Wednesday, February 27, 2008 JI man's hiding place not terrorist den: AFP By Carlo P. Mallo
THE military finds nothing peculiar about the suspected Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist who happens to be an Indonesian national seeking refuge in a Moslem village in Baganga, Davao Oriental prior to his arrest last February 17.
"It is not because the community is harboring terrorists, but it is due to the fact that the terrorist (Mohamad) Baehaqi could easily associate himself with the community," Colonel Benito de Leon said Tuesday.
De Leon said a terrorist could hide anywhere and not necessarily where he is affiliated.
"It is a predictable behavior that these people try to blend in the community," de Leon added.
On the other hand, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said in a press conference Friday that it is not the Moslem communities that are our enemies.
"We cannot say that their place is lair or den of terrorists," Duterte said.
Baehaqi, together with two locals, was arrested in a safe house in a Moslem village in Baganga, Davao Oriental last February 17 by the Special Joint Operations Group of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The Indonesian national is believed to be a top-ranking officer of the local unit of the international terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.
A few days after the arrest of Baehaqi, a coastal Moslem village in Davao City was ravaged by fire. Some sectors speculated that the fire was a tactic of the AFP to clear the possible areas where terrorists might seek refuge.
"We do not believe in the Machiavellian principle that the ends justify the means," de Leon said. "We do actions only within our legal capacity."
