Friday, February 18, 2005
Lee: Valentine's Day bombing--A foolish thing
By Kelvin King Lee
Babble On
"This mistake of overgeneralization and racism would be detrimental not only to our brother Muslims, but would also be detrimental to the country."
IN A way, it was inevitable. Call me a pessimist, but I had been thinking that things had been going too smoothly in our country. The economy seemed to be picking up, the peso was bouncing back, we had been taken off the blacklist of money laundering countries and the country was starting to look like an acceptable travel alternative.
And then the triple whammy.
First we had the Misuari Breakaway group treacherously attacking army outposts in Jolo. Then we had the Valentine's bombings in Makati, General Santos and even in our own Davao city. And now there's Moody's downgrading the country's credit by two notches.
Ouch.
Dealing with just one of those "whammies" would have been difficult enough, but all three? But the most painful and most visible whammy was the Valentine's bombing.
I was incensed when I heard about the attacks in Jolo, but I was enraged with the Valentine's bombings. Shortly after they occurred, I received text messages filled with raw data regarding the bombings.
The original text told me that the bombing at Ecoland Terminal had caused three deaths. Thankfully our publisher Tony Ajero texted me to debunk that earlier message from my friend. He told me that it had caused 3 wounded, and I would find out the next day that only 1 person had died in Davao. This, so far, is the state of affairs as of this writing.
The bombings were eventful because of the timing. I am sure that many dates had to be cancelled that night or cut short, including my own. No one was willing to risk their lives on valentine's day. In this regard, the terrorist groups that bombed the country succeeded. They sowed terror that struck at the populace. For one long night, the people of the Philippines, even Dabawenyos, had to live with fear.
The next day however, I was surprised as instead of fear, I noticed that there was anger and indignation against the terrorists who had done this. People went about their lives, without the fear of a terrorist attack. The country may, in a way, be under siege, but you would not have noticed it if you looked at the behavior of the people. The people of the Philippines were doing exactly what Pres. Arroyo said: "we would not be cowed."
The terrorists had done a foolish thing, it would seem. Instead of weakening the people's resolve to fight terrorism, they had strengthened it. They will find no sympathy in any sector of society now. Instead of sowing fear, they crafted bravery, for there is no other word to describe people willing to go on with their lives so soon after a terrorist attack, ignoring the possibility of future attacks.
These terrorists from the Abu Sayaff (who claimed responsibility for the attacks) as well as the Misuari Breakaway Group, which is rumored to have helped in the bombings, also caused one fatal blow to their own cause. Though terrorists and supposedly unaffiliated with legitimate politically motivated liberation movements, these groups have caused the peace process to be cast in a bad light. It is unlikely now that you will find anyone to support the peace process in Mindanao.
I was once a supporter of the peace process myself. I had dedicated past articles on the need for substantial peaceful negotiations with the MILF. I still support the idea of peace and the peace process. But it is difficult to justify this if, despite the peace talks, there are still bombings and attacks in Mindanao.
There are those who would say that terrorists committed these acts, not the MILF. And I would agree with them. But this does not mean that the legitimate arms of the MILF cannot help keep groups like the Misuari Breakaway Group in check. Some signs of sincerity, as well as lack of complicity would be useful, to show the government and the people that the peace process is still worth doing.
Otherwise, we may as well call it off.
But a caveat to the people: it must be remembered that just because Muslim groups like the Abu Sayaff took responsibility for the bombings, does not mean that all Muslims are terrorists. This mistake of overgeneralization and racism would be detrimental not only to our brother Muslims, but would also be detrimental to the country. An atmosphere of intolerance is not conducive to economic or personal growth after all.
We are a country of laws, not men. And we must not allow our emotions or lack of sympathy to cloud our judgment when dealing with our brother Muslims.
* * * * *
I must take this opportunity to commend the President on her words: "We will not be cowed"? Her firm and unwavering stand has helped the people stay focused in this time of crisis.
I will be one of the first to say that her second term has been uninspiring. She has been a mediocre, if somewhat acceptable, leader. But it is in times of crisis that greatness is seen. Look at Winston Churchill, arguably the greatest leader in the past century. His greatness was forged in the fires of World War II. Perhaps GMA's greatness is being forged from the fires of our own crisis.
email me atbabbleon@atenista.net
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(February 18, 2005 issue)
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