Philippine Police Turn Guns on Marines - 32 Killed
by Ma Nguyen Tong
27-1-2002
In a graphic demonstration of how hotheaded, undisciplined and uncivilised Philippines authorities are, there was what was described as an accidental gun battle between police and marines on the southern Philippine island of Jolo. An army spokesman said the police opened fire on the marines, who were responding to a demonstration in Jolo town demanding the release of former Muslim separatist leader Nur Misuari. Police shot dead three soldiers on January 16, bringing the death toll in two days of clashes to at least 32. Witnesses said the bodies were later hacked by civilians, with reports that at least one body was beheaded. When other Marines tried to rescue their comrade, the ensuing firefight killed at least 20 civilians, nine soldiers and three armed Misuari supporters. Scores of injured civilians were admitted to hospital, and authorities said the death toll was expected to rise.
The soldiers who died on January 16 were travelling in an army jeep close to the public market.
Major General Glicerio Sua said the incident began when a marine in civilian clothing was mobbed by the crowd in front of the town hall. One report said the protester's anger was directed at the marine because he was carrying a hand grenade.
'Misunderstanding'
Other marines attempted to intervene and somehow the police on duty at the rally became involved, Major Sua said. The marines returned fire with automatic weapons and at least nine marines, three police officers, three civilians, and one soldier were killed. Witnesses said at least 17 people were injured in the cross-fire and the ensuing stampede.
Major Sua said: "It appears that there was a misunderstanding."
Nur Misuari was being held in the Philippines capital, Manila, on charges of rebellion. He was accused of orchestrating an uprising in November 2001 on Jolo, the largest island in Sulu province, in which more than 100 people died.
One survivor, who was being treated in hospital for shrapnel wounds in his back, said his colleagues were "butchered like animals".
"I jumped out of the jeep, and ran and ran and rolled on the street and hid inside the toilet of a house until army reinforcements arrived," said Private Rizaldy Laygan. "I do not know why we were attacked."
The police officers involved in the current violence were believed to be former members of Mr Misuari's Muslim separatist group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who were integrated into the police after a 1996 peace accord. The police unit - which included former bodyguards of Mr Misuari - was withdrawn to another province.
Public rally
The MNLF stood by the peace deal, but following the Misuari-led rebellion, up to 1,000 members joined renewed fighting with government troops, prompting the United States to land troops on the island on the pretext it was fighting al Qaeda cells in the area. However, Misuari has never had anything to do with al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden.
The provincial governor, Yusop Jikiri, said troops withdrawn to barracks to avoid further clashes. The police unit was subsequently withdrawn to another province. Jolo town is the capital of the southern province of Sulu, where Mr Misuari had his power base.
The deaths on January 15 came at a rally in support of Mr Misuari, who until November was governor of a Muslim self-rule area. At least 16 people were killed on the spot during a gunfight between police and marines in front of the town square of Jolo. Two of the 17 injured died overnight, local officials said. The dead included at least 20 civilians, nine soldiers and three armed Misuari supporters. Scores of injured civilians were admitted to hospital, and authorities said the death toll was expected to rise.
The January 15 march, which MNLF officials claimed drew 2,000 participants, was held to demand the release of Misuari, currently detained in a high-security jail outside Manila pending his trial for rebellion.
Misuari, 61, founded the MNLF in 1972 and waged a 24-year war for a separate Muslim state in Mindanao. He made peace with the Philippine Government in 1996 and was rewarded with the plum post of governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao. In 2001, senior leaders of the MNLF ousted him from the group's chairmanship. Afterwards, the Government shifted its support from Misuari to another candidate for governor more amenable to protecting the interests of Manila's political and economic elite.
Just before the autonomous region's elections in November, Misuari's supporters attacked an army base in Mindanao while their leader went into hiding. But Misuari was arrested soon afterwards in Malaysia and deported to Manila early in January. The Government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced the Muslim chief would be tried for rebellion. Investigators were also going over his expenditures, building a case for plunder.
Misuari maintained he was still governor and his lawyers demanded he be tried in Jolo, where he enjoyed support. One of his aides claimed the January 15 bloody incident was instigated by the Government to prevent the trial from taking place there. One supporter promised on national television that if Misuari was not released, the "Muttallah force" would kidnap President Arroyo. A source said the force was a fundamentalist group comprising Filipino Muslims who worked in Saudi Arabia and owed allegiance directly to Misuari. The violence further unsettled an already tense Manila, which was facing a series of protests against President Arroyo staged by ousted president Joseph Estrada.