Some 32 Basilan detainees accused Esperon’s unit of torturing and forcing them to sign papers admitting they are members of the Abu Sayyaf. As years passed, most of the detainees were released for lack of evidence, but others were given aliases that would fit the names of those written in the charged sheet.
Five years have passed and the government is still after the Abu Sayyaf. The administration’s mantra of ending the Abu Sayyaf is taking its toll on the Moro people, paving the way for the military and the police force to abuse their authority over suspected “terrorists”.
It’s like every day we have to stay on guard, trying our very best to defend ourselves from every accusations hurled at us. Why shouldn’t the government be held responsible for the bombings? Why shouldn’t they take the blame instead for covering up their failure to stop the bombings?
On Jan. 13, the Asean heads of state signed the Convention on Counter-Terrorism and the Arroyo administration hopes that this will convince the Philippine Congress to immediately pass the anti-terror bill that has been strongly criticized as a means of the administration not to address terrorism but curtail the civil and political rights of the people, especially those who criticize her administration.
We Moros cannot help but suspect that the pre-Asean bombings in Mindanao provided the surest way to convince the people that there is a terror threat and that there is a necessity for an anti-terror measure to supposedly subdue it.
While we are glad that the Philippine government and the MILF are talking peace, the police, the military and the political allies of the Arroyo administration some of them Moros, unfortunately — continue to link the MILF and the rest of the Moro people to terrorism. This further discriminates and demonizes us, and jeopardizes our aspirations for self-determination. (Amirah Ali Lidasan/davaotoday.com)
(Amirah Ali Lidasan is the national vice-chairperson of the Suara Bangsamoro partylist organization. She wrote about the bombing experiments in Mindanao in her previous column for davaotoday.com. She can be reached at suarabm@yahoo.com)
[tags]davao today, mindanao, moros, muslim, MILF, peace process, mindanao conflict, suara bangsamoro, terrorism, asean, hermogenes esperon, gloria macapagal-arroyo, philippines[/tags]
Peace Process, Terrorism
