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Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Palace adviser foresees military's failure to capture terrorists
NATIONAL Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales on Monday said he expects the two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bombers being hunted by government forces in the hinterlands of Sulu to escape, citing the difficult terrain.
"I'm expecting that they could escape. It not yet the time (for their neutralization)," said Gonzales in a news forum at the Sulu Hotel in Quezon City. "It is very difficult to hold them in Sulu. That area is really difficult to protect," the official added.
The two JI bombers - Omar Patek and Dulmaten - are tagged by authorities as the brains behind the bloody Bali bombing in Indonesia in October 2002 that killed at least 200 people and injured many others. Patek and Dulmaten are reportedly in the company of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani in the outskirts of Sulu province. Government forces launched an all-out offensive early this month to neutralize the group.
"All of us should be familiar with the terrain of Sulu. It's really very difficult to contain the island so if we are having difficulty in that area, we cannot arrest the two," Gonzales said.
Gonzales was quick to say that the government would not stop in having the two JI operatives neutralized. Military officials said Patek and Dulmaten are among the 30 to 40 JI militants operating in the country.
He also said the troops have to think of new measures. "We need improved measures, probably we have to think more of strategies so that we can capture these people," he said.
Armed Forces public information officer Bartolome Bacarro had said pursuing government troops have already sealed off all possible escape routes of Janjalani and his two JI cohorts.
Janjalani is among the five Abu Sayyaf leaders wanted by the US for kidnapping for ransom and terrorist activities. It has offered a US$5 million reward for neutralization of the five.
The US also raised a US$10 million reward for the neutralization of Dulmaten and another $1 million for Patek. They supposedly sought refuge in Mindanao shortly after carrying out the Bali bombing. (VR/Sunnex)
(August 22, 2006 issue)
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