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October 29, 2006

Philippines: Four Islamists Killed In Clash

The Philippine islands are predominantly Christian, yet in the south of the archipelago, on the large island of Mindanao, a large proportion of the population are Muslim, mostly of the Moro or Bangsamoro ethnic groups. Three million Muslims live on Mindanao. There were two sultanates in the south, one based at Sulu and the other at Miguandanao in the west of Mindanao, centered around the region which is now included within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM, near Cotabato. While the rest of the Philippines became Christian, these sultanates resisted and retained their Islamic identity.

The sultanate of Miguandanao still continues, but in name only. On January 11 this year, the 25th sultan of Miguandanao, Datu Amir Baraguir, was shot dead. He may have been killed by Islamists, as, prior to becoming the sultan in 2005, he ran a newspaper column, in which he encouraged Muslims and Christians to live together.

Historically, when the Spaniards under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Manila Bay in the late 16th century, Muslim imperialism was already taking place in Maynilad (as the main center of Luzon island was then known), under the leadership of Rajah Soliman (Sulayman), who originally came from Borneo. Now, 84% of the population is Christian, and 7% is Muslim.

The term Bangsamoro means in Malay "Moro homeland", and is now used to define 11 ethnic groups. There have been two major movements to "liberate" the southern Moro peoples from Filipino rule. These are the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), traditionally based in the Liguasan marsh of Mindanao and formed in 1977, and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The latter group are led by . When the ARMM was officially inaugurated on November 6, 1990, Nur Misauri (head of MNLF, pictured left) was made its first governor. This followed a peace deal, signed on August 30, 1996, brokered by Indonesia.

After being governor of ARMM for five years, Misauri went back to his roots as a rebel. In November 2001, he ordered an attack upon an army base in Jolo (Sulu province) and then became a fugitive in Malaysia, thence deported back to the Philippines, where he is currently in jail. Despite his history as a trouble-maker, the OIC countries see Misauri as the representative of the Moro peoples.

MILF had an estimated 2,900 "soldiers" at the end of last year, but in December it seems they began a recruitment campaign which has swollen their numbers. They led a brief insurgency against the Philippines government in 1987, but have recently been engaged in protracted peace talks with the Filipino government, which have been brokered by Malaysia. Last month, the peace talks stalled over disputes about the size of territory to be under their control. Murad Ibrahim leads the MILF.

To add to the mix of dissidents in the Philippines, there are the Islamist groups who use terrorism to achieve similar goals to the MNLF and MILF.

The group Abu Sayyaf, formed in the 1980s is more involved in banditry than political aims, and specializes in kidnappings and beheadings. It set bombs on a ferry carrying 900 passengers in the Bay of Manila on February 27, 2004. The ensuing fire on the ship saw 116 people killed. Abu Sayyaf's center of operations include Miguandanao and Mindanao, the island of Basilan, and also the island of Jolo. The leader of Abu Sayyaf is Khaddafy Janjalani, who has a $10 million bounty on his head from the US Rewards for Justice scheme.

A smaller group involved in insurgent activities is Abu Sofia. On January 2005 its leader Bebis Binago was killed but the group, which is allied to Abu Sayyaf, continues to exist. It has some links with MILF. In July, three Abu Sofia operatives were arrested in Sultan Kudarat in Miguandanao.

The other faction in Islamic radicalism is drawn from the tradition of "Balik Islam" - the converts from Catholicism who regard themselves as returning to their roots. They call themselves "reverts" and believe that if Miguel Lopez de Legazpi had not been successful, the Philippines would have been entirely Muslim by now.

The faction from these converts which is involved in terrorism is called Rajah Solaiman, after the 16th century Borneo-born ruler of Luzon. This group is small, but has allied itself with both Abu Sayyaf and the larger, al-Qaeda-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. On February 14 2005, members of Rajah Solaiman, Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf joined forces to carry out a series of multiple bombings, known as the Valentine's Day bombings. A bus in Makati city, Manila's financial district was bombed, killing four, and other bombs took place in Davao. Eight people died and more than 150 people were killed in the Valentine's Day attacks. Rajah Solaiman are active on Luzon (Manila) and also around the region of Zamboanga province on Mindanao, where they act as "couriers" for Abu Sayyaf.

The groups listed above, sharing a common purpose of independence from the Philippines, have links with each other. From November 11, 2005 until a truce was made on January 20, members of MNLF joined with Abu Sayyaf on the island of Jolo, and mounted an insurgency against Filipino troops stationed on the island. Abu Sayyaf on Jolo is led by the one-armed horse-riding local leader Radullan Sahiron. The truce was brokered by MNLF leader Nur Misauri from his jail cell.

