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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Issue No. 35 October 14 - 20, 2001 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Issue No. 35 October 14 - 20, 2001 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Basilanistan If
US Pres. George W. Bush has his “anti-terrorist war” in Afghanistan, our
very own Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has her own in Basilan. With
US military advisers flying in any time this month to look into the pathetic
efforts of the AFP against our very own Islamic extremists, the Abu Sayyaf who,
not coincidentally, have alleged connections with Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda
network, it would seem that the military operations in Afghanistan and Basilan
may eventually be treated as a single, contiguous war against “terrorism”
and “terrorist groups.” The
Philippines, of course, has been identified by the US government as one among 50
or so countries harboring “terrorists.” Aside from the Abu Sayyaf group (ASG),
the American and Philippine governments include the MILF, CPP-NPA-NDF and other
revolutionary armed organizations as terrorists. (According to Prof. Roland
Simbulan, US Col. James Rowe who was assassinated by NPA partisans in 1989 has,
in his tombstone, the epitaph, “Gunned down by terrorists in the
Philippines.”) But
if we allow National Security Adviser Roilo Golez to shoot his mouth off the way
he’s been doing lately, the Arroyo government will find itself calling
humanitarian aid groups, environmentalists, cause-oriented groups, Leftists and
Islam associations “terrorist” or “with terrorist links,” making the
Americans doubly interested in sending over their special operations forces. Afghanistan
and Basilan, though continents apart, have similarities that are simply too
glaring and frightening to ignore. For
one thing, they harbor their own groups of Islamic extremists at one time
directly or indirectly trained, organized, funded and armed by the US Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA). In Afghanistan, this would be the Taliban and bin
Laden’s Al-Qaeda which were instrumental in repulsing the Soviet invaders at a
time when the USSR was still considered the US’s rival superpower. In
Basilan, it would be the ASG, whose leaders like the Janjalani brothers and Abu
Sabaya cut their teeth as anti-communist Mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan in
the early 80s. They were later used by the Philippine government to undermine
the MILF and MNLF. The
ASG eventually engaged in banditry and kidnapping, thanks to the infiltration of
corrupt deep penetration agents like Edwin Angeles, and the collusion of local
government officials, officers of the AFP Southern Command and a host of
notorious negotiators and brokers. Just
like the Philippine government, the US government is fighting its own monster.
Bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban were US creations, or at least pawns in
their proxy wars for control over the Middle East. The same goes for the ASG
who, aside from wreaking havoc on the Bangsa Moro movement, made many military
and civilian officials rich. But
in Afghanistan as in Basilan, the anti-terrorist war is gaining more
sympathizers for its targets. This is because in their aim to “smoke out”
the enemy from their mountain or jungle lairs, RP and US armed forces rely on
naked power and brute force, resulting in the maiming and killing of many
innocent civilians. In the process, they gain more enemies than friends among
the populace. In
Basilan for example, the Abu Sayyaf and the AFP are equally despised. In some
areas, they say the Abu Sayyaf is better because at least, they don’t bomb
villages, torch or loot houses, or engage in indiscriminate arrests and torture. In
both places, there is the tendency to rely on military solutions to complex
problems that have political, economic, religious and ethnic roots. Terrorism is
being met with a greater, state-sponsored and superpower-backed terrorism. The
result is a flawed “war against terrorism” which aggravates rather than
solves the problem, making the cycle of hatred and violence even bigger. Because the US and Philippine governments refuse to admit that they – their attitudes, policies and actions – are part of the problem, their aim is to “correct” the mistakes of the other parties, mainly through force and military action. This leads to an escalation of the conflict, resulting in the most desperate of terrorist acts from their enemies and themselves. Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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