Uneasy peace reigns on southern Philippine island
By Manny Mogato
JOLO, Philippines, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The sound of guns used to be commonplace on Jolo, an island in the remote south of the Philippines used as a base by a rebel group linked to al Qaeda, but it has been relatively calm for a few years now.
About 5,000 Philippine soldiers, backed by between 200 to 500 U.S. soldiers, are deployed there, and besides combating the Abu Sayyaf rebels, they have been winning over the mainly Muslim residents by helping sink wells and building schools and roads.
But tensions have been rising over the past few months because of renewed Abu Sayyaf activity and a gunfight last week in which troops were accused of killing eight villagers threatens to undermine all that goodwill.
"This incident could potentially damage the friendly relations between the military and the people on the island," provincial governor Abdusakur Tan told Reuters on Saturday.
"I really want a closure on this incident."
The military has acknowledged that eight civilians, including three women and two children, were killed during a military operation near Ipil village on Jolo on Feb. 4.
It has said three militants and two soldiers were killed during the operation but that an inquiry was in progress into the deaths of the villagers.
Sixty-four soldiers involved in the operations, including commandos and U.S.-trained troops, have been confined to barracks and the military has suspended all offensives against the rebels for the time being.
"We want to make sure they are available during the inquiry," said Lieutenant-General Nelson Allaga, military commander in the south, adding that a panel of senior officials has been interviewing civilians caught in the crossfire.
"We stand by our position it was a legitimate operation. We lost two men and five were wounded."
REFUSING COMPENSATION
Manila, worried about the fallout from the deaths, rushed Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro to Jolo on Saturday to defuse the situation.
Dozens of residents demonstrated in the centre of Jolo town and near the airport as Teodoro arrived, waving placards and shouting "Justice for the Ipil massacre".
"My role here is to make sure that there will be an impartial inquiry," Teodoro told them, acknowledging that emotions and passion on Jolo were high.
"We will act on this without a whitewash. To act on the basis of passions will not result in justice. We want justice to be done so we need a credible process."
Residents refused offers of monetary compensation or food aid.
"I don't want any bags of rice or money, I just want justice," said Rawina Wahid, a 24-year-old woman whose husband was killed.
She said her husband was shot, although he was an off-duty soldier.
"They would not listen to him. They shot him even after he showed them his army identity card. They even took his pistol and two-way radio set."
Tan, the governor, who is from near Ipil, said the issue had to be resolved soon.
"We're worried that so much money invested by the military to earn the goodwill of the people might disappear if we fail do something to correct this."
Jolo, a Muslim island 600 miles (950 km) south of Manila, was once touted as a success story in the Philippine military's battle to flush out the Abu Sayyaf and a handful of foreign jihadists.
But the Abu Sayyaf resumed kidnapping and decapitations last year and relations with the locals have deteriorated due to military operations that have forced villagers from their homes. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Bill Tarrant)
JOLO, Philippines, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The sound of guns used to be commonplace on Jolo, an island in the remote south of the Philippines used as a base by a rebel group linked to al Qaeda, but it has been relatively calm for a few years now.
About 5,000 Philippine soldiers, backed by between 200 to 500 U.S. soldiers, are deployed there, and besides combating the Abu Sayyaf rebels, they have been winning over the mainly Muslim residents by helping sink wells and building schools and roads.
But tensions have been rising over the past few months because of renewed Abu Sayyaf activity and a gunfight last week in which troops were accused of killing eight villagers threatens to undermine all that goodwill.
"This incident could potentially damage the friendly relations between the military and the people on the island," provincial governor Abdusakur Tan told Reuters on Saturday.
"I really want a closure on this incident."
The military has acknowledged that eight civilians, including three women and two children, were killed during a military operation near Ipil village on Jolo on Feb. 4.
It has said three militants and two soldiers were killed during the operation but that an inquiry was in progress into the deaths of the villagers.
Sixty-four soldiers involved in the operations, including commandos and U.S.-trained troops, have been confined to barracks and the military has suspended all offensives against the rebels for the time being.
"We want to make sure they are available during the inquiry," said Lieutenant-General Nelson Allaga, military commander in the south, adding that a panel of senior officials has been interviewing civilians caught in the crossfire.
"We stand by our position it was a legitimate operation. We lost two men and five were wounded."
REFUSING COMPENSATION
Manila, worried about the fallout from the deaths, rushed Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro to Jolo on Saturday to defuse the situation.
Dozens of residents demonstrated in the centre of Jolo town and near the airport as Teodoro arrived, waving placards and shouting "Justice for the Ipil massacre".
"My role here is to make sure that there will be an impartial inquiry," Teodoro told them, acknowledging that emotions and passion on Jolo were high.
"We will act on this without a whitewash. To act on the basis of passions will not result in justice. We want justice to be done so we need a credible process."
Residents refused offers of monetary compensation or food aid.
"I don't want any bags of rice or money, I just want justice," said Rawina Wahid, a 24-year-old woman whose husband was killed.
She said her husband was shot, although he was an off-duty soldier.
"They would not listen to him. They shot him even after he showed them his army identity card. They even took his pistol and two-way radio set."
Tan, the governor, who is from near Ipil, said the issue had to be resolved soon.
"We're worried that so much money invested by the military to earn the goodwill of the people might disappear if we fail do something to correct this."
Jolo, a Muslim island 600 miles (950 km) south of Manila, was once touted as a success story in the Philippine military's battle to flush out the Abu Sayyaf and a handful of foreign jihadists.
But the Abu Sayyaf resumed kidnapping and decapitations last year and relations with the locals have deteriorated due to military operations that have forced villagers from their homes. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Bill Tarrant)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Sphere
Piracy fight
Obama skips wounded troop visit
