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Sunday, February 10, 2008
50 soldiers suspended over Sulu clash
JOLO, Sulu -- At least 50 soldiers involved in the manhunt operation for Muslim extremists in Maimbung town were suspended Saturday to pave way for an investigation on the alleged massacre of seven civilians and an off-duty soldier last February 4.
Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) Lieutenant General Nelson Allaga said the soldiers, including three officers of a US-trained Light Reaction Company, will remain in their barracks until the investigation is completed.
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Allaga made the announcement Saturday during the arrival of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro in Jolo.
Teodoro said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called for a thorough military investigation into the killings of the seven civilians and an off-duty soldier during an operation against al-Qaeda-linked militants in the southern Philippines.
The operation last February 4 in the island village of Ipil in Sulu province also left two soldiers and three Abu Sayyaf militants dead, the military said.
"The instruction of the President is to have a credible investigation," said Teodoro.
The military offered to give Teodoro their account of the incident, but he said he wanted to wait for the results of the full investigation.
The military, police, the Provincial Government, and the government's Commission on Human Rights are conducting separate investigations into the incident.
One witness, Rawina Wahid, whose husband was killed in the raid, said she was tied up by soldiers who put her and her husband's body into a naval boat with several US soldiers on board. She said the Filipino soldiers blindfolded her after she saw the Americans.
Major General Ruben Rafael, commander of an anti-terror task force in Sulu, said it was a "legitimate encounter" between Islamic militants and elite US-trained army counterterrorism units searching for a businesswoman who had been kidnapped by rebels a week earlier.
US soldiers began training Philippine troops to fight the militants in 2002.
"The instruction of the President is to have a credible investigation," Rafael said.
Rebecca Thompson, spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Manila, said American soldiers do not take part in combat operations in accordance with Philippine law.
"They are here at the invitation of the Philippine government to share information and work with the Armed Forces of the Philippines on humanitarian and civic projects that benefit the people and benefit the local community," she said.
Dozens of protesters demanded justice for the victims at a rally as Teodoro arrived Saturday at the airport in Jolo, the capital of Sulu.
Four of the seven civilians killed were children, according to Sulu Governor Sakur Tan, who condemned the killings as "an act of barbarism."
Teodoro met the victims' relatives, including Wahid, who tearfully said her husband was seized by soldiers. She said they tied his hands behind his back, made him lie face down on the ground, then shot him, despite his efforts to explain he was also a soldier.
"They killed my husband without a fight. They were soldiers but why did they kill a fellow soldier," she said, weeping.
Meanwhile, Allaga said manhunt operation against the captors of Jolo rice trader Maria Rosalie Lao would continue despite the controversy.
A battalion of the Philippine Army, mostly former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that were integrated into the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), are ordered to stay in order to assist in the rescue operations of Lao since they are familiar with the terrain of the province.
Lao, 58, was seized by five bandits around 4:45 p.m. of January 28 near her residence in Kakuyagan village, Jolo.
Small numbers of US military advisers are based in the Abu Sayyaf stronghold of Jolo and nearby southern islands to provide training as well as intelligence to Filipino troops.
The Abu Sayyaf Islamic militant group has been blamed for bombings, kidnappings, and beheadings. US-backed offensives against the group have reduced its strength to about 300 guerrillas from more than 1,000 during its heyday in 2000, according to the military. (AP/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (February 10, 2008 issue)
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