Philippines Civil War: 21 Killed in Davao Blasts

by Ma Nguyen Tong

16-3-2003

Philippines police arrested several men in connection with a bomb attack on an international airport in the Philippines which killed at least 21 people and injured more than 160. President Gloria Arroyo was told by the national police that they had "several men in custody being interrogated for committing these murders," her spokesman Ignacio Bunye said. The explosion ripped through a packed waiting area in Davao City international airport on the Philippine island of Mindanao at around 1715 (0915 GMT) on March 6, 2003.

Bunye did not give details of the identities of those detained.

"This is a brazen act of terrorism that will not go unpunished," President Arroyo said, in a statement read on DZBB radio by Mr Bunye.

An American was confirmed to be among the 21 who died. Three Americans were among the wounded. Shortly after the attack two further explosions were reported at a bus station and government clinic, though there were no reports of serious injuries.

Hunting culprits

Speculation quickly mounted about the identity of those responsible for the attack. In the past, separatists from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front had been blamed by the military for a string of attacks on the island. They included a car-bomb explosion at Cotabato airport in February, which killed one and injured another six people.

The Abu Sayyaf militant group--and another two factional organisations--have also been blamed for attacks in the region.

American troops are in the southern Philippines operating alonside the security forces in the Philippines' civil war. The airport explosion is reported to have happened shortly after a Cebu Pacific flight arrived. Americans might have been targeted. Debate grew in the Philippines about the deployment of US troops "to assist and advise" Filipino soldiers hunting the separatists. Nationalist groups criticised the decision as a violation of the constitution, while Muslim leaders in the area warned the Americans would be met with hostility. Most Filipinos were now opposed to the deployment of US troops, with domestic newspapers calling the move a Vietnamification of the Philippines' conflict and the country's president being nothing more than a puppet of the White House administration. As such the United States quietly started sending troops dressed as civilians on civilian flights. This became apparent when most of the "tourists" arriving to the Philippines since the beginning of 2003 were men (83 percent), almost all of them between the ages of 18 and 27, with military haircuts. Department of Tourism records showed that the number of American "tourists" posted a significant and first-time ever month-on-month growth of 9 percent in January. This is despite the US government's orders to Americans to not go to the Philippines because of danger to their safety. A total of 36,852 American tourists arrived in January compared to 33,521 in January 2002. Statistically this is extremely unusual, particularly as normally Westerners do not go to this region because of the extreme risk to their safety. The separatists caught on and have been trying to attack airports and flights carrying such people.

Separatist unrest

Many of the victims were rushed to the Davao City Medical Centre. Flights to and from Davao were suspended until further notice. Davao City is the largest city on the island of Mindanao, and has a largely Christian population and a reputation for relative calm. Mindanao is mired in factional fighting, with government troops clashing regularly with separatists. The separatists have been fighting for a separate homeland in the southern Philippines for three decades.

The Philippine army said on the same day it had killed 14 separatists in fighting on the island. Mindanao was also hit by a major power cut on the same, for the second time in a week, amid rumours of a suspected sabotage by guerrilla groups. In the middle of February over 200 people were killed and over 57,000 left as internal refugees in heavy, bloody fighting.

The Philippines military subsequently claimed that a member of MILF with explosives strapped to his body was believed responsible for the blast. The bomber was identified as Montasher Sudang, 23, and was one of the fatalities of the blast. His next of kin said this was impossible and that he had nothing to do with the MILF. The MILF said this was a complete lie and such claims were part of a campaign to discredit the group. The MILF, however, admitted Sudang was a MILF member.