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Home/ stevenwarran's Library/ Notes/ September 27, 2000, The Philippine Star, 18 Sayyaf suspects arrested in mosque NSC backs offensive vs Abus, by Roel Pareño,

September 27, 2000, The Philippine Star, 18 Sayyaf suspects arrested in mosque NSC backs offensive vs Abus, by Roel Pareño,

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September 27, 2000, The Philippine Star, 18 Sayyaf suspects arrested in mosque NSC backs offensive vs Abus, by Roel Pareño,

Government troops raided an Islamic mosque in Jolo, Sulu late Monday in search of Abu Sayyaf terrorists and arrested 18 suspected Muslim extremists, a religious leader said yesterday. Meanwhile, the National Security Council (NSC), which President Estrada convened at Malacañang yesterday, decided the offensive will continue until the Abu Sayyaf has been destroyed. 

"No timetable or deadline was given insofar as the Abu Sayyaf operations are concerned," Press Secretary Ricardo Puno told reporters after the NSC’s two-and-a-half-hour meeting. Meanwhile, two soldiers were reported killed and eight others were wounded in separate clashes between Abu Sayyaf gunmen and government forces who have been waging an all-out ope-ration to rescue 17 people held hostage by the Muslim bandits. Army soldiers reportedly swooped down on a mosque in Masjid Tulay in downtown Jolo and detained 18 suspected Abu Sayyaf members, said Grand Imam Yakub Ismi. Eight of the suspected Abu Sayyaf members were later cleared and released, but 10 were turned over to the local police for detention and criminal prosecution. He said the raiders also seized eight firearms from the mosque. The Agence France Presse quoted local residents as saying they heard gunfire from the vicinity of the mosque late Monday. 

Ismi denounced the raid, saying the troops desecrated their place of worship by not leaving their shoes at the door and toppling a copy of the Koran, the holy book of Islam, from its perch. "I have nothing against military movements, but the thing is, they should have warned us in advance," he said. 

The death toll on the government side in the Sulu operations rose to three as the Task Force Trident pressed its massive air and ground assault for the 12th day yesterday against the Abu Sayyaf rebels. A 30-member Abu Sayyaf and ambushed an Army patrol near Talipao town the other day, leaving one infantryman dead and four others wounded. In another encounter, an Army corporal was killed and four other soldiers wounded near Maimbung town. 

Task Force commander Brig. Gen. Narciso Abaya identified the fatality as Cpl. Moises Mapili, while those wounded were Sgt. Herwin Villegas, Sgt. Crispin Fantalinan and integrees Pfc. Lutan Alilul and Pfc. Asangi Jalmaani. The AFP operation was launched on Sept. 16 after Abu Sayyaf pirates raided the Malaysian island resort of Pandanan in Sabah and seized three Malaysians who were taken by boat across the border to nearby Sulu island. 

KL youth group alarmed by military attack 

In Kuala Lumpur, a leading Malaysian Muslim movement accused the Estrada administration of carrying out a genocide against Muslim minorities in Mindanao. The Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) expressed serious concern over the "indiscriminate use of force" by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in their efforts to punish the Abu Sayyaf for the recent kidnapping spree in Mindanao and Sabah. 

The group, in a statement, said the news blackout imposed by the government on the military operations in Sulu was obscuring the real situation of the war in Sulu. It cited unconfirmed reports saying the civilians were suffering the brunt of the offensive, including a bomb that dropped on a wedding reception, killing at least 10 people. 

The AFP insisted, however, that only two civilians have been killed and four wounded in the crossfire, while an estimated 36,000 villagers were forced to flee their homes. ABIM charged that the Estrada administration was merely using the Abu Sayyaf problem "as a cover for a more diabolical agenda." 

Citing the lack of development aid for poor Muslim-populated areas, ABIM said the Filipino Muslims were being punished for refusing to accept total integration into the national body politic, which also means embracing Christianity. 

A Malaysian official has also urged the Estrada administration to talk to moderate Muslim leaders in Mindanao rather than rely mainly on the military. Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak said Manila should adopt a "comprehensive approach" in addressing the security problem. 

Kuala Lumpur also justified last week’s arrest of 33 Filipinos illegally entering Sabah. "They are economic migrants trying to take advantage of the situation. What we’re doing is we’re trying to screen all the boats that enter. That's also one way to check piracy," said Malaysian Ambassador to Manila Mohammad Arshad Mansoor Hussein. The envoy also expressed grave concern over the absence of information on the fate of the three Malaysian hostages seized from Pandanan last Sept. 11. Meanwhile, the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) will ask the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to initiate an independent probe on the reported heavy casualty on civilians of the war in Sulu. 

