It was three am, june 15, 2008, people in sitio tanduh pukut, indanan, sulu, were peacefully sleeping in their homes. They were roused from sleep when continuous shelling bombarded their nearby areas.
By the second blast, the electric lights went out because the SULECO wiring was severed by the blast.
People ran for cover. Some were shocked and remain where they were standing or sitting.
To be continued. . . .
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Was the 4/30/08 Kagay, Indanan, Sulu Bombing Operation Legitimate
All right, the military has already forwarded its press releases to the major publications in the country so the news of the bombing incident in Sitio Marang, Indanan, Sulu appears to be just another operation designed to crack down the Abu Sayaaf Group (ASG) and Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) bandits. Upon visiting the bombing site, however, many questions and doubts crept into these writers’ mind, at the top of which was the worst discrepancies of the military’s report to that of the civilian’s point of view. Are the readers not feed up with the one-sided reports that the military bombards at them?
Theoretically, one of the best weapons in any war was a “surprise attack.” The Marines and Army Special Forces applied the principle when they assaulted the assumed ASG and JI “training camp” last April 30, 2008 at Sitio Marang. But then, the welfare of the civilians should always be considered at all times. To avoid “collateral damage,” the military should at least warn the head of the place against the imminent attack so that the civilians have time to pack and run away to avoid being caught in the crossfire. The military failed to do that little humane gesture.
“Inatake nila ang baryo namin kahit walang coordination sa aking asawang Barangay Captain (Gani Nur),” Mrs. Satra Nur said when she was interviewed in one of the IDP sites at Kagay, Indanan, Sulu. “Sana naman nagpasabi sila bago nila ginawa para naman nakapagbigay kami ng babala sa aming kabarangay.”
So while the civilians were fleeing for their lives in the middle of the night, the military just fired all their big air and land weapons towards the area without considering the welfare of the fleeing civilians. Shrapnel of a guided American Missile was even found in the area. An old wizened witness claimed of the presence of the White American Chopper in the scene of the assault.
But the military were not able to justify their allegation that indeed there was an ASG or JI camp in the area. The assault only destroyed the peaceful living of the residents who were mainly farmers. For luck of hard evidence, the joint military forces ransacked each abandoned house in the vicinity until they found the house of a certain farmer Halibbun and his wife Widad. The couple kept a battery in their house to keep their little household appliances working and also to cater to the needs of the community’s recharging their cell phones, etc. Unfortunately for the couple, their house became the “bomb factory” overnight to fit the needs of the military to pinpoint some illegality in the area.
Surprisingly still, the Marines and Army Special Forces’ “surprise attack” that should have decimated the whole bandits’ population yielded only one dead and two wounded, if a senior military official should be believed. Yet, Marang refugees reported hearing continued firing of bullets and cannon shells from 12:30am of April 30 to 3:00pm of May 1, 2008.
The nearness of the attack to the acknowledged Camp of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the place seemed to be more than coincidental. A huge bomb crater materialized just a few feet away from the MNLF camp. So the assault could have been directed at the MNLF after all, a Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society’s member said. In other words, any MNLF guerillas that would panic and return fire were tantamount to suicide. Worst still, the panicked MNLF guerilla would be branded as “aider” or abettor to the terrorist group ASG and JI.
Yet, the Barangay Captain Gani Nur maintained, “Ang sitio Marang ay kilalang lugar ng MNLF. Walang Abu Sayaff at JI sa lugar namin.”
Yet again, the release on bail a few weeks ago of the political detainee Prof. Nur Misuari, Chairman of the MNLF, could also be the reason why the attack ever took place, a refugee pondered.
In a statement, Prof. Misuari opined that the military did not like his temporary freedom that’s why they provoked the remaining MNLF loyalists to fight against the government’s troops so that he (Misuari) could be thrown back to jail.
Another concern person of the JAGA Lupah Sug, a human rights advocates group, stressed that the assumed camp of the ASG and JI being near to an acknowledged MNLF camp at Sitio Marang was a blatant move to discredit the MNLF loyalist as “coddlers of the terrorist.”
It is therefore apparent, that the military’s action was only to serve their own selfish and devilish ends to soothe their wounded pride. What the military had succeeded in the attack was only to show their inutile, incompetent, and moronic intelligence once again. Who did the military attacked as ASG bandits in Basilan last January 2001? Answer: the political enemy of the late Wahid Akbar. What about the Ipil massacre on February 2008? Answer: the unprotected and humble fishermen’s family and their children.
If the military forces persist in their happy-go-lucky-and-trigger-happy way, we can never be sure of the dictum “military protects the civilians at all times.” The civilians therefore must unite together to defend themselves against the atrocity of the military forces.
Theoretically, one of the best weapons in any war was a “surprise attack.” The Marines and Army Special Forces applied the principle when they assaulted the assumed ASG and JI “training camp” last April 30, 2008 at Sitio Marang. But then, the welfare of the civilians should always be considered at all times. To avoid “collateral damage,” the military should at least warn the head of the place against the imminent attack so that the civilians have time to pack and run away to avoid being caught in the crossfire. The military failed to do that little humane gesture.
“Inatake nila ang baryo namin kahit walang coordination sa aking asawang Barangay Captain (Gani Nur),” Mrs. Satra Nur said when she was interviewed in one of the IDP sites at Kagay, Indanan, Sulu. “Sana naman nagpasabi sila bago nila ginawa para naman nakapagbigay kami ng babala sa aming kabarangay.”
So while the civilians were fleeing for their lives in the middle of the night, the military just fired all their big air and land weapons towards the area without considering the welfare of the fleeing civilians. Shrapnel of a guided American Missile was even found in the area. An old wizened witness claimed of the presence of the White American Chopper in the scene of the assault.
