SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Saturday, January 11, 2003
_____________________________________________
Terrorism in the Philippines: understanding the roots
The previous post highlights the need to look beyond poverty alleviation as THE solution to terrorism in the Philippines. This crucial perspective becomes more important when juxtaposed with the history of Abu Sayyaf.
The Abu Sayyaf Group operates in an environment marked with an Islamic insurgency that traces its roots from the guerrilla war for independence in 1970 – when the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was formed. The MNLF was founded around 1970, conducted a guerrilla war for independence. It once enjoyed support from Libya, Saudi Arabia, and nearby Malaysia. The MNLF originally demanded an independent Muslim state in the south, but over time, its goal shifted to autonomy within the Philippines. The MNLF reached a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 1996, which led to the establishment of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. A faction in MNLF rejected the peace agreement and was not satisfied with the creation of ARMM. They continuously push for the creation of a Mindanao Islamic Republic. This has lead to the creation of this splinter group – the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) – which is more religiously oriented than MNLF and emphasizes the promotion of Islamic ideals (Chalk 2001; Gloria, G. and Vitug, M., 2000. Under the Crescent Moon).
The Abu Sayyaf was born in 1989 and is loosely organized along a cell structure. This group is a combination of dissidents from MNLF and those who had fought with the Afghan rebels against the Soviet Union (Niksch 2002). The Abu Sayyaf’s overall aim is to establish an independent and exclusive Islamic Theocratic State in Mindanao (S. S. Misra 2002). This group is totally different from MILF. The MILF merely wants independence while Abu Sayyaf espouses religious intolerance and killing of civilians (including women, children and elderly) especially non-Muslims. The majority of the group’s members are Muslim youths between 16 to 30 years old. Abu Sayyaf has also engaged in massive kidnapping-for-ransom activities, extortion and marijuana cultivation. Recently, these activities of the Abu Sayyaf have given a bad name to the Philippines across the globe.
The understanding of the distinctions discussed above is very crucial in defining the strategies of the government in dealing with Abu Sayyaf, MNLF and MILF. Whether or not the present government recognizes the extent of the differences mentioned is another matter.
