17 held for Manila blasts

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, JAN. 4. Seventeen men, a majority of them Muslims, have been detained by the Philippine police in connection with the December 30 bomb blasts in Manila in which 18 persons were killed and around 100 wounded.

According to reports from Manila, the men were arrested in an early morning swoop in the capital's suburb and were now being interrogated by the security agencies.

Three weapons were reportedly seized from their possession.

In the meantime, left-wing groups have alleged that the detained men were being used as ``scapegoats'' for the sensational bombings in Manila.

According to these groups, 21 men were picked up by security agencies this morning, but some of them were later released.

Mr. Panfilo Lacson, the national police chief, claimed that the motive for the bombings had been established, adding that ``definitely, this is not connected with the impeachment trial'' of the President, Mr. Joseph Estrada.

``This is a terrorist group trained by foreign terrorist groups, so they are used to activities (bombings) of this kind,'' Mr. Lacson maintained, without giving details.

While the Opposition, including left-wing groups, had attempted to pin the blame on elements close to the President for the blasts, Government spokesmen had pointed to the possibility of communists or the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) being responsible for the five bomb attacks.

In a related development, the police have also claimed that the blasts could have been triggered by cellular telephones.

Parts of mobile phones were recovered from the sites of the blasts, giving credence to this theory.

Responding to the allegations by the authorities, both the MILF and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has denied involvement in the bombings.

``Ours is a guerilla organisation fighting for a legitimate cause and not a terrorist organisation,'' Mr. Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, was quoted as saying.

Mr. Kabalu said the MILF expected the military and the police to blame Moro insurgents ``as usual'' for the bomb attacks.

However, in his view, the police in metropolitan Manila were ``looking too far'' for the perpetrators.

The MILF, he said, suspected that the bombings were the work of ``people close to President Estrada''. ``Some of them could be in the military and the police and are occupying high positions. The motive is very clear. If the President is impeached, they will lose whatever perks they have now,'' he added.

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Section  : International
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