The enemy with a blurred face
Suddenly, the military has found itself fighting Muslim militants on two fronts. In Basilan, a Marine-led offensive is under way to hunt down the killers of 14 soldiers, some of whom were decapitated and mutilated. The suspects belong to a combined force of Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters who had engaged soldiers “trespassing” in MILF territory.In Jolo, government troops are ranged against Abu Sayyaf and Moro National Liberation Front guerrillas who killed 26 soldiers in two ambuscades last week.
The new surge in fighting puts in sharp perspective the minefield the government must negotiate in its quest for peace in Mindanao. It had signed a peace covenant with the MNLF and was putting the finishing touches to a separate pact with the MILF. Now its ties with the two separatist groups are being strained to the limit.
Those ties were never strong in the first place. The treaty with the MNLF has been shot through with violations by both sides. The truce with the MILF has been broken so many times, despite the presence of foreign observers.
If we look at the problem hard enough, we will realize that it is not politics or religious fervor that has fueled the conflict in Basilan and Jolo. Simply put, it is the company the MILF and the MNLF keeps. The two groups have been cozy with the Abu Sayyaf for the longest time. In Basilan, the MILF considers the Abu Sayyaf family, in the literal and figurative sense. Their members are interrelated either by blood or marriage, or live in the same communities. This closeness forges a strong alliance; the MILF’s enemy is the Abu Sayyaf’s enemy. In Basilan the common enemy is the military.
Relations also run deep in Jolo between the MNLF and the Abu Sayyaf, which is why the army has not been able to finish off the terrorists who have made the island their sanctuary. The offensive in Sulu was mounted long before hostilities in Basilan broke out last month. But the fugitives, who include two foreigners wanted for the 2002 Bali bombings, remain elusive, and the Armed Forces has been accusing the MNLF of harboring them.
The military had been treading cautiously in Basilan, allowing a fact-finding team to come in and determine the individuals involved in the atrocities before unleashing 5,000 troops to seek out and arrest the culprits. The team reported that Abu Sayyaf members beheaded at least six of the soldiers, but could not say who mutilated the other four.
In Sulu, the ambushes, which the military acknowledges as one of the heaviest casualties it has suffered in the war against Muslim militants, has drawn swift reaction.
The President ordered the Army chief to Sulu to personally take charge of operations there. Mrs. Arroyo has clearly identified the enemy as the Abu Sayyaf. “We cannot allow terrorists to hold the South hostage to their agenda of mayhem and blood sport,” she said.
Without mentioning the MNLF by name, the President added that she also seeks peace “with those with peaceful intentions.”
It could be the President’s way of warning the MNLF to stand down and let government forces deal with the real enemy, the Abu Sayyaf. We hope her message gets through.
