DATE=6/1/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=PHILIPPINES - UNREST
NUMBER=5-46421
BYLINE=PATRICIA NUNAN
DATELINE=ZAMBOANGA, PHILIPPINES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Negotiations for the release of 21 hostages in
the southern Philippines continue at a snail's pace,
with authorities warning that it may take months
before a resolution to the crisis is found. As we hear
from Patricia Nunan, who recently visited the southern
Philippines, the hostage crisis is another challenge
for President Joseph Estrada, but presents him with
political opportunity, as well.
TEXT: Hostage-taking and other violence has people on
edge throughout the Philippines - not just in the
Southern part of the country which is a hotbed of
Islamic separatism. At least 11 bombs went off last
month, including two in high-class Manila shopping
malls. At least one person has been killed and dozens
injured.
Many suspect the bombs to be the work of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front -- or MILF -- an Islamic
rebel group that has been fighting for independence
for the southern region of Mindanao for the past 30
years.
But on the islands of Basilan and Jolo, the smaller
and more radical Abu Sayyaf rebel group is now holding
more than 25 hostages -- in two separate groups.
Twenty-one are the tourists
snatched from a Malaysian dive resort. The other group
is made up of children and teachers abducted from two
high schools.
Professor Ricardo Adjawie from the Western Mindanao
State University, in the southern city of Zamboanga,
says the two crises have scared ordinary Filipinos.
/// ACT ADJAWIE ///
The enemy is a faceless enemy. I mean the Abu Sayaff
is in Basilan, is in Jolo, but people tend to think
that they have supporters, they have members who are
here, who might do us harm -- in retailiation for what
the government is doing against the Abu Sayyaf in
Basilan and Jolo. So the general feeling is I think
that it's a faceless enemy, and it could be anywhere.
///END ACT . . . SEGUES TO SOUND OF MILITARY BAND ///
On a visit last month to Zamboanga City, Philippines
President Joseph Estrada threatened both rebel groups
with what he called "the full might" of the Armed
Forces if they refuse to resolve the crises in the
south peacefully.
Some analysts say the hostage crises are helping
President Estrada regain badly-needed political
capital. Before the crises, protesters marched through
the streets of Manila, calling for the president to
resign. Allegations of corruption and incompetence,
launched at the president, caused his approval rating
to drop from 65 percent last June to just 20 percent
before the problems in the south erupted.
Alexander Magno is the president of the Foundation for
Economic Freedom, a Manila think-tank.
/// ACT MAGNO ///
Domestically this is the first issue where there is
strong national consensus in support of Estrada. And
the political opposition has fallen silent. The middle
class protests that were beginning to brew in February
and March have become still. There is peace and quiet
in the main cities, no protest actions. So
Domestically, Estrada is on the plus side.
Internationally maybe he doesn't care very much.
/// end act///
Government negotiators with the kidnappers in Jolo and
Basilan now say the release of all the hostages may be
months away. The fighting with the MILF elsewhere in
Mindanao has been a thorn in the side of Manila for
more than three decades. While time may be on the
president's side for now, Mr. Estrada must still move
quickly to resolve the crises, before the support he
has won in the past several weeks begins to fade away.
(SIGNED)
NEB/PN/FC/PLM
01-Jun-2000 06:09 AM EDT (01-Jun-2000 1009 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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