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Home/ stevenwarran's Library/ Notes/ September 28, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Military chief claims victory in Jolo. by Noralyn Mustafa,

September 28, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Military chief claims victory in Jolo. by Noralyn Mustafa,

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September 28, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Military chief claims victory in Jolo. by Noralyn Mustafa, Carlito Pablo and Froilan Gallardo,

"WE don't measure winning by counting bodies. We measure winning by the state of the well-being of the people of Jolo." 

In the book of Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes, the military is the victor in Sulu, although the Abu Sayyaf has not been decimated, none of the bandits' major leaders have been captured, and 17 remaining hostages have yet to be rescued. 

The general made the statement on the 12th day of the military blitz in which only a reported 107 out of an estimated 5,000 Abu Sayyaf gunmen have been killed. 

"Right now you go to Jolo and people are saying the military operation is most welcome," Reyes told reporters, amid official reports of more than 50,000 evacuees, and unconfirmed charges of hundreds of civilian casualties and a score of human rights violations. 

"Before,"

Reyes said, Jolo residents "were in continual fear of being kidnapped and bombed and right now that (fear) is no longer present because the Abu Sayyaf is already on the run." 

But villagers in Sulu were clearly feeling far from safe on Tuesday night when they clashed with Abu Sayyaf gunmen who tried to seek sanctuary from troops in their area. Three gunmen and three civilians were killed in the firefight, and one man from each side was injured. 

In Malacañang, a Palace official took note of reports that Abu Sayyaf members were starting to seek refuge in civilian areas and that residents were driving them away. 

The gunmen "are not welcome even in some areas where they used to be welcomed grudgingly by the residents. Now (some of the residents) are laying down their lives to turn away the Abu Sayyaf group," Press Undersecretary Antonio Seva said in a news conference yesterday. 

In a separate briefing, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said the military would press on with its barrage despite missed deadlines and complaints of Army abuses. 

"We will stay as long as is needed," Mercado said, after the President chaired high-level security talks that reviewed the progress of the military operation launched on Sept. 16. 

Sajiron dead, Robot hurt? 

Mercado said authorities had received persistent reports of the death of Radulan Sajiron, alias Commander Putol, the so-called one-armed bandit of the Abu Sayyaf and the group's titular "chief of staff." 

But Mercado added that the Southern Command could not confirm the reports since troops had not seen "the body." 

"Many sources have indicated that Sajiron had died from wounds he sustained in an encounter in Patikul five days ago," he said. 

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, citing intelligence information, said that Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang, alias Commander Robot, was believed to have been wounded. That report, too, could not be confirmed. 

Aborted plan 

At the briefing, Mercado also disclosed that Cabinet Cluster E, the group in charge of national security issues, had considered launching a commando-style operation on June 28, while the Abu Sayyaf celebrated the birth anniversary of the prophet Mohammed, to rescue an earlier group of hostages. 

But two Cluster E members opposed the plan, Mercado said, without naming them. "There was a time when we knew exactly . . . the hostages' location, and we (the military and the police) said the time was right" for a rescue operation, Mercado said Admitting the military was "behind deadline" in its ongoing mission, Mercado said: "In the end, we will be judged on whether we were able to recover our hostages and neutralize" the

Abu Sayyaf. 

"Native intelligence and they know their terrain: that is (the Abu Sayyaf's) advantage. Our advantage is we have the superior force and we are willing to operate as long as it takes to be able to solve this problem finally," Mercado said. 

Scouring operation 

"President Estrada said it is time to cut (the) cycle of release, kidnapping and release. It is time for us to end the Abu Sayyaf," the defense chief said. 

"If it takes us as long as the Israelis who hunted down Nazi war criminals after the Holocaust (in World War II), let it be," he added. "It is our commitment to our people to let them know we are serious." 

He remarked that clashes between the Abu Sayyaf and the military were becoming larger and more frequent, indicating that the kidnappers had fewer hiding places left. 