But the military were not able to justify their allegation that indeed there was an ASG or JI camp in the area. The assault only destroyed the peaceful living of the residents who were mainly farmers. For luck of hard evidence, the joint military forces ransacked each abandoned house in the vicinity until they found the house of a certain farmer Halibbun and his wife Widad. The couple kept a battery in their house to keep their little household appliances working and also to cater to the needs of the community’s recharging their cell phones, etc. Unfortunately for the couple, their house became the “bomb factory” overnight to fit the needs of the military to pinpoint some illegality in the area.
Surprisingly still, the Marines and Army Special Forces’ “surprise attack” that should have decimated the whole bandits’ population yielded only one dead and two wounded, if a senior military official should be believed. Yet, Marang refugees reported hearing continued firing of bullets and cannon shells from 12:30am of April 30 to 3:00pm of May 1, 2008.
The nearness of the attack to the acknowledged Camp of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the place seemed to be more than coincidental. A huge bomb crater materialized just a few feet away from the MNLF camp. So the assault could have been directed at the MNLF after all, a Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society’s member said. In other words, any MNLF guerillas that would panic and return fire were tantamount to suicide. Worst still, the panicked MNLF guerilla would be branded as “aider” or abettor to the terrorist group ASG and JI.
Yet, the Barangay Captain Gani Nur maintained, “Ang sitio Marang ay kilalang lugar ng MNLF. Walang Abu Sayaff at JI sa lugar namin.”
Yet again, the release on bail a few weeks ago of the political detainee Prof. Nur Misuari, Chairman of the MNLF, could also be the reason why the attack ever took place, a refugee pondered.
In a statement, Prof. Misuari opined that the military did not like his temporary freedom that’s why they provoked the remaining MNLF loyalists to fight against the government’s troops so that he (Misuari) could be thrown back to jail.
Another concern person of the JAGA Lupah Sug, a human rights advocates group, stressed that the assumed camp of the ASG and JI being near to an acknowledged MNLF camp at Sitio Marang was a blatant move to discredit the MNLF loyalist as “coddlers of the terrorist.”
It is therefore apparent, that the military’s action was only to serve their own selfish and devilish ends to soothe their wounded pride. What the military had succeeded in the attack was only to show their inutile, incompetent, and moronic intelligence once again. Who did the military attacked as ASG bandits in Basilan last January 2001? Answer: the political enemy of the late Wahid Akbar. What about the Ipil massacre on February 2008? Answer: the unprotected and humble fishermen’s family and their children.
If the military forces persist in their happy-go-lucky-and-trigger-happy way, we can never be sure of the dictum “military protects the civilians at all times.” The civilians therefore must unite together to defend themselves against the atrocity of the military forces.
AFP Shells Sleeping Civilians
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| CSO calls for ceasation of Hostilities in 2008. |
I am a resident of Jolo, Sulu. All my life, I had never been interested in politics. Being a Muslim, I am slightly fatalistic by nature. “What the hell,” I say, “as long as I can satisfy my hungry stomach three times a day and have a simple normal life, then to hell with all the sufferings around the world!”
But my recent involvement in a Civil Society Organization makes me furious about what the military is doing to my native place. The CSO assigned me to visit some areas of conflict in Sulu like (a) Ipil, Maimbung; (b) Marang, Indanan; and (c) Sitio Tandu Pukut, Indanan.
At these unlikely places, I realized that there are atrocities committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against my beloved Sulu and its people.
All in the name of their pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), they are actually destroying the lives of the civilians, incapacitating them to have an honest and productive living. Let me explain.
First, in Ipil, Maimbung, the AFP assaulted sleeping civilians that killed eight people, including woman and children on February 04, 2008. They said that the operation was legitimate as a result of five months of surveillance activities to rescue the kidnapped victim, Rosalinda Lao. But the AFP did not find the ASG, but the armed wary group believed to have a feud with people in nearby areas. The operations therefore had become the fulfillment of the vendetta of a military intelligent or agent.
Second, In Marang, Indanan last April 30, 2008, the AFP’s bombardment of a place a kilometer away from the MNLF’s Camp Marang displaced thousands of civilians. They even accused a civilian’s house as a “bomb-making factory” of the ASG. The surgical strike that they conducted did not kill any ASG members. It was only successful in instilling fear into the civilian’s heart. It could also be just a mere provocation for MNLF soldiers to fight so that Chairman Misuari would be thrown back to jail after being been bailed out of jail just recently.
Lastly, in Sitio Tandu Pukut, Indanan on June 15, 2008, the AFP sent four rocket launcher grenade and 23 howitzer cannons to a civilian community. Their rationale was that to decimate the ASG in nearby Subah Timahu. Sulu Governor Sakur Tan had actually given permission to the AFP to conduct the bombardment. Sad to note, when we went to the area, I realized that it was not the ASG that they intimidated, but the woman and children and other honest-living folks in the area.
I have documentation to prove the reality of these atrocities.
As I interviewed the civilian victims, I almost cried of dismay. Their small farms were destroyed; their coconut and banana trees uprooted; their fishing boats reduced to smithereens. The fear and shock in women and children eyes were evident.
So, what is AFP’s business here in Sulu? Do they really want the Tausug to have peace? They are the Peace Keepers, they say. Moreover, are the Tausug politicians concerned about the welfare of their constituents? What have they done to alleviate the poor people sufferings and miseries?
If the Tausug people do not unite to have a one strong voice against the connivance of these people in power, I don’t know what would become of our race.
Fellow CSO! Remember that in truth, there is power. Unity is power.
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