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| Southeast Asia |
| 11 terror groups now active in Philippines |
| 2005-09-12 |
| The United States National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) said there are 11 foreign and indigenous terrorist groups operating in the Philippines, the most among eight countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Citing the NCTC report, Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas, former House majority leader and principal author of the antiterrorism bill, said the agencyâs Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, made public last July through the centerâs Web site, documented 51 terrorist attacks in the Philippines in 2004. The 51 attacks, Gullas said, claimed a total of 446 victims including 225 people killed, 215 injured and six held hostage. The deadliest attack was the bombing of the Super Ferry 12 ship in Manila on Feb. 27, 2004 which killed 132 people. The NCTC blamed the incident on Islamic extremists. âFrom January to May this year, the NCTC has posted at least 25 terrorist attacks in the Philippines, but no other details were readily available,â he said. Gullas identified nine of the terrorist groups as the Abdujarak Janjalani Brigade, the Abu Sayyaf Group, the Alex Boncayao Brigade, the Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group, the Indigenous Peopleâs Federal Army, the Jemaah Islamiyah, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the New Peopleâs Army and Osama bin Ladenâs Al Qaida network. The NCTC listed a total of 786 terrorist groups worldwide, including 38 operating in Southeast Asia and Oceana, the region to which the Philippines belongs. The other countries in the region and the number of terrorist groups active in them are Indonesia, nine; Malaysia eight; Cambodia, three; Australia, two; and Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Vietnam with one each. The region with the most number of terror groups is Western Europe with 232; followed by the Middle East-Persian Gulf with 134. East-Central Asia has the fewest with 18, while North America has 51. Very recently, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said four Indonesian âsuicide bombersâ have been in the Philippines, while six others have been arrested by the Indonesian police last month. Gonzales said authorities are now hunting the four Indonesians, among them two who are feared to be plotting suicide bombing attacks in Metro Manila. With the NCTC report, Gullas said it has now become imperative for the country to pass a tough antiterrorism law, adding that there would be dire consequences for the Filipinos if no such law is passed. âThere would be dire implications once we get left behind. Terrorist groups fleeing other countries that adopt vigorous new antiterrorist measures will find refuge here since we will be perceived as a relatively safe haven,â he said. Gullas said the US State Department has criticized the Philippines for failing to enact a strong new antiterrorism law that would enable the police to crack down on the financiers of local terrorist groups. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |