Backlash seen for RP as it squeezes out rebels<\/p>\n
By Cecil Morella<\/p>\n
MANILA (AFP): International terrorists could be targeting the
\nPhilippines due to President Joseph Estrada's move to stamp out
\nMoro extremism in his own backyard, officials and diplomats said
\nWednesday after a deadly bomb attack on Manila's envoy to
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Manila placed its foreign embassies and consulates on the
\nhighest state of alert after Tuesday's blast in Jakarta which
\nkilled two people and injured ambassador Leonides Caday and 20
\nothers.<\/p>\n
Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said Wednesday the
\nPhilippines' largest Moro separatist group could be involved
\ndespite its denials, and added he has contacted Indonesian and
\nMalaysian defense officials to come up with a concerted response.<\/p>\n
"This would go beyond our border patrol agreements and would
\ninvolve strengthening our intelligence tie-ups and preventing
\nterroristic activities from occurring," he added.<\/p>\n
Foreign department spokesman George Reyes said Wednesday
\nManila concurs with Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid's
\ntheory "that this could be linked to our security problem in
\nMindanao," the southern Philippine hotbed of two Moro separatist
\nrebellions.<\/p>\n
"But this could also be the handiwork of indigenous groups in
\nIndonesia which seek to embarrass President Wahid," Reyes said in
\na radio interview.<\/p>\n
The bombing of the envoy's residence has given an
\ninternational dimension to the Philippine government's 31-year
\nbattle with home-grown communist and Moro separatist
\ninsurgencies.<\/p>\n
The Filipino rebels' ties to radical Islamic groups abroad are
\nwell-documented.<\/p>\n
"We have no experience of a bombing incident in our embassies
\nabroad," said Estrada's National Security Adviser Alexander
\nAguirre.<\/p>\n
Reyes said despite Indonesia's own internal troubles, a "risk
\nassessment" made on the mission had not anticipated the attack.<\/p>\n
Philippines police chief Panfilo Lacson had warned Filipinos
\nin late June to brace for possible attacks as government forces
\nbattled Moro separatists in Mindanao -- but Manila focussed on
\nthe home front by securing commercial centers and other high-
\nprofile targets.<\/p>\n
Foreign diplomats told AFP here the bombing could be linked to
\nan upsurge in Islamic extremism in Indonesia, Malaysia and the
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
The rise of armed Islamic separatist movements in the region,
\nparticularly in the vast Indonesian archipelago, has been a
\ngrowing concern for the three nations and their seven other
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) partners.<\/p>\n
ASEAN ministers and their regional security partners declared
\nin Bangkok last month that "a united, democratic and economically
\nprosperous Indonesia was fundamental to the maintenance of
\nregional security."<\/p>\n
Moro Abu Sayyaf rebels based in the southern Philippines
\nmounted a cross-border raid into the Malaysian island resort of
\nSipadan in April and seized 21 western tourists and Asian resort
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
More than 100 days later, they continue to hold 14 of them and
\na three-member French television crew on Jolo island.<\/p>\n
Shortly after the hostage seizure, President Estrada struck
\nout against the rebels as government forces flushed out the Abu
\nSayyaf from Basilan island and seized all territory held by the
\nlarger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao.<\/p>\n
The two campaigns claimed hundreds of military casualties and
\ndisplaced nearly a million civilians. There was also a rebel
\nbacklash as commercial targets were bombed in Manila and
\nMindanao.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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