February 26, 2009, The Manila Times, Why the military can't crush the Abu Sayyaf, by Alfredo G. Rosario,

February 26, 2009, The Manila Times, Why the military can't crush the Abu Sayyaf, by Alfredo G. Rosario, 

FROM THE SIDELINES: 

Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), has appealed to the military to pull out from the area where the Abu Sayyaf was holding three workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as hostages in Sulu to facilitate negotiations for their safe release.

But Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro rejected the call. “Definitely not, we will not pull out, we will follow the dictates of the crisis management committee,” he said, referring to the task force of which the military is a part.

The Abu Sayyaf kidnapped the three ICRC hostages—Swiss Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba—on January 15 while they were inspecting a water facility at the Jolo municipal jail.

The Abu Sayyaf’s new leader, Albader Parad, warned that if the government troops refused to withdraw, no negotiations could proceed for the release of the ICRC hostages. There were fears that he could even kill them if his men were forced against the wall.

The military was trying its best not to endanger the lives of the hostages by holding their fire and staying put in their positions, but short of withdrawing from the area where it had encircled the enemy. To pull out would enable the kidnappers to escape.

It is now left to the special task force to resolve the impasse. Will it heed the request of Gordon who had assailed the military’s refusal to pull out for the delayed release of the ICRC hostages? Or will it pursue its offensive until the outlaws are captured or slain in an encounter?

This has been the standard ruse of the Abu Sayyaf to escape capture when they are on the verge of being routed by the government troops. That is the reason the Abu Sayyaf, a ragtag army of just 400 members, has survived military operations and continued to commit atrocities in Basilan and other parts of Mindanao for many years.

The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the abduction of 20 people, including three Americans, from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan in 2001. It was involved in the bombing of a ferry near Manila Bay some years back, resulting in death to 116 people.

It was suspected of playing a pivotal role in the Muslim secessionist movement in Mindanao for decades in which over 120,000 persons have died. It had perpetrated several kidnappings for which it had reportedly earned millions in ransom in exchange for the release of the victims.

Parad alone had made P20 million from his group’s kidnapping operations in year 2000.

The outlaw group was also involved in the kidnapping of three public school teachers in Zam-boanga last month. The hostages were traced to a mountainous area in Basilan, which had been cordoned off by the military. The latest kidnap victim was a Sri Lankan peace worker who was kidnapped in Basilan early this month.

Despite its acts of savagery, the bandit group has continued to roam the countryside, creating terror and committing murder and other crimes with impunity.

The outlaw group was suspected of having a hand in the beheading of 10 marines who were treacherously ambushed by its men several months ago in Mindanao. It has become the convenient refuge of leaders of the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah.

What is the Abu Sayyaf’s secret of staying power? Founded in 1991 in Basilan, it has remained not only active but even stronger to withstand offensives by the military, with the logistical support and training provided by US troops. Its men are equipped with the latest sophisticated weapons.

It has run rings around government troops in several encounters. It has several advantages on its side, such as its familiarity with the terrain in the scenes of battle, its use of civilians as human shields while in retreat, its natural defense of the civilian population during a military offensive, and its resort to guerrilla warfare tactics—staging an ambush on unsuspecting soldiers and fleeing to the safety of a planned hiding place which is shielded by friends and relatives.

The Abu Sayyaf has lost several of its senior leaders in past clashes with soldiers, but it has generated new leaders from its ranks, like Parad and many others. It claims genuine political objectives. Its reason for its string of kidnappings was to call government attention to its alleged failure to ameliorate the conditions of its members.

The truth is it exists for banditry, terrorism and kidnapping as a means of amassing wealth.

The military has always been on the losing end not for lack of courage, poor battle strategy, lack of logistics or for inferior weapons. Its main problem is holding back when it is about to capture the enemy for fear of endangering the safety of kidnap victims or innocent civilians being around during its operations.