Opinion
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News Analysis
Tying up against terrorism
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With the increased terrorist threat, there has been a dramatic escalation in U.S.-Philippines military cooperation, says Amit Baruah.
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A Philippines soldier tries out a sniper rifle gifted by the U.S.
NUR MISUARI had hung up his guns. But he's back in the news again for rebelling against the Philippines Government and is currently languishing in the custody of the Malaysian authorities.
Mr. Misuari, as head of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), signed a peace accord with Manila in 1996 and became the Governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Following the November 2001 rebellion by his supporters, Mr. Misuari fled to Malaysia where he was detained for not possessing valid travel documents. He's now the subject matter of complex negotiations for being handed over to the Philippines authorities to face ``treason charges''. The MNLF leader's revolt came as the Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, decided to hold elections to the post of Governor of the autonomous region in May. A one-time associate of Mr. Misuari - Parouk Hussin - was being backed by Manila.
Much before the violence by his supporters, Mr. Misuari had warned that the situation could get out of control and accused the military of attacking his men. ``I would like that the situation be under our control because the moment the situation will slip out of our hands, then it would be very, very difficult to see what's going to happen.
``I asked the Government not to do (sic) any provocative action at all because the situation is already quite sensitive, quite volatile,'' he had said. ``I'm very optimistic that in the end, wisdom will prevail, that (Ms. Macapagal-Arroyo) will decide against doing anything that might drag the situation to another situation that nobody would like (it) to go,'' he said. That optimism was belied and open warfare erupted between the MNLF and the Government.
To put the revolt in context, it was apparent that the Arroyo Government was not keen on continuing with the Misuari option and had opened a dialogue with the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) headed by Hashim Salamat.
Just before Ms. Macapagal-Arroyo took over as President in January 2001, her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, had launched military operations against the MILF even while fighting the terrorist-kidnapper band of the Abu Sayyaf. After taking over as President, Ms. Macapagal-Arroyo opened negotiations with the MILF with Malaysian help, which could only lead to the marginalisation of the Misuari group. And that's exactly what happened. The Arroyo administration even linked Mr. Misuari with the Abu Sayyaf, a charge that can only be described as desperate. And that ``linkage'' was perhaps necessary to draw greater attention to the issue of terrorism in the southern Philippines.
As far as the Abu Sayyaf is concerned, it continues to hold an American missionary couple, Marcia and Gracia Burnham, hostage. Such a situation, in the post-September 11 situation, is tailor-made to attract greater U.S. attention in fighting terrorism everywhere.
Up to 25 American military advisers are expected in the Philippines in January to train Filipino troops in the battle against the Abu Sayyaf.
``They (the American advisers) will be helping us to develop our fighting capabilities. The training will be on counter-terrorism, intelligence gathering and psychological operations... they will not be here to fight. They will be here to train, advise and assist,'' a military spokesman said.
Following a meeting between Ms. Macapagal-Arroyo and the U.S. President, George W. Bush, in Washington on November 20, there has been a dramatic escalation in American-Filipino cooperation, with America pledging a total of $100 million in enhanced military assistance.
A joint statement issued after the meeting said: ``The two leaders affirmed that they would continue to work on a vigorous, integrated plan to strengthen the Philippine security forces capacity to combat terror and protect Philippine sovereignty.''
``Such an integrated plan would include a robust training package, equipment needed for increased mobility, a maintenance programme to enhance overall capabilities, specific targeted law enforcement and counter-terrorism cooperation, and a new bilateral defence consultative mechanism,'' it added. While some training has already taken place, the U.S. is supplying Manila with at least eight UH-1H ``Huey'' helicopters, equipped with night flying equipment. A large supply of M-16 rifles and transport vehicles is also expected.
The U.S., in fact, has been keen on using its troops against the Abu Sayyaf, said to have links with the Al-Qaeda network, but so far there has been no green signal from Manila.
However, that has not dimmed anti-terrorist cooperation between the two nations. In fact, the Philippines has taken the lead in Southeast Asia as far as cooperation with the U.S. on this issue is concerned. Given the fact that American military bases had to be closed in the region some years ago, Washington can only be happy at the renewal of cooperation.
The U.S. has made it clear it wants to be actively involved in anti-terrorist cooperation among the ASEAN countries. ``There is also a very important regional component here in Southeast Asia that the U.S. doesn't have a role in and that's the ASEAN regional initiative,'' the U.S. Pacific Commander, Dennis Blair, said in Bangkok in November.
``I know that out of the ASEAN summit initiative of about 10 days ago (November 4-5, 2001, Brunei) the concept of a command post exercise utilising the armed forces in a counter-terrorism scenario was endorsed, and we are talking with the countries about how we can support that,'' he said.
The Philippines is the ``model'' the U.S. might like to build in Southeast Asia as far as the joint battle against terrorism is concerned. Whether the U.S. has a long-term appetite for the battle against terrorism in the region remains to be seen, but Manila cannot be unaware of the fact that the root causes of terrorism must be addressed for a permanent settlement.
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