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| Southeast Asia |
| Southern Philippines' Muslim city hit by senseless killings |
| 2002-12-26 |
| BINA/Ummahnews A Moro Muslim leader requesting anonymity has described the southern city of Cotabato City as a "killing field", Bangsamoro Islamic News Agency (BINA) reported today. "What is the military and police doing? Why is there so much immorality or licentiousness in this city? What is the Muslim mayor doing to stop the proliferation of these evil practices like drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution in the form of live shows, beauty contests, gambling, etc.?" he asked. "If we could just cut a few people's heads off, all that would stop, you betcha!" In a span of just about a month apart, two bloody incidents involving prominent families and politicians have hit Cotabato City. Former Mayor Kling Daud of Palembang, Sultan Kudarat, and his three military escorts were killed in what appeared to be bloodbath. Daud and his escorts did not put up a fight, prompting analysts to conclude that the perpetrators were either police or military or were close to the victims. The vehicle they used was properly parked in the sideways and there was sign of struggle inside it. Well, which was it? Police? Military? Their mullahs? Four days ago, four members of two prominent families in Maguindanao and Cotabato City, the Ampatuans and Adalins, were killed in a shootout during a live show at a club at the Pacific Heights hotel in Cotabato City. What's a live show involve? Shakespeare's performed live many times, and the opera. Or are we talking scantily clad maidens? Did the performers shoot them? Rarely a day passed, the same analysts observed, without anyone having been shot, stabbed or killed and the assailants always almost always remained scot-free or unidentified. Sometimes, the police or military arrested innocent people to save their face. I'll bet they just pick up anybody wearing a turban... Meanwhile, Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen, in a bid to stop these senseless killings, proposed in a radio interview recently that the city be placed under military control to avoid incidents similar to the December 22 shootout inside a hotel here, from happening again. "I have been recommending in the past that the city should be under military control because the series of crimes here could not be controlled by policemen alone," Dilangalen said. Dilangalen said there are about 400 policemen, including augmentation forces from the Philippine National Police in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), but authorities are negligent in implementing security measures around the city. Sounds like Dodge City... Mayor Muslimin Sema, however, vehemently opposed the idea. He said putting the city under military control was not the solution. He pointed out that there was no need to put the entire city under military control because rebels or terrorists did not perpetrate the shootout inside the compound of the Pacific Heights Hotel and outside the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center. "Nope. Nope. Wudn't us turbans..." Two Army units -- the Anti-crime Task Group Cotabato and Anti-kidnapping Task Force Tugis — both under the supervision of the Army's 6th Infantry Division — are also deployed in the city to help the police maintain peace and order in the ARMM but were prevented from operating inside the city by some quarters. Wonder which quarters those might be? In noticed that in the course of this entire article there isn't anything on who actually dunnit. The solution to a shootout at a show is not to have any more shows. I suppose that might work, but there might be another solution, which would be to track down the killers and jug them until they die of old age — of dispose of them permanently, thereby doing away with the old jailbreaking trick. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #4 I read that it was a "bikini competition". http://www.newsflash.org/2002/12/hl/hl017201.htm |
| Posted by: Pink & Fluffy 2002-12-26 12:45:41 |
| #3 "...proliferation of these evil practices like drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution in the form of live shows, beauty contests, gambling, etc." Not to mention laughter, smiling, thinking nice things, or having a pulse. All these are prohibited! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2002-12-26 11:11:08 |
| #2 Sounds like the old clan fighting thingy. Hatfields and McCoys, Phillipine style, or Mafia families going to the mattresses. Shoot out in the hospital, huh? |
| Posted by: Chuck 2002-12-26 10:35:28 |
| #1 I like the idea of scantily-clad ladies dancing on stage, suddenly pulling out big guns and shooting Islamists in the audience dead! It would make a great scene in a movie... ;-) |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2002-12-26 10:07:42 |