An OIC team is expected to arrive in Mindanao next month to evaluate the government’s implementation of the September 1996 peace accord with the MNLF. The Bureau of Public Information (BPI) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said MNLF chieftain and ARMM Gov. Nur Misuari may take the opportunity to ask that the OIC also inquire into the effects to civilians of the ongoing military offensive in Sulu. 

"They (OIC representatives) might as well investigate the deaths of civilians who were killed in the hostilities between the Abu Sayyaf and the military," said BPI chief Hadji Samson Gogo. Gogo said MNLF officials in Sulu reported that over a hundred civilians have died in the fighting. 

Sources from the MNLF-led Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development said they tried to verify the reported deaths of civilians, but the military would not allow them to go to the affected areas. Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said the military will soon lift the news blackout and allow medical and social workers to conduct relief operations in critical areas following reports of mounting civilian casualties. 
"The idea is to open the area to newsmen and doctors so the public would see what's happening," Mercado said. He pointed out, however, that the Abu Sayyaf appeared to have launched its own black propaganda campaign against the government. 

IBP poised to sue Estrada, DND and AFP

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines said it would file a class suit against the President, the Department of National Defense (DND) and the AFP for imposing an "undeclared martial law" in Jolo. At a press briefing held at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) offices, IBP governor Serafin Rivera said the military operation in Sulu resulted in serious violations of human rights. "The military has violated the freedom to travel and the freedom of expression which form part of the basic human rights of the Filipinos," Rivera said. CHR Commissioner Nasser Marohomsalic said Abu Sayyaf leader Mujib Susukan alias Commander Bugok, was no longer in Sulu. 

He said Susukan and other Abu Sayyaf leaders had fled to either Basilan or Lanao. IBP president Arthur Lim said the government will not allow the government to continue with its "ethnic cleansing" operation. "There is an unnecessary force being implemented by the military in Mindanao today. They are isolating the innocent non-combatant civilians by imposing transportation and communication blockade. We cannot even contact our relatives there because they are all at the mercy of the military operations," Lim said. 

He said while they support the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf terrorists, eradicating the criminal elements should not be done without giving top priority to the safety and welfare of civilians. He dared the military leadership to make public the daily toll of the war on civilians. 

"Only if the media (are) allowed free and untrammeled access in the area that we can only check them. The government could observe transparency without compromising military tactics," Lim said. Marohomsalic said the military violated the rules of engagement and Protocol II of the International Humanitarian law which allows the imposition of blockades but not exceeding three days. 

"Under the law, the military or the government is required to evacuate first the innocent and non-combatant civilians, particularly the children, to ensure their safety," the CHR chief said. However, Sulu Gov. 
Abdusakur Tan urged the public to give the government a chance to finish the joint military-police operation in Sulu. "We should give these operations a chance to succeed. Let us not limit it by giving a time frame," Tan said. 

In a meeting with AFP chief Gen. Angelo Reyes and Philippine National Police chief Director General Panfilo Lacson, Tan said local villagers have also offered to help fight the Abu Sayyaf. Reyes and Lacson visited Jolo on Monday to assess the progress of the campaign. "Basta susuportahan kami ng pamahalaan, kami na ang titira. Kasi, kung magre-report pa kami, baka makaalis pa (As long as the government will support us, we will strike (at the Abu Sayyaf) ourselves... because if we have to report (the Abu Sayyaf’s presence in our communities), chances are they will be able to leave)," Tan quoted the residents as saying. In another development, opposition leaders in the House of Representatives urged Malacañang to stop the military attack in Sulu following reports that the Abu Sayyaf leaders and their hostages have fled the island. 

Lakas-NUCD secretary general and Isabela Rep. Heherson Alvarez said the government should now withdraw the troops to avoid inflicting further harm on innocent civilians. "They should stop the bombing because the Abu Sayyaf (gunmen) are no longer there. They are not hitting their target... they’re hitting the civilians," Alvarez said. Pangasinan Rep. Hernani Braganza said the government’s failure to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf despite the full-scale military offensive was "unpardonable." 

"Worse, the Abu Sayyaf continues to taunt the government by conducting media interviews through cellphone," Braganza said. Apart from the three Malaysians, the Abu Sayyaf gunmen are also holding American Jeffrey Craig Edwards Schilling, Filipino dive instructor Roland Ullah and 12 preachers of the Jesus Miracle Crusade led by televangelist Wilde Almeda. Reyes has assured the people that the hostages are still alive and safe. - With reports from Paolo Romero, Marichu Villanueva, Christina Mendez, Jose Rodel Clapano, Aurea Calica, Jose Aravilla, John Unson, wire services

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