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Who Are The Abu Sayyaf?
By Sahar Kassaimah
05/06/2001
As the Philippines awaits results of what some media outlets are calling the "most bloody [elections] in a decade and a half," the kidnapping of twenty people by the Abu Sayyaf guerilla group has escalated the instability and political uncertainty in a country already struggling for democracy and peace. The kidnappings have also added more challenges for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who came to power last January at the height of a military-backed people's power revolution that ended former president Joseph Estrada's 31-month rule.
Who are the kidnappers?
About two-dozen armed men wearing ski masks kidnapped seventeen guests including three Americans, 13 Chinese Filipinos, at least one child, two security men, and a kitchen worker at dawn from the Dos Palmas resort on the southwestern Philippine island of Palawan. They fled in boats speeding across the Sulu Sea.
One day later, the Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and their leader, Abu Sabaya, announced in a radio interview that his group had divided the captives into two groups and taken them to two different islands in the southern Philippines. "We are admitting it, we are the ones who did it," said Sabaya. "We have up to three Americans. If you want to negotiate, it's up to you, we're not pushing for it," he added.
Furthermore, Sabaya threatened to kill all the hostages if his group had any suspicions that the military was operating against them. "We are ready to die fighting. This is suicide," he said. "The government knows what to do. The government knows our capability."
As a result of the kidnappings, staff and guests at other resorts were put on alert and the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for the Philippines.
"A series of security-related incidents has made travel unsafe in certain areas of the Philippines," said the State Department release.
The State Department has also asked all U.S. citizens to avoid travel to some of the islands located in the Sulu archipelago in the extreme southwestern Philippines and to exercise great caution when considering travel to resorts throughout the Philippines.
Although the Philippines and the U.S. have strong military ties, no information was released about any possible American involvement in the hostage situation.
Among the three Americans taken were Martin and Gracia Burnham from Kansas, who have been working in the Philippines since 1986 with the New Tribes Mission, a Christian missionary organization. The group, based in Sanford, Florida, has 3,400 missionaries located in Asia, South America and Africa.
During initial contact with the kidnappers and their hostages, Burnham delivered a statement over the radio saying, "Hi, I am Mr. Martin Burnham, a U.S. citizen. I am a missionary. I am with my wife, we are in the custody of the Abu Sayyaf under Khadafi Janjalani," he said. "I am safe and unharmed." Janjalani heads one of the group's factions, which also kidnapped American Muslim Jeffrey Schilling for eight months last year.
Abu Sayyaf has killed hostages in the past, including two teachers who were beheaded last year after the government cracked down on the group with a series of military offensives.
The government reaction: "We will meet force with force"
The Philippine military launched an air and sea search that yielded several suspected sightings and announced that it was preparing to move troops if Abu Sayyaf and their hostages were spotted. It also put Basilan and Jolo islands under a protective watch, to prevent the kidnappers from reaching areas where they would have strong support.
However, they still need to verify whether or not Abu Sayyaf has indeed taken their hostages to the Jolo or Basilan island provinces off Zamboanga. On the other hand, the Philippines offered a 100-million-pesos ($2 million) reward to anyone who helps them capture of Abu Sayyaf: $100,000 for each Abu Sayyaf leader, and $20,000 for each member of the group involved in the kidnappings.
Furthermore, Palawan governor Joel Reyes has offered a reward of $20,000 for information leading to the release of the hostages. "There will be no ransom. The only kind of negotiations will be for the unconditional release of the hostages," said Presidential spokesman, Roberto Tiglao.
Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan, spokesman for the Philippine military said, "The most important thing here is that the government will stick to its policy of no ransom payments." He added, "There will be no negotiations or ransom with these kidnappers. By doing that we believe we will stop the motivation from some groups there in the south to do the same thing."
In the meantime, Arroyo has condemned the criminal act and vowed to crush the Abu Sayyaf, illustrating that they have embarrassed the country with a series of kidnapping standoffs that endured for months last year. "I am ready to do everything to crush the bandits, to allow the hostages to safely return to their families and to bring back peace," said Arroyo.
