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Thursday, March 25, 2004
Country on alert for copycat attacks after Madrid bombings
MANILA -- Authorities are watching underground groups to thwart attacks similar to the train bombings the killed over 200 people in Madrid this month, President Arroyo said Wednesday.
"Because of the tragedy that happened in Spain, we do not want any copycat scenarios to happen. Terrorists or politicians with terrorist intent had better be forewarned," Arroyo said in a written statement, two days after she announced the creation of a high-level inter-agency task force against terrorism.
"We are setting up tighter systems of vigilance and checking every move in the underground," Arroyo said, adding that this effort was also intended to ensure the holding of the May 10 national elections.
She brushed aside opposition charges that the anti-terror task force would influence the May elections, saying, "the anti-terrorism task force is a shield for democracy."
"Let no one underestimate our determination to push through with clean, honest and orderly elections," Arroyo said.
Arroyo is running for another term in the elections. Surveys show that she is running neck and neck against her main rival, movie star Fernando Poe.
The President did not single out who might mount a terror attack in the country, but in past years, there have been bombings of public places, usually carried out by Muslim separatist guerrillas based in the south.
She had earlier ordered a crackdown on "private armies" maintained by unnamed politicians.
Some of these local guerrillas have been linked by Manila to foreign Islamic militant networks like the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.
The Philippines has been a staunch supporter of the US-led international campaign against terrorism and has been on alert since the March 11 Madrid bombings.
Defense ties
Meanwhile, Australia's army chief on Wednesday met with his Philippine counterpart and pressed for stronger defense ties amid threats of terrorism, the military said.
Lieutenant General Paul Leahy called on Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Efren Abu and defense secretary Eduardo Ermita and vowed to boost cooperation between the two anti-terror allies.
Leahy stressed that Philippine army officers should continue to train or take various military courses in Australia, the military said in a statement.
He also "highlighted the need for the Philippine and Australian armies to establish more regular contacts and services in the light of the threat of terrorism," it said.
The two countries have been at the forefront of battling terrorists in the region, particularly the militant JI organization believed to be linked to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terror network.
The JI was blamed for the October 2002 bombings in Bali, which killed over 200 people, many of them Australian tourists.
Philippine and Australian authorities have, in the past, closely coordinated and shared information on Islamic militants operating in the region. AFP
(March 25, 2004 issue)
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