Some Abu Sayyaf members had been hiding on Mindanao, in the Liguasan Marsh on Mindanao, territory of the MILF. Last year, two Jemaah Islamiyah leaders, Dulmatin and Umar Patek had taken refuge there. It is believed they found refuge with a senior MILF leader who was in conflict with his group. Dulmatin (real name Amar bin Usman) and Patek are wanted for their role in the October 12, 2002, bombings on Bali which killed 202 people. the US is offering a bounty of $10 million for Sulmatin, and $1 million for Umar Patek.

As a result, the Liguasan Marsh region was bombed by Filipino forces in November and again in January. About 20 Abu Sayyaf members, including the leader Khadaffy Janjalani and also Dulmatin and Umar Patek fled to the island of Jolo. Two other JI members, Zulkifli bin Hir and Abdul Rahman Ayub who were hiding with the Abu Sayyaf also fled. They took refuge in the south of the island.

There is an American presence on Jolo, though these are involved in training Philippines military rather than any active involvement in conflict. After US satellite imaging located the mountainside base, it was bombed by Filipino forces on August 1. The operation to capture or remove the Abu Sayyaf leadership and the JI activists on Jolo has continued since.

On October 6 it was announced that Dulmatin's wife, Istiada Oemar Sovie, aka Amenah Toha, had been captured as she tried to enter Jolo with her two children, aged 6 and 8.

This action led to apparent reprisals. On October 10 and 11, three bombs in Mindanao killed eight people at Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, Makilala City in North Cotabato province and at Cotabato City. The Governor of North Cotabato Province, Emmanuel Pinol, claimed the bombs were the work of MILF. The attacks appeared to signal a new offensive against mainly Christian civilians in Mindanao.

On October 17, a large cache of explosives was discovered on a boat at Zamboanga City port on the western coast of Mindanao. The explosive material was ammonium nitrate, which was on a boat which had arrived at the port from Jolo island. The chemical was stored inside a fish cooler, under layers of fish on the boat MV Nickel Princely. The material was made in France. Previous smuggled ammonium nitrate has come from Indonesia or Malaysia.

On October 15, a bomb had taken place at a police compound at Camp Asturias in downtown Jolo city, Sulu, injuring two people.

Reuters the Inquirer and Deutsche Presse Agentur via Monsters & Critics report today that four Islamists have been killed in a clash with government troops. The incident took place at the village of Buloy near Shariff Aguak town, in Miguandanao province, Mindanao. One soldier was injured in the gunfight.

Before the shootout, a homemade bomb was found on a road in Barera town, north of Shariff Aguak. The device, which had comprised a 60-millimeter mortar shell, had been safely defused.

Colonel Julieto Ando, spokesman for the army's 6th Infantry Division, blamed MILF for instigating the gun battle at Buloy. "The rebels harassed a detachment of government militiamen in the village, forcing the government forces to fight back," he said.

Eid Kabalu, the official spokesman of MILF, said that the conflict had been started by militiamen of Governor Andal Ampatuan. Kabalu claimed the militia had fired mortar shells at the MILF position at dawn. In June, dozens had been killed in Shariff Aguak, when forces allied to MILF fought with militia allied to local politicians.

Last week, the leader of MILF, Murad Ebrahim (pictured left) was officially charged by police with the October 10/11 attacks in Morth Cotabato province, states Deutsche Presse Agentur via Playfuls.com. General Hermogenes Esperon, armed forces chief of staff, has expressed doubts that Ebrahim would have been involved in attacks of this nature. He said: "I have not seen (intelligence) reports that would directly incriminate Al Haj Murad himself."

Eid Kabalu has strenuously denied that the MILF would mount such an assault.

The talks between the MILF and the government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stalled last month over issues of territory. The planned autonomous region would have included 600 villages, but MILF wanted 1,000 to be included in the territory.

This morning, states, the Inquirer, a police officer was shot dead in Zamboanga City. Rodrigo Deza was on a motorcycle when he was shot from behind by two gunmen who had tailed him on another bike. He was shot in the head. His pistol was taken. No group has been named yet as being responsible for the attack. The method of killing is similar to that commonly used in the south of Thailand by insurgents.

A report today from Angus Reid.com states that a poll, conducted between September 24 to October 2 found that Filipinos were viewing Islam more favorably. In August 2004, 41% of respondents to a similar poll viewed Islam "unfavorably", reducing to 32% in September 2005, and currently the figure is 29%.

In 2004, 52% of respondents viewed Islam "favorably", which rose to 63% in 2005, and now stands at 66%.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 29, 2006 10:44 AM

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Posted by: BritneyBritish at October 29, 2006 2:04 PM

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