July 16, 2001, Sun Star, Tough stance vs. Sayyaf to woo investors: Arroyo,

July 16, 2001, Sun Star, Tough stance vs. Sayyaf to woo investors: Arroyo,

ILIGAN -- An alliance of Muslims and Christians based in Manila has condemned the mass arrest of alleged Abu Sayyaf backers in Basilan and three other areas, even as President Arroyo hoped the tough stance would woo investors back to the country. 

The military crackdown on Abu Sayyaf kidnappers still holding over 20 hostages in Basilan and their backers continued Sunday in an attempt to capture the gunmen and rescue the hostages. In a statement, the Moro- Christian People's Alliance criticized the mass arrest, saying it could lead to a "de facto martial law." 

The group also said President Arroyo should not use former president Joseph Estrada's "bully tactics" in resolving the Abu Sayyaf issue and in dealing with Moro rebels. In the latest incident following the start of government's intensified crackdown, a suspected member of the bandit group was shot dead Sunday after resisting arrest at a marine checkpoint in the island province of Basilan, where the Abu Sayyaf holds some 21 American and Filipino hostages. 

The man was aboard a bus going to Basilan's capital town. After soldiers stopped the vehicle for a routine check, he panicked and attacked fellow passengers with a machete, police said. Three civilians and a marine were wounded before the suspected rebel was gunned down, they said. In Zamboanga city, army special forces seized a suspected rebel sympathizer Sunday in a swoop on a residential area, officials said. Police and soldiers conducting patrols around Zamboanga's coastline also intercepted a boatman who had reportedly assisted wounded Abu Sayyaf rebels from nearby Basilan. 

Sustained war 

In Manila, Arroyo said she thought the financial markets would react positively to the sustained war against the separatist Abu Sayyaf group. "I hope so," said Arroyo when asked whether the crackdown could tempt back investors. "What is important is that our offensive is continuing so that we will have peace in our country," Arroyo told radio dzRH. 

Arroyo launched the new assault on the rebel group Friday, giving the military powers to detain for up to 36 hours suspected rebels and their sympathizers, even without arrest warrants. Although she said those arrested should be released if prosecutors failed to file charges within a specified time, human rights workers have condemned the initiative as a "Gestapo style" offensive open to abuses by the military. 

Among them the MCPA, with its spokesperson Amirah Ali Lidasan wondering why President Arroyo "would turn her guns on Muslim civilians in her administration's futile efforts to catch the Abu Sayyaf group." "If (the) arrest was a test drive in preparation for more warrantless arrests in Western Mindanao, then the suspension of the privilege of writ of habeas corpus, if not de-facto martial law, may not very far behind," the alliance warned. 

The MCPA further said the military crackdown might result to the abuse of power by law enforcers and local officials in Basilan. The Commission on Human Rights in Western Mindanao has accused the military of conducting illegal arrests. 

'Ganda points' 

Lidasan said Arroyo might just be after "ganda points" for her upcoming state of the nation address to be delivered when Congress resumes session next week. She said Arroyo's ousted predecessor was just after "pogi points" in staging a similar attack against the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan last year. Last year, 61 Moro construction workers suspected as bombers or Abu Sayyaf members were arrested, Lidasan pointed out. 

"After months in detention, it is only now that the military and police are pinpointing former PNP Chief Panfilo Lacson as behind the series of bombings last year," the statement said. "Her (Arroyo) administration's  drastic actions against the civilians in Basilan and Sulu may only fuel the climate of fear and conflict between Muslims and Christians in that region," the MCPA warned.


About 100 people have been arrested on the southern islands of Basilan and Sulu and in Zamboanga city since the announcement of an intensified government crackdown and they were being questioned, according to the military, although presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao put the figure at 71. 

Tiglao told reporters Sunday that of the 71 arrested, 30 had been freed due to "weak evidence" while the rest would be charged with conspiracy to a crime. He said soldiers were under instruction to be "very, very careful" in making arrests, adding that those picked up would be assigned public defenders to protect their rights. Arroyo was expecting a report on the operation within 60 days. If at that time she thought there was still a "state of lawlessness," the operation would continue, Tiglao said. 

Gaining support 

Army spokesman Major Alberto Gepilano, meanwhile, rejected the concerns of human rights groups and said the crackdown was gaining support from locals, many of whom he said had also fallen victim to the Abu Sayyaf. "Criminal charges will be filed against those who were arrested," Gepilano said. "It is the civilians who are providing the authorities with information about the Abu Sayyaf." 

The military said it was expecting to arrest more suspects soon, following the seizure of several Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Nadjmi Sabdulla, alias Commander Global. Sabdulla, caught on July 8, was described as one of the core leaders of the group, which last year abducted dozens of European, Malaysian and Filipino hostages whom they then ransomed off for millions of dollars. 

On May 27 this year, Abu Sayyaf gunmen snatched 20 American and Filipino hostages from a western Philippine beach resort, seizing more later as they escaped a cordon of 5,000 troops scouring Basilan's jungles. Several hostages have been freed, although the rebels killed four Filipinos and claimed to have beheaded Californian Guillermo Sobero, although his body has not been found. 

Mayors, governments, councilors and other government officials have been warned not to mediate for the payment of ransom for the remaining hostages in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf as they would be arrested and charged for conspiring with kidnappers. Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza said the scheme is part of the Arroyo administration's "new approach" in addressing not only the Abu Sayyaf problem but also the other kidnap gangs in the island. 

Dureza said the government is currently "building up the evidence" on certain people who are involved or have supported kidnap for ransom groups in Central Mindanao. 

Warning 

"The full force of the law" will be applied on supporters and mediators of kidnappers in Central Mindanao to serve as warning, Dureza announced during his regular Sunday program "Jess Dureza Live" over radio dxDC. "I'm announcing this because government now has a clear policy towards groups or individuals aiding the kidnappers," he said in Filipino. He said mediators who consider kidnap-for-ransom activities like a "cottage industry" by earning commissions from ransom should watch out as government agents are keeping an eye on them. 

"Those who are mediating to earn, you cannot reason out later that you were just helping the victim's family to have their relative freed," Dureza said. Human rights groups like Karapatan had earlier cautioned government against the policy, saying this would open the "floodgates to abuses" and sow intrigues and disunity among poor and innocent Moro farmers. 

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Western Mindanao also criticized the ongoing crackdown in Basilan claiming that the arrests are illegal because these were made without warrants. Dureza said they welcome these criticisms to guard against abuses. 

In a talk with religious and youth groups at St. Joseph Parish here Saturday, Dureza said the Department of Justice is fielding several prosecutors in Basilan to prepare and file appropriate charges against suspected Abu Sayyaf supporters. (Sunnex/wires)