RP angry over shutdown of embassies

RP angry over shutdown of embassies

Mynardo Macaraig, Agence France-Presse, Manila

The Philippines has criticized Australia and Canada for closing their embassies without warning because of terrorist threats, saying neither government consulted the local authorities.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said information about the threat from the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group had not been shared with local police before the missions were shut down on Thursday.

Speaking after a meeting with the Australian and Canadian ambassadors, Ople told reporters late Thursday the terror alert "came from their home governments and presumably their own intelligence."

Ople told the ambassadors the shutdown gave "a black eye to the Philippines" particularly as the country had taken an active role in hunting down Islamic extremist terrorists in the region.

"The ambassadors expressed regret over this development," he said. "They said the threat came from Islamic fundamentalists, specifically Jamaah Islamiyah."

Australian ambassador Ruth Pearce told a press briefing on Friday hat her government had advised Ople of the decision before the closure was announced.

"Before the decision was made public, I advised the (Philippine) government through the Department of Foreign Affairs," said Pearce.

She said that she would convey to Canberra the Philippine concerns that Australia was not sharing sufficient intelligence information.

Pearce would not comment on whether the JI was involved, saying only that it was a "credible" threat but that she had no details.

JI has been blamed for the Oct. 12 bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali which killed more than 190 people, and the group has been accused of having links to the al-Qaeda network.

Scores of alleged JI militants have been also been rounded up in Singapore and Malaysia accused of plotting terrorist attacks, while the Philippines has also jailed several alleged JI bomb makers.

Australian and Canadian officials said the threats were specific and that their nationals were being warned to avoid the Philippines.

The European Union (EU) delegation office, which is located in the same office building as the Australian embassy, has also shut down as a security precaution, officials said.

The Australian, Canadian and EU embassies remained closed on Friday.

Ople said he was calling a meeting of the entire diplomatic corps on Monday to improve intelligence and security coordination.

President Gloria Arroyo meanwhile said her government would not relent in its anti-terror campaign.

"We don't know when or where in the whole world terror will strike again, but we're doing everything to thwart its attempts or mitigate its effects. We shall remain on alert," Arroyo stressed.

"In our war against terror, we look out primarily for our own interests. This includes making common cause with common countries where those interests materially overlapped."

The head of police forces in Manila, deputy-director general Reynaldo Velasco, said in an interview with ABS-CBN television that there had been no indication that the embassies faced any threat.

The district police had gone to the embassies on Thursday for a meeting only to find them closed, he recalled. Velasco said police had tightened security at vital installations since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

Ople said the foreign missions had told him there would be a "constant, daily review" of security but that no timetable for their opening had been agreed.

Fears of new attacks have intensified since the Bali bombing, and a spate of bomb blasts in the southern Philippines and Manila last month which left 23 people dead.

Southeast Asia has a growing reputation as a frontline in the war against terror, with much focus on JI.

Western intelligence agencies say JI -- which wants to set up an Islamic state across Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines -- has set up cells across the region.