"At the moment it's a scouring operation," he said. "We have 5,000 troops there . . . sufficient to maintain the operation." Seva, the press undersecretary, said that there would be no major policy change in the government's approach in dealing with the Mindanao problem. 

Seva also denied that there was an "undeclared martial law" in Sulu, or that there was a "news blackout" in the province. He said that the restriction in the movement of civilians in Jolo was for their own protection. 

Earlier, Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. said that the government would not even consider declaring a state of emergency in Sulu. "I don't think that's even in the cards right now," he said. 

Abu vs villagers 

While Jolo town itself was peaceful yesterday, fighting was still raging in Patikul and Talipao towns, two strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf, the military said. 

The fatal clash between the villagers and the Abu Sayyaf took place late Tuesday in Barangay Lapah, Maimbung. 

The mother of two of the victims, Langkha Dahim, said about 10 Abu Sayyaf bandits led by an Abu Sayyaf commander came to their village, seeking refuge inside a cave. She said the bandits also asked food from the residents. 

Chief Insp. Mohammad Noe Alamia, Jolo's police chief, identified the dead gunmen as Datu Sabtal Gulam, one of Andang's assistant commanders, and Gulam's two sons. 

They came around 6 p.m., as villagers were preparing for sunset prayer, said Sabri Dahim, one of Langkha's sons. 

"My sons did not like their presence in our village. They were afraid that the villagers would get hurt if there would be a fight between the military and the rebels," Langkha said. 

'Abu fired first' 

She said her sons, including Kanni, 30, and Nurhan, and three other villagers went to the rebels and told them to leave. 

"We told them that they should leave because if the military would find out they were here, we might be attacked," said Sabri. 

A heated argument followed, Langkha said, recalling that her sons started to fight the armed bandits with their bare hands. 

The Abu Sayyaf fired at them at close range. The villagers grabbed firearms from some of the bandits and retaliated. 

"They fired first. We did not have guns so my brother grabbed firearms from them and then neighbors came to assist us," Sabri said. 

Kanni was shot with a .45-cal. pistol while struggling with one of the bandits, Sabri said. 

"This is what happened," Sabri added, gesturing toward his elder brother in a hospital bed in Jolo. Kanni sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the face and neck. 

Nurhan and Kanni were rushed to the Sulu General Hospital Tuesday night. Nurhan was pronounced dead on arrival while Kanni, a seaweed farmer, is fighting for his life. 

Dumped bodies 

Villagers brought the bodies of the three slain Abu Sayyaf members to Jolo town on Tuesday night, although another account said Army soldiers brought the bodies to the capital. 

Yesterday morning, town residents awoke to the sight of the three bodies dumped in front of the police station. 

Initially, residents thought they were victims of a summary execution until the skirmish was reported by Lapah villagers who accompanied the wounded to the hospital. 

The gunmen "were very confident because they have many men," Sabri said. "They have plenty of money now, they were able to buy plenty of guns. They thought nobody would fight them." 

79 captured? 

Despite speculation that some Abu Sayyaf leaders managed to flee Jolo, the military believes the kidnappers are still there with their hostages, forcing them to march at night to avoid military patrols, Mercado said. 

Biazon said the military had captured 79 suspected Abu Sayyaf members, citing information given by a senior military official. 

"So far they have captured 79 suspected Abu Sayyaf (members) who are now undergoing tactical interrogation," Biazon told reporters after talking to the unnamed official over the phone yesterday afternoon. 

Biazon, chair of the Senate committee on national defense and security, was further informed that American hostage Jeffrey Schilling and the captive group of evangelist Wilde Almeda were sighted earlier this week by civilians in Jolo. He said bands of the gunmen had been observed on Mt. Sinumaan and Mt. Tumatanes and in Maimbong, Jolo. 

At the time the military assault was launched, various Abu Sayyaf factions held 19 hostages, but two French television journalists escaped while the kidnappers were moving at night. With reports from Juliet Javellana, Donna Cueto; Inquirer wires

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