Residents fear for the future in Philippines
hostage island
JOLO, Philippines, Sept 26
(AFP) - Shell-shocked residents in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, under virtual
military occupation, say they fear for the future amid a massive hostage rescue operation
that is taking longer than planned.
Most economic activity in the
Jolo town centre has ground to a halt with power cuts, suspended ferry services, a
swarming military presence and the influx of thousands of refugees.
The civilians are scrambling
from artillery fire being pounded on the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping group's positions in nearby
hills.
"It's like time has
actually stood still," said Pamela, a Chinese-Filipino restaurateur in downtown Jolo.
"It's monotonous, but
people can't break out of the cycle because they are stuck here even though the war is in
the mountains."
Some schools have shut down,
with parents fearful of more kidnappings by the Muslim extremist guerrillas. Outside town,
dozens of government schools now serve as evacuation centers.
"Students are experiencing
anxiety and tension. There are classes, but they are thinking of something outside the
classrooms," said Roman Catholic Father Ramon Bernabe, the president of the Notre
Dame College.
Classes are disrupted by the
roar of MG-520 helicopters revving up for take-off on combat sorties from an army camp
near the school.
President Joseph Estrada sent
the army into Jolo 11 days ago to rescue 19 hostages and crush the Abu Sayyaf.
The group has carried out two
cross-border kidnapping raids into nearby Malaysia, supplementing their haul of captives
with journalists, Christian preachers and others drawn into the hostage crisis.
Progress has been slow against
an enemy with mastery of the jungle terrain, and costly in terms of at least 36,000
displaced civilians -- though the military says only two civilians have been killed.
The once-busy Jolo port, the
nexus of activity in this isolated southern island near the Malaysian border, is empty
after the government cancelled all non-military traffic on the eve of the assault.
Cargo ships have since been
allowed in, but the airport remains closed to non-military aircraft.
"The boats are gone,
people are gone, there are no visitors here anymore," said an idled dockhand. Gone
too are the street urchins who would usually swarm up to newcomers, hawking everything
from soft drinks and biscuits to radio sets and video discs.
But the war does come to Jolo
in the dead of night as heavily armed military units turn out entire neighbourhoods,
looking for Abu Sayyaf stragglers.
Eighteen men were frog-marched
out of the downtown Tulay mosque late Monday in a raid which outraged local religious
leaders. The soldiers had neglected to pull off their combat boots as they charged into
the building with guns drawn.
Seven other men were arrested
in the Busbos district in another army sweep on Saturday night.
Asked if Abu Sayyaf members
would try to slip into population centers, the overall commander of the military operation
Brigadier-General Narciso Abaya said: "It is very possible. All they have to do is
hide their firearms and merge with the people."
Hundreds of residents line up
at the municipal hall every day, to get government-issue identification papers -- proof
that they are not guerrilla transients.
"They feel the need to get
police clearances because they fear they would be mistaken for Abu Sayyaf members,"
said the Jolo police commander, Chief Inspector Mohamad Noe Alamia.
Although Abaya says the gunmen
enjoy "mass-based support" from the mainly Muslim population of nearly half a
million, some residents fret about the slow progress of the military campaign which was
supposed to have been completed four days ago.
"If this continues, we'd
be in trouble. They might come back and kidnap us," said a Jolo banker who asked not
to be named.
The Jolo vice governor, Munib
Estino, urged his constituents to stop giving sanctuary to the gunmen.
"Those who know anything
about the Abu Sayyaf should come out in the open and reveal to the authorities the
whereabouts of these people so that the civilians may be spared," he said.
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