OPINION

DURIAN

text AMINA RASUL, Former Presidential Adviser on Youth Affairs

Rule of law? Rule of the lawless

WITH the coming of Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder) and the controversies surrounding the rape case filed against four American soldiers, the Visiting Forces Agreement is once more at the heart of debates. Q: Why is the Philippine government so keen on having American forces in the country, especially in the conflict areas of Mindanao? A: To help professionalize and strengthen the military in the war against terror. Q: Is Mindanao hostaged by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and by the Jemaah Islamiya (JI)? A: Is it?

During the 1979-89 Soviet-Afghan War, ASG founder Khadaffy Janjalani linked up with fellow mujahideen (warrior for the faith) Osama bin Laden. Janjalani came back and organized what is now known as the Abu Sayyaf, supported by the al-Qaeda. A small and violent group, it earned international notoriety from its kidnapping operations and gruesome beheading of captives. The Sipadan hostage taking landed the ASG in the international headlines. (Did the ASG have the capacity to mastermind that operation?) Philippine military operations, trained and equipped by Balikatan, have decimated the ranks and leadership of the ASG. Captured leaders were killed during an attempted jailbreak last year. Still, the ASG is prominently cited as the cause of major military encounters in Sulu and responsible for bombings nationwide. Military reports have linked the JI with terrorism in the country. With its diminished capacities, how big a threat does the ASG really pose? There is no satisfactory answer to this question. The answer becomes even more complicated as some officials and experts link the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) troops with terrorism.

Last month, General Adan and Mayor Celso Lobregat Jr. of Zamboanga City accused the MILF of recruiting new soldiers, concluding that this is a step to resumption of hostilities, linked to the JI. Interestingly, Davao City Mayor Duterte does not share this fear. In his welcome address during the Asean Tourism Conference, he said, “The negative travel advisory against us is canted and self-serving. ... If we look at the countries that are fond of labeling us as having ‘security problems,’ these are actually the very same countries that invade and conquer other countries, wage unjust wars, and incidentally, control the global tourism industry. So we should not accept that as a matter of fact, but view it as part of a larger political context.”

Muslim leaders today are concerned about the further radicalization of Muslim groups. Last year three major MNLF encounters with Philippine troops, displacing thousands, have been attributed to pursuit of the ASG. Next month Balikatan will bring more US troops to help train RP soldiers and to implement civic action programs in Mindanao. The main concern of Mindanao’s civil society and Muslim leaders is to prevent the US involvement in a local insurgency, as they did during the Vietnam War.

Seems to me the more malignant threats come not from the ASG/JI but from corruption, narcopolitics, kidnapping and other criminal activities. These prevent Mindanaoans from enjoying the benefits of the simple life they hope to lead, mired as they are in poverty and hopelessness. In the absence of the rule of law, the rule of the lawless prevails. “Rido” or “blood feud” has become more entrenched as a way to serve up justice, in the absence of the rule of law.

Law and order has broken down in Muslim Mindanao. Rule of law requires democracy and a political system that promotes social justice. It depends on an economic system that advances the development of every member of the society. It requires an independent judiciary. A well-functioning justice system should include prison administration, police reform and human-rights protection. The rule of law also includes the peaceful resolution of disputes. Democracy? Development? Justice? Peace? These have become alien terms to conflict-affected communities.

All these factors contribute to the radicalization of the Muslims. How do we move forward, beyond armed conflict and stagnation? What is the government’s real game plan? Bring our hero Pacquiao all over Mindanao to unite the people with his song? As MNLF Chairman Misuari enjoys his brief furlough for medical treatment, does he have flashbacks to 30 years ago, when Muslim insurgency was used to justify martial rule? Now that was some game plan! (AR)