|
Philippines Ex-President Blames Estrada For Bomb Attacks
by Kazi Mahmood for IslamOnline
JAKARTA (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Former President Corazon Aquino on Saturday blamed current Philippine President Joseph Estrada for the bombs that killed 22 people and wounded 100 others on New Year’s Eve in Manila.
The series of bombings that hit Manila on December 30th has been linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but both the opposition and human rights movements in the Philippines finds it hard to believe the Muslim organization had anything to do with the blasts.
In another apparent effort to discredit the Muslim community in the country, the suspected bombers have been identified of having been trained in Afghanistan, particularly with links to Osama Bin Laden.
An emotional Aquino, however, relayed Philippine opposition suspicions when she demanded that Estrada’s administration "fully disclose what it knows of the persons and parties behind this incident."
"With all the intelligence funds at its command, we find it hard to believe that a major terrorist operation such as this one could have gone unnoticed and unchecked by those in charge," Aquino said yesterday at an indignation rally over the bombings.
"Who has the means to know about these terrorist moves? Who has the funds to prevent, or as some say, to carry out such widespread bombings?" Aquino asked during the rally held at the foot of the statue of her martyred husband Ninoy Aquino on Ayala Avenue in Makati City.
She said that after her husband was assassinated in August 1983, she had hoped that she had seen the last of the terror inflicted on innocent civilians by certain forces.
"My hopes were dashed by the December 30th bombings, which killed 22 people and wounded close to a hundred others.
"There can be no political purpose or ideal so lofty as to justify the killing of even one innocent citizen in so brutal and cowardly a fashion."
Addressing the perpetrators of the bomb attacks, Aquino said, "You have not succeeded, you will not prevail."
"As ordinary humans, we may fear for our lives and for those of our loved ones. But we live in times that ask us to do extraordinary things, and to perform extraordinary feats of courage," she said.
"We cannot be afraid to risk our lives for truth, for justice, and for freedom. No bomb will be strong or large enough to kill that spirit," vowed the former president, her eyes welling with tears and her voice quivering in a rare show of emotion in public.
Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who participated in the rally, assailed the lack of government support for the victims of the bombings saying that victims were buried without a bit of government help.
Civil organizations, addressing Estrada’s blame on the MILF, criticized the resumption of the conflict with the group saying it will adversely affect Filipinos living in Mindanao.
"This bloodthirsty government is hell-bent on genocide. Estrada does not want to negotiate, he wants to kill, kill, kill. What he is now doing is permanently altering and scarring the face of Mindanao, and thus the rest of the country." KMU chair Crispin Beltran remarked.
"It's not only MILF that the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] is targeting, but the entire Mindanao populace. Hundreds and thousands of Filipinos are affected by the bombings and forced evacuations."
"The Mindanao conflict will only escalate and become a permanent reality in the country. More lives will be wasted and destroyed if Estrada is allowed to continue his blitzkrieg," he added.
Estrada’s administration said it is forced to withdraw its peace effort with the MILF. It says there is enough evidence to establish the direct involvement of the MILF in the five bombing incidents in Metro Manila.
On Saturday, Estrada met with the members of his Cabinet to thoroughly discuss a Philippine National Police (PNP) report detailing how the bombings were carried out.
National Police Chief Panfilo Lacson said they positively identified and arrested an MILF suspect, Ismael Abbas, as one of those involved at the airport bombing. Abbas is also identified as a top aide of Hashim Salamat, chairman of the MILF.
The suspect was arrested in connection with the bombing of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) cargo terminal last Saturday.
Other areas bombed last week were a Light Rail Transit train in Blumentritt, Manila; the Plaza Ferguson along Roxas Blvd., also in Manila; a bus along Edsa road in Cubao, Quezon City and a Petron gas station in Makati.
Investigators reportedly told Estrada they are 100% sure that the MILF was responsible the blasts, using their Afghanistan-trained members to carry out the operations.
Top MILF officials on Saturday refuted the allegations by government authorities that its forces were behind the bombings.
"The MILF unconditionally condemns the December 30th bombings and are shocked at the desperation of the Estrada administration in trying to cover up an atrocity perpetuated by its own clandestine operations," Al Hadj Murad, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, said in a telephone interview the Philippine Star.
Murad, along with Salamat, were charged with multiple murder and frustrated murder charges before the Department of Justice (DoJ) in connection with the five separate bombing incidents that rocked almost simultaneously different parts of Manila.
"The military-like precision of the explosions, the type of explosives used, the easy access to all the areas targeted by the December 30th bombings point to a government-supervised terrorism in order to hold on the political power," Murad added.
The MILF alleged that the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) were behind the bombing operations based on their technical and logistical capabilities.
Murad denounced the filing of criminal charges against the MILF, claiming that their organization has become a "favorite scapegoat" of the government in their alleged failure in curbing “terrorism” and criminality.
Other MILF officials who also face criminal charges in connection with the bombings were MILF vice chairman for military affairs Ghadzali Jaafar, vice chairman for internal affairs Aleem Aziz Mimbantas, Sofilla Unos, Mohammed Guindologan, and Ismael Abbas.
All, except Abbas, remain at large.
The PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed the criminal charges against the MILF officials after a document seized from the secessionist group disclosed that they were planning to conduct activities in Manila.
However, "The MILF has absolutely no reason to stage bombing campaigns in Metro Manila aimed at innocent civilians," Murad stressed.
|
