made a mess of our country. If we cannot clean it up, let us not stand in they way of other people who want to carve out their own destiny. They would probably end up under the misrule of their equivalent of a Gloria Arroyo. Or worse.
But at least they are fighting for what they believe is right. They should shame the far bigger conglomeration of Ilocanos, Kapampangans, Tagalogs, Visayans, etc., who have quietly acquiesced to the rape of their hallowed institutions, the plunder of their patrimony and the robbing of their dignity as a people.”
mindanao muddle
what a mess. it would seem na si gma-in-china lang ang maligaya about the grp-milf ancestral domain deal.
almost everyone else is unhappy, especially muslims and christians living in lands that government is willing to cede to the milf: muslims and christians who were not consulted – where’s the democracy nga naman. hindi man lang sila tinanong kung payag sila, at walang paliwanag kung bakit nararapat (kung nararapat man) at paano narating ang ganoong desisyon.
the grp-milf deal simply gives away too much to an armed milf, to the detriment of other muslim groups and lumads and christians, rightly raising fears of more terrorism, rather than none, which could be the point of the whole thing.
seems like the grp-milf deal (or no-deal) isn’t meant to settle anything, rather it is meant to UNsettle things further, which lends credence to theories that in her “last two minutes” gloria is out to create an environment that would give her reason to declare martial law, or congress reason to change the charter, both of which bode ill for the nation.
as always, i have a hard time giving gloria and her congress the benefit of the doubt. it’s hard to believe that she did not anticipate this kind of fall-out. she is, after all, neither stupid nor naive.
catching up
good to be home and blogging again after four days in medical city – as bantay lang naman, not as pasyente – without laptop dahil walang wi-fi except sa 15th floor suites. we had cable tv naman, so i was getting snippets of news, enough to know that a lot’s going on, mostly discordant, what else is new, but i’ve lost track so have a lot of reading and catching up to do.
of course i’ve read djb’s rant vs. my mindanao fairytale and also manolo’s the march of folly in mindanao which pointed me back to djb’s sultanic verses and comments by abet carino and danilo ignacio that save me the effort of responding. thanks, guys.
solving mindanao
GOOD question from jego over at philippine commentary:
I have asked this question over at Filipino Voices but it seems it’s a tough one to answer: Why is it all important that we keep Mindanao (ARMM in particular) part of the Philippines? What is so terrible about letting it go and be an independent sovereign entity? How many lives have been snuffed out because of this conflict and how many more are we willing to sacrifice just to keep the Philippines together? Is it because we need Mindanao’s resources to be able to survive? That’s not a valid reason, IMO. Mindanao’s resources should primarily be used for Mindanao’s development and not to prop up the central government and its armies. Is it because of ‘national pride’? That’s a hell of a price for the deaths of probably hundreds of thousands by now since the American occupation at least. Why isnt divorce an option a la the Czech Republic and Slovakia? Why do we have to risk doing a Yugoslavia (or Timor L’este even)?”
why is it important to keep muslim mindanao (ARMM) part of the philippines? tough question talaga. i gather (correct me if i’m wrong, anyone who knows better) that it has to do with revenues and with land. government would lose revenues, and government would have to compensate multinationals and other corporate and christian landowners who presently own land in the muslim territories. i have never been able to get any figures or who’s who on this, no thanks to media, but i gather that it’s the major, most thorny problem that government, of course, won’t discuss openly.
now check out this item from taipeitimes.com dated may 2008 that i stumbled on while googling:
Voters may block peace deal
Voters could block a proposed revenue-sharing deal aimed at ending a protracted Muslim separatist rebellion in the south, Manila’s chief peace negotiator warned yesterday. Rodolfo Garcia said Manila has agreed in principle to give Muslims a bigger share of revenues from the natural resources on Mindanao Island, but that voters could reject the change to the Constitution this would require. Peace talks with the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front have stalled after the rebels accused Manila of delaying. The rebels’ claims for “ancestral domain” in the region are also “potentially controversial,” because they would force a change in the law. Only Congress, dominated by the Christian majority including Mindanao landowners, can pass laws.
it would seem that finally government is willing to give up some revenue and, i suppose, some land, except that they’re spinning it so it would require changing the constitution, i.e., shifting to federalism, which jibes with ricky carandang’s reading that the chacha train has left the station:
Recent efforts by the Regime to resurrect the long dormant peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have led to pronoucments by lead negotiators Rodolfo Garcia and Hermogenes Esperon that revisions to the constitution would be required in order to give more legal and fiscal autonomy to the expanded region of Muslim Mindanao. They point to a resolution to shift to a federal form of government proposed by, of all people, Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
This means that aside from Arroyo and her politicans, there will be a significant number of people in Mindanao who will find it in their interest to support charter change this time around. The regime can also pre-empt potential opposition from the international community by arguing that that the revisions would enhance stability in Mindanao and make it less susceptible to terrorism. In which case extending Arroyo’s term would be a small price to pay. I’m told that this the line taken during Arroyo’s recent working visit to the US. Its almost like blackmail. If you want stability in Mindanao, you must allow us to stay in power beyond 2010.
the question is, will the milf play along? magpagamit kaya ang milf kay gloria? say ni mon casiple:
If the peace negotiations proceeded to the charter change phase, MILF will have lost much of the goodwill it has earned among the majority Filipinos and possibly even among the Moro people who know the real political implication of a cha-cha under the GMA administration. Unfortunately by then, the Moro struggle will have been compromised and subverted by an agenda for prolonging GMA’s stay in power.
I do not think the GMA administration will allow the peace process to successfully end after the charter change. Either it will dribble the ball or it may enter into an agreement it will not implement, as what happened in the Tripoli and Jakarta agreements. It cannot simply forsake its Christian-based constituency or its Moro political allies. If the MILF is not coopted into the current political arrangement, it will not be in position to demand a favorable implementation.
The whole peace process regarding the Moro struggle for self-determination is in danger of being coopted to be sacrificed before the altar of GMA’s political survival. The MILF will then serve only as a decoy for the real charter change agenda.
hopefully the milf will listen to fellow muslims who have long been debating autonomy vs. federalism and who are justifiably wary of federalism. because dr. rene azurin of one voice is right: “devolution of power to local governments can be accomplished without resorting to federalization.”
so, too, can the devolution of power to an autonomous bangsamoro homeland be accomplished without resorting to chacha.