|
Saturday July 28, 4:07 PM
Philippine leader vows to maintain operation to crush Abu Sayyaf
MANILA, July 28 (AFP) - Philippine President Gloria Arroyo Saturday vowed to push through with an operation to crush the Abu Sayyaf Muslim guerrilla group even as more sympathizers of the kidnapping band surrendered or were captured. She made the threat as the latest Abu Sayyaf kidnapping crisis, involving 19 Filipinos and two Americans, entered its third month in the southern island of Basilan. Brushing aside criticism of her mass arrests of alleged Abu Sayyaf sympathizers, Arroyo said: "This is war and if we wish to end the Abu Sayyaf problem, then we really have to act." In an interview with ABS-CBN television, Arroyo defended the detention of over a hundred suspected Abu Sayyaf sympathizers this month, saying that halting the arrests would just prolong the problem. "We really have to bite the bullet despite the accusations against us (and) fix this problem once and for all," she said. Arroyo denied that they were arresting people without a warrant, saying that the arrests had been carried out in accordance with the law. She said the crackdown had had a positive effect, causing many of the Abu Sayyaf sympathizers to surrender and boosting the morale of the troops fighting the armed group in the southern islands. More civilians were also turning in suspected Abu Sayyaf members, attracted by the hefty bounties that the government has put on their heads, Arroyo added. Arroyo stressed that "the important thing is that the prosecution (of the Abu Sayyaf) will be quick" adding that she had also sent a top team of government prosecutors to the south to charge those arrested. Earlier this month, Arroyo ordered a crackdown on the Abu Sayyaf, with the military empowered to arrest their sympathizers and supporters in their strongholds in the southern islands of Basilan and Jolo and in nearby areas. The crackdown came after a new Abu Sayyaf kidnapping spree that began on May 27 with the abduction of three Americans and 17 Filipinos from an upmarket resort. The Abu Sayyaf hid their captives in the forested island of Basilan and seized even more captives. While they have freed some of their Filipino hostages, reportedly in exchange for hefty ransom payments, they also killed four Filipinos and boast of having beheaded one of the Americans. Police officials earlier said that more than 30 of the detained Abu Sayyaf members have been charged. However the band holding the 21 hostages has continued to evade a massive military operation to catch them. An aide to senior Abu Sayyaf leader Mujib Susukan was captured by security forces in a raid on a safehouse in Jolo while six other suspected rebels surendered to the military in the same island, southern military spokesman Colonel Fredesvindo Covarrubias said Saturday. Susukan's aide and nephew, Maling Jalil, 32, was arrested early Friday after residents informed local officials about his presence. Covarrubias said six other Abu Sayyaf fighters, all followers of Susukan's ally, Ghalib Andang, also turned themselves in to the army late Friday in Talipao town. The six handed over six M16 rifles to the military and have provided information that could lead to Andang's arrest, Covarrubias added. The Abu Sayyaf have been kidnapping Christians and foreigners in the south for years, demanding large ransom payments and sometimes killing their captives. They insist they are Islamic independence fighters but the government considers them mere bandits.
More from > Philippines News
More from > Asian News from AFP
More from > Asia
| 
