Hidden danger
Hidden danger
Updated 02:13am (Mla time) Sept 15, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the September 15, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
INVESTIGATORS of the recent bombing in Jakarta have told the wire services that one of their main suspects may have given bomb-making lessons in the Philippines. The Indonesian government maintains that the Jakarta bombing, aimed at the Australian Embassy in that city, was perpetrated by two Malaysians named Azahari bin Hussein and Noordin Top, both members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Southeast Asian terrorist group affiliated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.
Of the two, it is Azahari, a British-trained engineer, who is alleged to have taught bomb-making to fellow militants in Mindanao and Afghanistan. The most recent Jakarta bombing itself already represents a raising of the terrorist ante -- the 200 kilograms of explosives detonated mark a significant increase over the last such truck bombing -- and a reminder that the JI is a continuing threat to the entire region.
Beyond this general reminder of danger to all nations in which the JI may have a presence, the claim by Indonesian authorities that one of the suspects may have taught his deadly craft to others on our soil should spur our authorities to intensify their efforts against the JI and its allies here. This includes greater scrutiny on JI allies, including the widely reported links between the JI and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Time and again, international and Philippine news reports have indicated ties between the two organizations. And while the MILF, since the time of its late leader Hashim Salamat, has said it would make serious moves to renounce terrorism, it has yet to do so in a substantive way.
When the MILF took upon itself to cooperate with the Philippine government in cracking down on the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang, it was a step in the right direction. This step, unfortunately, did not result in any further cooperation. Logically, working together to eliminate the Pentagon gang should have led to efforts to root out the presence of the JI in the country. No such cooperation, or plans for such efforts, have been undertaken to date by the MILF and the government.
If a compelling reason was lacking before, one exists now. The statements of the MILF dating back some years should now be backed up by action. If the MILF is really serious about relinquishing its terrorist past and connections, it should do so by undertaking a joint effort with Philippine authorities to eliminate the JI and its local training camps.
The alternative -- for the MILF to stick its head in the sand, or worse, cynically continue tacitly assisting the JI while piously pleading it knows nothing of the JI's efforts here -- is too grim to contemplate. Not only does it place both Muslim and Christian Filipinos in danger of being targets of a JI attack here, but it also makes the country vulnerable to foreign pressure and even aggression.
Our ASEAN neighbors, such as Indonesia and Thailand which are grappling with militant Muslims, and countries such as Malaysia and Singapore, which are either alarmed by the participation of their nationals in JI plots or fear being the next target of such plots, will not be happy with a Philippines that allows JI training camps to train and export terrorists. We do not have to elaborate, either, on the possibility of intensified American interest in Mindanao, with accompanying political, military and economic pressure on our country to make itself pliable to American strategic interests, at a time when our economy is so shaky.
While the United States views the JI and its capability to attack as an international problem and the ASEAN continues to grapple with the problem, we should remember that this is also a fundamental Philippine problem. Besides the danger of our country being viewed as a helpless, and worse, dangerous coddler of terrorists, we should consider the real danger to ourselves arising from having terrorist training camps in Mindanao as well as terrorist cells in our metropolitan centers. A fearful people, an unsafe people, are a people who cannot devote their energies and concentration to the task at hand. Those tasks are serious enough, without adding the danger of bombs going off in our midst.
Updated 02:13am (Mla time) Sept 15, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the September 15, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
INVESTIGATORS of the recent bombing in Jakarta have told the wire services that one of their main suspects may have given bomb-making lessons in the Philippines. The Indonesian government maintains that the Jakarta bombing, aimed at the Australian Embassy in that city, was perpetrated by two Malaysians named Azahari bin Hussein and Noordin Top, both members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Southeast Asian terrorist group affiliated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.
Of the two, it is Azahari, a British-trained engineer, who is alleged to have taught bomb-making to fellow militants in Mindanao and Afghanistan. The most recent Jakarta bombing itself already represents a raising of the terrorist ante -- the 200 kilograms of explosives detonated mark a significant increase over the last such truck bombing -- and a reminder that the JI is a continuing threat to the entire region.
Beyond this general reminder of danger to all nations in which the JI may have a presence, the claim by Indonesian authorities that one of the suspects may have taught his deadly craft to others on our soil should spur our authorities to intensify their efforts against the JI and its allies here. This includes greater scrutiny on JI allies, including the widely reported links between the JI and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Time and again, international and Philippine news reports have indicated ties between the two organizations. And while the MILF, since the time of its late leader Hashim Salamat, has said it would make serious moves to renounce terrorism, it has yet to do so in a substantive way.
When the MILF took upon itself to cooperate with the Philippine government in cracking down on the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang, it was a step in the right direction. This step, unfortunately, did not result in any further cooperation. Logically, working together to eliminate the Pentagon gang should have led to efforts to root out the presence of the JI in the country. No such cooperation, or plans for such efforts, have been undertaken to date by the MILF and the government.
If a compelling reason was lacking before, one exists now. The statements of the MILF dating back some years should now be backed up by action. If the MILF is really serious about relinquishing its terrorist past and connections, it should do so by undertaking a joint effort with Philippine authorities to eliminate the JI and its local training camps.
The alternative -- for the MILF to stick its head in the sand, or worse, cynically continue tacitly assisting the JI while piously pleading it knows nothing of the JI's efforts here -- is too grim to contemplate. Not only does it place both Muslim and Christian Filipinos in danger of being targets of a JI attack here, but it also makes the country vulnerable to foreign pressure and even aggression.
Our ASEAN neighbors, such as Indonesia and Thailand which are grappling with militant Muslims, and countries such as Malaysia and Singapore, which are either alarmed by the participation of their nationals in JI plots or fear being the next target of such plots, will not be happy with a Philippines that allows JI training camps to train and export terrorists. We do not have to elaborate, either, on the possibility of intensified American interest in Mindanao, with accompanying political, military and economic pressure on our country to make itself pliable to American strategic interests, at a time when our economy is so shaky.
While the United States views the JI and its capability to attack as an international problem and the ASEAN continues to grapple with the problem, we should remember that this is also a fundamental Philippine problem. Besides the danger of our country being viewed as a helpless, and worse, dangerous coddler of terrorists, we should consider the real danger to ourselves arising from having terrorist training camps in Mindanao as well as terrorist cells in our metropolitan centers. A fearful people, an unsafe people, are a people who cannot devote their energies and concentration to the task at hand. Those tasks are serious enough, without adding the danger of bombs going off in our midst.
posted by Dante at 10:43 AM
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