"To the bandits ... listen closely. I will finish what you have started, force against force, weapons against weapons. They will only stop hunting you when you're all wiped out or all of you surrender," she added.
"When there is a war, you know what the priorities are, and there is a war in that part of the Philippines," said Arroyo, alluding to the war between her government and Abu Sayyaf.
She also declared a news blackout on details of military operations urging journalists to stay away from any rescue efforts in order to ensure the safety of the hostages and the success of military rescue efforts. "We don't know how long this blackout will last," said National Security Advisor Roilo Golez. "We're in a very delicate situation right now, we don't want information to leak out about our moves."
Nevertheless, Adan called on all citizens to help the government, the military, and the police by providing information. The police have said that some villagers reported that the kidnappers and the hostages were seen on Jolo, (600 miles) south of Manila, but the reports had not been confirmed.
MILF offers help in tracking them down
Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) offered to help track down the guerrilla group. "Our main concern is the safety of the civilians, especially where there are military operations. There may be encounters and crossfire, and the victims may get hurt," said Ghadzalii Jaafar, MILF Vice Chairman for political affairs.
But the government announced that it would not seek the help of a group it considers "a threat to national security."
"The MILF is opposed to the government, their original cause is secession. It is still considered a threat to national security and, therefore, the Philippine government is not inclined to accept any offer of support using their forces to end this crisis," said Adan.
This is the second time in as many years that the Philippine government has faced the possibility of a hostage standoff. Last year, members of Abu Sayyaf seized more than 40 hostages, including a number of Western tourists from the Malaysian tourist resort of Sipadan, and held them at the rebels' camp in southern Jolo. Many were released later in return for ransoms of up to $1 million per hostage. The Abu Sayyaf has used the money to buy powerful speedboats, arms and other equipment.
Who Are The Abu Sayyaf?
And what are their purposes?
Despite the group's claims of fighting for a separate Muslim state in the south of the country, which is predominantly Roman Catholic, the government calls it a gang of outlaws that thrive on kidnapping and piracy.
From the group's actions and history, it is obvious that it has no ideology and no cause to justify its criminal actions. Like all bandits or outlaw gangs, it has no principles other than collecting money, regardless of the means. Ransom money is what drives them and they will kill and kidnap in order to try to get it.
Therefore, it cannot be compared with the MILF or with any other legitimate political organization.
"It's a criminal organization [Abu Sayyaf] that is not into any negotiation with the government," said Former President Fidel V. Ramos. "The government refuses to negotiate with these outlaws, in the same way that the government is now negotiating with the secessionist group called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front," he said.
"The Abu Sayyaf is really an outlaw gang, [it is] not that big, operating in the southern islands of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, these are three small provinces in the Philippines," he added.
How might the kidnappings affect the country?
Ramos said that there were some kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf during his administration, but he kept the level of negotiating as low as possible. "If we kept a very low level, the kidnappers wouldn't have that much leverage, as they did during the time of Mr. Estrada," said Ramos criticizing his successor, Joseph Estrada, who recruited cabinet-level officials to negotiate with Abu Sayyaf to release the hostages.
Ramos also expressed his hope that the kidnappings would not affect tourism in the Philippines, nor force people and corporations to abandon plans of investment in the country. The Tourism Secretary has asked tourists not to turn their backs on the country yet, asserting that the regions of Luzon and Visays were trouble free.
But whether the Philippines' authorities like it or not, the kidnapping is a further blow for the country, which has been gripped by political uncertainty.
Uncertainties remain over whether Arroyo, who came to power in a moral war against corruption, and who already has many challenges to face, can unite competing interests and heal divisions of the past
It is unclear as to whether she can succeed in finding appropriate ways to deal with Abu Sayyaf, to protect the hostages, and to return them home safely, while trying to convince her people that there is hope ahead.
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