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Suddenly, the military has found itself fighting
Muslim militants on two fronts. In Basilan, a Marine-led offensive
is under way to hunt down the killers of 14 soldiers, some of whom
were decapitated and mutilated. The suspects belong to a combined
force of Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters who
had engaged soldiers “trespassing” in MILF territory.
In Jolo, government troops are
ranged against Abu Sayyaf and Moro National Liberation Front
guerrillas who killed 26 soldiers in two ambuscades last week.
The new surge in fighting puts in
sharp perspective the minefield the government must negotiate in its
quest for peace in Mindanao. It had signed a peace covenant with the
MNLF and was putting the finishing touches to a separate pact with
the MILF. Now its ties with the two separatist groups are being
strained to the limit.
Those ties were never strong in
the first place. The treaty with the MNLF has been shot through with
violations by both sides. The truce with the MILF has been broken so
many times, despite the presence of foreign observers.
If we look at the problem hard
enough, we will realize that it is not politics or religious fervor
that has fueled the conflict in Basilan and Jolo. Simply put, it is
the company the MILF and the MNLF keeps. The two groups have been
cozy with the Abu Sayyaf for the longest time. In Basilan, the MILF
considers the Abu Sayyaf family, in the literal and figurative
sense. Their members are interrelated either by blood or marriage,
or live in the same communities. This closeness forges a strong
alliance; the MILF’s enemy is the Abu Sayyaf’s enemy. In Basilan
the common enemy is the military.
Relations also run deep in Jolo
between the MNLF and the Abu Sayyaf, which is why the army has not
been able to finish off the terrorists who have made the island
their sanctuary. The offensive in Sulu was mounted long before
hostilities in Basilan broke out last month. But the fugitives, who
include two foreigners wanted for the 2002 Bali bombings, remain
elusive, and the Armed Forces has been accusing the MNLF of
harboring them.
The military had been treading
cautiously in Basilan, allowing a fact-finding team to come in and
determine the individuals involved in the atrocities before
unleashing 5,000 troops to seek out and arrest the culprits. The
team reported that Abu Sayyaf members beheaded at least six of the
soldiers, but could not say who mutilated the other four.
In Sulu, the ambushes, which the
military acknowledges as one of the heaviest casualties it has
suffered in the war against Muslim militants, has drawn swift
reaction.
The President ordered the Army
chief to Sulu to personally take charge of operations there. Mrs.
Arroyo has clearly identified the enemy as the Abu Sayyaf. “We
cannot allow terrorists to hold the South hostage to their agenda of
mayhem and blood sport,” she said.
Without mentioning the MNLF by
name, the President added that she also seeks peace “with those
with peaceful intentions.”
It could be the President’s way
of warning the MNLF to stand down and let government forces deal
with the real enemy, the Abu Sayyaf. We hope her message gets
through.
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