September 20, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sayyaf escape possible with Sulu's 157 islets, by Carolyn Arguillas,

September 20, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sayyaf escape possible with Sulu's 157 islets, by Carolyn Arguillas,

 

DAVAO CITY--Lupah Sug (Sulu), the "Land of the Sea Current," was the historic seat of the mighty Sultanate of Sulu centuries ago and the site of the first organized government in what is now the Philippines.

 

It is the current object of a massive military assault to "finish off" an estimated 5,000 Abu Sayyaf members or less than one percent of its entire population of 536,000 (as of 1995 census).

 

Since Saturday, Day 1 of the military assault, Sulu has been "quarantined" from the rest of the world, its communication and transportation lines cut off, and its entire population held hostage.

 

The military struck right smack into the supposed celebration of Sulu's 610th founding anniversary on Sept. 18-20, in commemoration of the arrival of Raja Baguinda in 1390.

 

The secrecy shrouding the operations, the isolation of Sulu and the imposition of a news blackout were reportedly intended to ensure that the Abu Sayyaf is trapped within.

 

"Are we all taking this sitting down because the general populace's demand and thirst for blood of the Abu Sayyaf? But the Abu Sayyaf does not even constitute one percent of the population of Jolo. Is it acceptable to consider the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians as collateral damage?" asked Fr. Eliseo Mercado Jr., president of the Notre Dame University in Cotabato City.

 

In early May, when the military launched its assault on the Abu Sayyaf in nearby Basilan province, it also announced that all entry and exit points to the island had been sealed off.

 

The Abu Sayyaf leaders there were next seen in Sulu, along with their hostages. 157 islands and islets. How, indeed, can one "seal off all entry and exit points" in Sulu, an island province of 157 islands and islets?

 

Escape routes out of the province are many and naval blockades cannot, as in Basilan, seal off all points.

 

Sulu has a land area of 163,400 hectares spread in 18 towns, 10 of them in the mainland where the capital, Jolo, is. Eight others are island municipalities. Before the assault, the Abu Sayyaf's known lairs were Talipao, Patikul and Maimbung, all on the main island. Located in the southern portion of the country, Sulu lies between the provinces of Basilan and Tawi-tawi, both carved out of Sulu in late 1973 through a presidential decree issued by then President Ferdinand Marcos as part of his "pacification" campaign against the Moro National Liberation Front.

 

Marcos appointed MNLF commanders who surrendered to the key posts in the newly created provinces.

 

The present Sulu is surrounded by the Sulu and Mindanao seas in the west and north, and the Celebes Sea in the east.

 

It has two ports--the main one in the capital town of Jolo and the other in Siasi, an island town. Since Saturday, a transport ban has been imposed to and from Sulu. Cellsites and landline phones have been disabled.

 

But from Sulu's numerous islands, one can find several ways to get to either Basilan or Tawi-tawi, which have hundreds of islands and islets, too (Tawi-tawi has 307), or proceed farther to Sabah, Malaysia.

 

Fleeing to Sabah

 

After the burning of Jolo on Feb. 7, 1974 at the height of the MNLF rebellion, residents fleeing the province jostled for space in naval boats provided by the government, en route to Zamboanga City.

 

But those who were not accommodated and those who lived in neighboring towns, chose to venture into the sea on their pumpboats or kumpits, raising their babies to the skies for Air Force pilots to see. Thousands of war refugees in the 1970s have remained in Sabah, some of them now Malaysian citizens.

 

Today, there are at least half a million Filipinos in Sabah, said Jose Brillantes, Philippine ambassador to Sabah. Of this, he told the INQUIRER in a telephone interview on Monday that only around 110,000 are documented.

 

Members of the Abu Sayyaf and other kidnapping groups fleeing Sulu and intending to seek refuge in Sabah may not find it easy with last week's announcement of a "shoot to kill" order by Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak, Brillantes said.

 

He said the order was issued a day before President Estrada ordered the assault in Sulu and was intended for armed intruders like the Abu Sayyaf, who have been blamed for two kidnapping incidents there--in Sipadan, Sabah, on April 23 where 21 hostages were taken, and in Pandanan, North Borneo, also in Sabah, on Sept. 10 where three Malaysians were seized.

 

Sabah was once part of the Sultanate of Sulu and was intended to be forcefully reclaimed by Marcos until the Jabidah Massacre of March 16, 1968 was exposed.

 

Hostaged

 

Nineteen hostages are still in the hands of various factions of the Abu Sayyaf, a group whose origins are suspect and whose number grew by leaps and bounds as Philippine government negotiations went at a turtle's pace.

 

 

Except for the Malaysians and Filipino Rolando Ullah, the lone remaining hostage from Sipadan, the 15 hostages--one American, two French journalists and 12 Filipino members of the Jesus Miracle Crusade have been referred to as ''walk-in'' victims.

 

Brillantes said Malaysia no longer considered the taking of hostages from their shores as a simple criminal act but a violation of their sovereignty. He said Malaysia had deployed an entire army battalion to beef up security in the area and the border with the Philippines.

 

Members of the Abu Sayyaf and those fleeing Sulu who are suspected to be linked to this group are to be shot on sight when they intrude into Malaysian waters, the ambassador said.

 

Boat people

 

But what about civilians fleeing from the ongoing war who might end up in Malaysian waters?

 

"I guess they (Malaysian authorities) have to be circumspect about this because the ones fleeing may not all be Abu Sayyaf members or rebels but innocent civilians who are left with no choice but to flee Sulu," Brillantes said.

 

"There may be innocent parties who may be caught in this present situation, but there is a very, very strong link in the border crossing between Malaysia and the Philippines. The mechanisms for border crossing are still in place, for traders, tourists."

 

Brillantes said that "if they are really civilians who ran away because of the situation in Mindanao, "they would be considered 'Filipinos in distress' and the (Philippine) embassy is duty-bound to give them the assistance due them. This will depend on their numbers and if it becomes necessary, we have to assist or repatriate them."

 

Consul-General Mahalil Baharam of the Malaysian Consulate in Davao City told the Inquirer that the order issued last week "refers to armed intruders."

 

He said intruders found in Malaysian waters would go through standard operating procedures at the border. "If they shoot, the Army, police and the Navy have to defend themselves."

 

On civilian refugees, Baharam said "this is the concern of the authorities in the border. They (refugees) have to identify themselves and if (Malaysian authorities are) satisfied with the reason, they will make admission. So this actually depends on the border patrol authorities."