RP Catholic bishops condemn bombing of Muslim mosques
RP Catholic bishops condemn bombing of Muslim mosques
Agence France-Presse, Davao, Philippines
Influential Roman Catholic bishops on Friday condemned the
bombings of three Muslim mosques in the southern Philippines,
warning it could fan religious conflict in the strife-torn
region.
The mosque bombings were staged in Davao City on Thursday just
after a terrorist bomb attack at a nearby wharf that left 16 dead
and some 50 others injured.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings but
officials in this predominantly-Christian nation believe the
mosque attacks could be in retaliation for the deadly blast at
Sasa Wharf.
"As I condemn in the strongest terms the bombing at Sasa Wharf
that killed numerous innocent civilians and injured many more, so
I condemn most strongly the bombing of three mosques," said
Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, the head of the Catholic Bishops'
Conference of the Philippines.
"The bombing of sacred places like mosques is meant to inflame
religious sentiments and biases and aims to inject a religious
dimension into a conflict that is primarily political and
economic," he said.
Quevedo also urged "restraint and sobriety" among members of
the Catholic and Muslim communities in Davao, the commercial hub
of the main southern island of Mindanao.
President Gloria Arroyo, shortly after the bombing, ordered a
massive police-military crackdown on all terrorist groups and
criminal elements in Davao, which she said had been placed under
a state of "lawless violence".
Her spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, on Friday said Arroyo would
forego her 56th birthday celebration on Saturday and is instead
offering a cash prize of one million pesos (US$18,181) to anyone
who could give information leading to the arrest of the suspects.
"The president will not let terrorists succeed in turning
Davao into a city ruled by fear," Bunye said in Manila on Friday.
"Meantime, the president asks for a strong inter-faith
solidarity, unity and forbearance. There is no way we can win
against terror if there are ethnic and religious barriers among
our people," he said.
U.S. embassy spokeswoman Karen Kelley on Friday condemned the
Davao bombings as a terrorist act.
"We join the Philippine government in condemning this
atrocity, which from all indications appears to be a terrorist
attack," Kelley said, but added it was premature to link the
attack to any group because an investigation was underway.
"We offer our condolences to the victims and their families,"
she said.
A U.S. citizen was among 22 people killed in a similar bomb
attack at the Davao international airport last month which has
been blamed on the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) rebels.
The MILF have denied involvement in any bombings.
Meanwhile, there were reports that four masked men abducted a
Muslim leader in Davao late Thursday, in an incident security
sources fear could be connected to the bombings.
Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Eric Javier refused to
confirm or deny the alleged abduction of Datu Abdul Alla, saying
he has yet to check on the report.
Radio station DZRH said Alla was seized in front of a
convenience store in Davao and dragged to a waiting van which
then sped away. Alla is a senior Muslim leader in the majority-
Christian city of Davao, the report said.