|
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -- Widows and kin of soldiers slain during the series of clashes in Sulu last week have joined the clamor against sending more troops to the war-torn island and in Basilan. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo earlier ordered the deployment of 6,000 troops to Basilan and Sulu to hunt town Abu Sayyaf extremists and so-called "rogue" Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members. But Wilfreda Potoy, mother of Private First Class Rico Potoy, one of 26 soldiers killed in clashes in Maimbung town on August 9, said the government should also consider the future of those left behind by soldiers killed in the offensives. "It's alright if it is only money that is wasted, but the reality is people are dying," she said in the vernacular. Wilfreda said she believes that sending more soldiers would not solve the situation in Sulu. "I believe there are ways to defeat the Abu Sayyaf and other rebels aside from sending more soldiers there," she said.
Sara Hashim, the wife of Private First Class Daim Hashim, said it would be better for Arroyo to defer the plan because it will only fuel the already volatile situation in Sulu. Sara, a mother of eight, said she knows the area better because she hails from Barangay (village) Alat in Jolo town. "They should not do it while the situation is still tense," she said. Sara also agreed that Arroyo should consider the families of soldiers before pushing for the deployments. "Pity the families," she said. Fatmawati Salapuddin, public relations officer of the Lupah Sug Bangsamoro Women Association said "it saddens us to see them die afterwards." "We know more about being killed or wounded, we know who are being widowed," she said. Instead of sending thousands of troops, Salapuddin suggested that the military improve its intelligence work. She cited the 2003 arrest of Mujiv Susukan and Galib Andang, which occurred without a single shot fired. "We have the best of our troops in Sulu for apprehending two top Abu Sayyaf leaders without any military operation that displaced thousands of people," Salapuddin said. The influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) also rejected the military's "full offensive" against so-called terrorists in Sulu. In a statement on the CBCP website on Monday, CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said he would like to see a "negotiated" solution to the Mindanao conflict. "The [government] must not make violent moves especially that they don't know who the perpetrators are," Lagdameo said as he expressed fears about innocent civilians becoming "involuntary victims of the offensive." "It was bad enough that Marines suffered. How much more if civilians will suffer?" he asked. "We are definitely against any form of violence. The government must make every effort to work towards peace, beginning with the rejection of violence," Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said. Hatimil Hassan, interim chair of the MNLF, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net, that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) also expressed concern over the growing unrest in Sulu. USAID is implementing various development projects in the province. "I assured them that we will not only try to protect their humanitarian projects, but also their people working for the projects," Hassan said of the conversation he had with a USAID official. Hassan said the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) also planned to talk with the government regarding the Sulu violence. It was the OIC that brokered the peace deal between the government and the MNLF. With reports from Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao
 |
The News 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
