Kidnapping calls attention to remote Philippines island
Vincent SawabiMANILA, The Philippines _ "I know the government sometimes forgets us, but Manila cannot give up Sulu easily because we are an asset to them," said Jolo Mayor Hussin Amin, the mayor of Sulu's capital of Jojo.
His comments came last month at a demonstration demanding that that the island, one of the many that makes up the Philippines, be allowed to secede and establish an independent Muslim state.
It's unlikely that anyone in the Philippines capital is not thinking about the remote island, located more than 600 miles away, now after a top Philippine news anchorwoman, two cameramen and a university professor were kidnapped by suspected members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group earlier this week.
Police say military efforts are under way to rescue Ces Drilon of ABS-CBN News and the three others seized in the town of Maimbung. Drilon anchors a highly popular late-night news program for the Philippines' largest broadcaster.
The Philippine and U.S. governments say Abu Sayyaf is responsible for dozens of bombings and kidnappings in the southern Philippines. The group has been linked to al-Qaeda and the Indonesian terrorist organization, Jemaah Islamiyah.
The United States, which has troops in the Philippines helping with counter-terrorism efforts, accuses Abu Sayyaf of beheadings, extortion and bombings, including a February 2004 attack on a ferry in Manila that killed 132 people.
But for the hundreds attending the rally in Jojo last month, the issue was independence, not terrorism.
The marchers carried pro-independence flags and banners calling for both the Philippine Army and their U.S. military advisers to leave the island.
"We are asking for total independence for the people of Sulu," said Asari Jurani, one of the march's organizers who also called for the withdrawal of all Philippine Army troops and American military advisers.
"We are tired of waiting for the government to address our problems," he added.
Not everyone is calling for complete secession and the creation of a Muslim state on the island. But many feel the island has long been overlooked by the central government.
"I appreciate their sentiments," said Jojo's mayor Amin. "But first we have to know the consequences of this idea before deciding what to do. Most people here in Sulu don't agree with them. I don't want to be a traitor to the government. We already have a peace agreement which grants us autonomy _ we just have to implement it." To most Filipinos, the island of Sulu conjures up images of conflict, terrorism and general lawlessness. That's probably understandable since the government lists gunshot wounds as the leading cause of death on the island. Guns have long been a part of the culture of Tausug Muslims, who make up the vast majority of the island's population.
These days control of the island and its rich fishing grounds is being hotly contested by forces representing the Philippines army, the Moro National Liberation Front, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Sword of God, the terrorist organization linked to al-Qaeda.
Also present are about 500 U.S. military advisers who first arrived on the island shortly after the Sept. 11 attack.
So far, government efforts to quell the violence on the island and tap down secession sentiment have focused on economic development through building up the island's infrastructure and education.
Even the Philippines' military has been called on to play a role in winning the islanders' hearts and minds.
"Our job is not simply focusing on maintaining peace and in running after the lawless elements," said Col. Matalio Ecarma, the commander of a Philippines marine brigade stationed on the island, "but also to help the people of Sulu through community development programming." "The way to achieve peace in Sulu is not through war, but by means of development and facilitating teacher training is a means to deliver quality education so children will focus all their effort on learning and becoming the future of Sulu," he said.
Yet many local people remain suspicious and fearful of the army, especially after several civilians were reported shot and killed during military operations allegedly targeting terrorists on the island. An attorney representing a human rights organization said he could seek to bring charges of "murder, looting, damage to property and arbitrary detention" against the soldiers involved.
And as the kidnapping of a high-profile television anchor and her crew demonstrated, terrorists appear prepared to wage a prolonged struggle against both the United States and the Philippines central government.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Vincent Sawabi is a reporter in the Philippines who writes for the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project, a project of The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization that trains journalists in areas of conflict. Readers may write to the author at the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, 48 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8LT, U.K.; Web site: www.iwpr.net. For information about IWPR's funding, please go to http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?top_supporters.html.
This essay is available to McClatchy-Tribune News Service subscribers. McClatchy-Tribune did not subsidize the writing of this column; the opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of McClatchy-Tribune or its editors.
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(c) 2008, The Institute for War & Peace Reporting
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