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Foiled Bombing in Philippines Sparks Fears of Terrorist Tag
With additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA, Dec. 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A foiled bombing attack on Friday, the alleged handiwork of "terrorists", has sparked fears among Muslim Filipinos that they may be branded as such.
The bomb, containing about 20 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, oil, gasoline, wiring, and a timer, was found between the Allied Bank and the Philippine Long Telephone Distance Co. (PLDT).
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director Leandro Mendoza expressed strong belief that the foiled bombings at the Allied Bank and Philippine Long Distance buildings in Makati City on Friday are the handiwork of "terrorists" in the country.
The eve of the Rizal day (New Year's eve), which saw deadly bombings in Manila last year, combined with the failed attempt in Makati presently, has increased tension among Muslims in the region.
Sources in Manila say Muslims in the Philippines are in great fear as Rizal Day approaches. After the deadly September 11 attacks on New York and Washington D.C., some say any Muslim runs the risk of being always seen in a suspicious light.
On Thursday, Filipino Muslims in the metropolis were warned by the Moro-Christian People's Alliance (MCPA) to beware of arrests without warrant.
The Rizal Day bombings last year killed at least 20 people. The suspects included an alleged military colonel and several Muslims whom later were found to have had training in Indonesia or Afghanistan.
On Friday, the PNP was placed on full alert nationwide to deter criminal groups from taking advantage of the Christmas season and prevent the repeat of the December 31 bombings last year.
Local police have not pinpointed who the suspects in the incident on Friday might be, but said intelligence reports of both the police and armed forces indicate that individuals from abroad are coming into the country as a result of the September 11 attacks in the United States.
The MCPA issued a warning to Muslims after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the police to stay on full alert to prevent the recurrence of violence in Manila.
"[We] Muslims must be wary of possible arrests on mere suspicion that we may be Abu Sayyaf bandits or followers of Osama bin Laden who are out to terrorize Metro Manila," said MCPA spokeswoman Amirah Ali Lidasan.
Lidasan said Arroyo should not commit the same mistake of former president Joseph Estrada, who ordered the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force to make massive arrests in Muslim communities in Taguig, Pasig and Quezon City in search of the culprits of last December's bombings.
"The Arroyo government should refrain from arresting civilians in Metro Manila and making them pay for the incompetence of the government's intelligence agencies," said Lidasan.
"President Arroyo's fight against the Abu Sayyaf bandits coupled with her replication of the U.S. government's war on terrorists is causing so many Moro civilian casualties," she added.
This year alone, a hundred Moro residents in Basilan have been killed by the military on suspicion that they were members of the Abu Sayyaf, according to Lidasan.
Lidasan added that the fact the military has yet to crush the Abu Sayyaf, who are still holding some hostages, shows that those arrested last year were innocent.
Lidasan said it was ironic that the Abu Sayyaf still roamed Basilan Island and still had hostages despite the military's claims that they had shrunk the Abu Sayyaf to half its size.
Meanwhile, Lidasan added that Arroyo's declaration that Eid'l Fitr is one of the country's national holidays did not convince Muslims of her sincerity to uphold their rights.
"If there is a Christmas gift that President Arroyo would give our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters, we hope that it will be justice and indemnification to those aggrieved by her harsh policies against the Moro people," she concluded in an interview granted to Abs-CBN news network in Manila.
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