September21, 2008:
Groups of rogue MILF fighters
are wandering around the south, looking for food, and fighting back when they
encounter police or troops. These MILF are trying to portray themselves as
defenders of Islam, but are being caught in lies. For example, claiming that a
clash with troops was triggered by an army attack on a mosque, when the firefight
took place where there was no mosque. The rogue MILF groups (about ten percent
of the total MILF) are improvising, but are unable to pull off this portraying
themselves as victims bit. In the last
ten days, the army has seized several MILF camps, putting over a thousand of their
inhabitants on the run. If these gunmen don't find a source of food, they will
have to break up and individual gunmen will hide (or sell) their weapons and go
back to their villages farther south (in majority Moslem areas).
Two weeks of
fighting have left 500,000, mainly Christian, civilians refugees. Several
thousand troops and police are clearing rogue MILF rebels out of the abandoned
Christian areas, so the Christians can return home. Over 300 people have died
so far, most (about 60 percent of them) MILF gunmen, 30 percent of them
civilians and the rest soldiers and police. The MILF involved have been
disowned by the MILF leadership (if only for getting themselves into a position
they can't win).
The mainline
MILF is trying to get the peace talks back on track. But the government is
demanding the three rogue MILF leaders responsible for the recent raids into
Christian territory be turned over first. The government also wants discussion
of MILF disarmament, to avoid any future rogue operations, before resuming the
political negotiations for an overall settlement. The MILF leadership is
reluctant to go along with either of these demands, but is not in a good
bargaining position. Most Moslems in the south are tired of the war, and its
inability to accomplish much. This war between Moslems and Christians has been
going on since the 1960s and has left more than 120,000 dead. The Moslems have
gotten the worse of it, mainly because they are a small minority (5 percent) in
the Philippines. But they claim "ancestral control" over a lot of
territory in the south that has long been occupied by Christians (who control
the national government and the security forces.)
September
15, 2008: On Basilan, Abu Sayyaf Islamic
terrorists have kidnapped five aid workers (but later released three of them
because troops were getting too close, too fast). Normally, aid workers are
left alone because they are doing good things for local people. But some Abu
Sayyaf believe these non-Moslem charities are the enemy, and fair game for
kidnapping and ransom. In some cases, the NGO staff are considered suitable for
use as human shields as well. In general, Abu Sayyaf, and Islamic terrorists in
general, make life more difficult for everyone, especially foreigners or
foreign organizations, even if they are Moslem.