M'danao hostage crises show govt impotence - analysts

MANILA, Philippines - The government has failed in coming up with both short and long term solutions to the spate of kidnappings in Mindanao as exemplified by the abduction of three Red Cross workers by the Abu Sayyaf, according to analysts. Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Economic Reform, said the government's local committee was handling the hostage situation “badly" because it lacked clear and specific tactics in securing the captives’ freedom. “They are bumbling. The local negotiation committee, I found it wanting," Casiple said in a telephone interview with GMANews.TV on Wednesday. It is now the 76th day since Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba, Swiss Andreas Notter, and Italian Eugenio Vagni were abducted by the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf in Jolo, Sulu. On Tuesday, March 31, Governor Abdusakur Tan declared a state of emergency in Sulu and ordered the arrest of the abductors. The declaration was announced around the same time when the 2 p.m. deadline set by the Abu Sayyaf for the pullout of military troops in Sulu expired. The bandits made the ultimatum with the threat that they would behead one of the hostages if the government would not give in to their demand. Though government negotiators say the captives remain safe as of Wednesday, April 1, the Abu Sayyaf has not yet shown any proof of life of the hostages. Know the terrain Casiple said that while the Philippines has no specific and fool-proof procedure in handling kidnapping cases, every situation must be assessed on a case-to-case basis. “Ang pinakauna diyan is assessing kung ano ‘yung sitwasyon. Ang ibig sabihin lang, you should know the terrain first," Casiple said. “Next is you need a strategy on how to handle the situation and then third is dapat meron kang contact. You send an (emissary) na alam kung ano ba talaga ang demands nila (kidnappers)." [The first is to asses the situation. That means you should know the terrain first. Next is you need a strategy on how to handle the situation and then third is you have to have contact. You send an emissary who should know what are the real demands of the kidnappers.] But most importantly, Casiple said the government should set parameters on how much the kidnappers could demand. Casiple said he was not surprised when news of the kidnapping of the Red Cross workers broke out. “Sa election season na ito ay talagang prone sa kidnapping. Unfortunately, fund raising ito. Every election ay nagkakaroon ng ganyang kidnapping. I’m not really surprised na may ganyang cases," he said. [In this election season people are prone to kidnapping. Unfortunately, this is a fund raising. That kind of kidnapping occurs every election. I’m not really surprised that there are cases like that.] Self-worth problems Clarita Carlos, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines, believes that the kidnapping problem in Mindanao will not be solved as long as the government fails to address the socio-economic needs of the people in the region. “Kidnapping won’t stop unless the government provides a lasting solution, which is to address poverty in the area," Carlos told GMANews.TV on Wednesday in a separate phone interview. According to Carlos, if people’s economic needs are adequately met, they would have a higher self-esteem and would not resort to desperate acts to validate themselves, like what the Abu Sayyaf is doing now with its hostages. “We cannot totally fault the Abu Sayyaf bandits if they are acting irrationally. Why are they getting their validation from cutting heads of people, while others validate themselves by earning graduate degrees? We should have a shared meaning of self-worth and the government must direct society toward that goal," Carlos, president of the Center for Asia Pacific Studies, said. Poverty breeds banditry In her research studies, Carlos said she was able to prove that poverty breeds rebellion and banditry. “For instance, I did a research in Quezon (province), a rebel-infested area. Sobrang hirap dun, ang putik-putik, walang kuryente, ang mga bata ang lalaki ng tiyan kasi puro bulate. [Life there was so hard, it was muddy, there was no electricity, and the stomachs of children became bloated with worms]. So how can you stop them from rebelling if they face these hardships everyday?" she said. From 1993 to 2001, the Abu Sayyaf committed at least eight high profile kidnappings that included the April 23, 2000 abduction of 19 foreigners and two Filipinos in Sipadan, Malaysia, and the May 27, 2001 kidnapping of 20 foreign and local tourists from Dos Palmas Beach Resort in Palawan. Reports said the Abu Sayyaf had collected ransom of over US$ 31 million since the group was founded in 1992. Sulu, a known lair of the largest units of the Abu Sayyaf, is among the country’s top 15 poorest provinces. Sulu is under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where 55 percent of families live below the poverty line. In the government’s 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, the ARMM’s P47 billion annual family income was the smallest in all regions, equivalent to only 6.4 percent of the National Capital Region’s P734 billion income. Govt policy on kidnappings defended Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita has defended the national policies on kidnapping situations, saying negotiating for the safe release of the Red Cross hostages and other kidnapping victims in Mindanao remains the primary strategy of the government. Ermita said the return of the military troops to the towns in Sulu, which were previously vacated, is not a preparation for an all-out offensive. “The government always has been taking very firm stand against terrorists, not only the Abu Sayyaf, but the other groups, any kidnap-for-ransom groups for that matter," he said. Ermita said the same government policies would apply along with the some “calibrated measures" that he did not elaborate. He likewise dismissed any need for the United States troops to interfere in the Sulu operations because the problem is an internal matter, which Filipinos can resolve. He said that for the moment the government is leaving it to the local management committee under Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno to handle the crisis. - GMANews.TY