Wednesday, August 01, 2007 Wenceslao: Basilan heats up By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
WAR clouds are forming over Basilan. Government troops are set to serve an arrest warrant on 130 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) officials and fighters accused of beheading 10 of 14 Marines killed in a recent encounter.
The MILF hierarchy will surely not turn over the suspects to the court without firing a shot. So a clash is inevitable.
This is one government offensive that I would say has the support of many people considering the dastardly act some of the rebels committed. While we have gotten used to clashes between the military and Muslim separatists in Mindanao, reports on the bestial act have sparked widespread anger. People expected better conduct from the rebels.
Among those killed was a Cebuano from Borbon town, Reuben Doronio Jr. He was beheaded. More sordid tales came when Doronio’s body was brought back to Cebu. Doronio’s wife Jomarie told reporters “insulting” text messages were sent to her from her husband’s cell phone, which was presumably already in the hands of the beheaders.
The MILF has long sought to separate itself from outright terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf. The Abu Sayyaf brought the mayhem in Mindanao to unprecedented levels. Bombing civilian targets is inhuman. Kidnapping is objectionable. But Abu Sayyaf did something more: they beheaded some of the innocent civilians that they kidnapped.
I did consider the MILF as a force superior to the Abu Sayyaf not only in number but more so in ideology and religious practice. I was thus partial to its denials of claims it coddled terrorists, notably those from the dreaded terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, and that it has forged an alliance with the Abu Sayyaf. The beheadings are bad for its image.
Much of the MILF’s success is actually in diplomacy. It has tied the hands of the government by agreeing to talk peace and getting the support of members of the powerful Organization of Islamic Conference. The diplomatic offensives, however, were a two-way street. They forced the MILF to conduct the war following international protocols.
With the beheadings, the MILF was pushed into a corner. These gave militarists in the Arroyo administration the daring to pursue their favored all-out war option against the MILF. And the MILF image suffered a black eye that could hamper its diplomatic moves. I say its only option now is to help the families of the slain Marines get justice.
If not, all-out war will break out in Basilan that could bring untold suffering on the civilian populace there. We know what it is like to be in the middle of war. It will not only be about people killed in the crossfire. It will also be about displacements and the long term effect of the offensives on the lives of the affected residents. It will be costly.
I am not surprised, therefore, that some sectors, including the recently released kidnapped priest Giancarlo Bossi, are calling on the military not to unleash the dogs of war just yet. The argument is that if fresh battles could be averted, the better for the people of Basilan. All avenues for peace should be exhausted first before using force.
That proposition, however, is hard to sell to those who think that the MILF and other armed groups in Mindanao have been given too much leeway by the government. The unfortunate thing is that calls for an all-out war against the MILF are increasing.
