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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines again declares 'all-out war' against rebels |
| 2006-06-19 |
| Not the rebels we're hoping for, but it's something MANILA President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines has abruptly declared that she has found a way to eliminate a stubborn Communist insurgency through a strategy of "all-out war" coupled with development programs to discourage peasants from joining the revolution. Numbering no more than 10,000, the Communist guerrillas spread across the archipelago country have waged a Maoist rebellion for almost four decades, captivating the poor masses in the countryside, and surviving the state's repeated attempts to crush them. Administration officials were upbeat about the prospects for peace after Arroyo's announcement over the weekend, but some analysts outside the government warned of the possibility of increased human rights violations while others were skeptical about a strategy that has proven to be ineffective in the past. One analyst even went so far as to declare that this would crush Arroyo, not the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army, or the CPP-NPA. "The CPP-NPA has done enough in setting back peace and development for more than 30 years," said Ignacio Bunye, Arroyo's spokesman. "The time has come to finally defeat this threat through a combination of military operations, law enforcement and pro-poor programs," he said, adding that Arroyo "is determined to accomplish what past administrations have failed to do." Arroyo's national security adviser, Norberto Gonzales, declared on television Monday: "They want war so we will give it to them." On Friday, Arroyo promised to release 1 billion pesos, or $18.7 million, in emergency funds and ordered the Budget Department to find even more to improve one of Southeast Asia's least equipped armed forces. Avelino Cruz, Arroyo's defense secretary, said part of the money would be used to provide basic services, potable water and schools to poor communities. Founded in 1969, the New People's Army has grown from a ragtag band of radical university students into one of the most enduring Communist insurgencies in the world. Its members adhere to what the group calls "Marxism- Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought," taking advantage of the country's rugged terrain, capitalizing on extreme poverty in the rural areas, and exploiting the blunders and the repression of past regimes, particularly that of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, to widen its base. Today, it claims to have a presence in 70 out of 79 Philippine provinces, with government estimates of its forces ranging from 7,000 to 10,000. Its fighters make several attacks each week against government targets as well as businesses who refuse to pay what the rebels call "revolutionary taxes." The rebels effectively run many communities that the government cannot reach, dispensing their own brand of justice, teaching students and peasants their version of Philippine history, and implementing their own agrarian program that often entails forcibly taking land away from landlords. Their influence is such that politicians, even Arroyo herself, have to deal with them, especially during elections, when politicians can only enter Communist-controlled territories after paying certain amounts. In many areas outside the capital, public officials deal with the New People's Army all the time. It is this dynamic between the rebels and local politicians, as well as the corruption, low morale and lack of equipment in the Philippine military that skeptics say could prove critical in the success or failure of Arroyo's offensive. "Unless you are prepared to accept the unlikely notion that local politicians suddenly found wisdom and agreed with President Arroyo's view of the Communists, the all-out war will fail because it is no different from previous unsuccessful attempts to defeat them," said Benito Lim, an expert on governance and security issues at the Ateneo de Manila University. Amando Doronila, a political analyst, said Arroyo's war initiative "sharpens the administration's tendency toward strong-arm rule." In an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday, Doronila wrote that Arroyo was using the anti-communism stance "as a polarizing issue upon which the Arroyo administration seeks to mobilize broad political support to ensure serving out its term till 2010." Many here believe that this strategy against the rebels is meant to drain support from Arroyo's political enemies, who have allied themselves with the Communists in seeking Arroyo's ouster, because she allegedly cheated in the 2004 elections. Already, Senator Panfilo Lacson, a major opposition figure, has said he supported the government's policy against the communists, but questioned Arroyo's approach. "If she really wants to develop the country, she should improve our education system, for instance," Lim said. "How many Huey helicopters can a billion pesos buy? One? How can you defeat this insurgency with that?" Instead, he said, "the anti-communist scare has made administration hostage to alliance with the military for regime maintenance and survival." More likely, he said, this "will crush her administration more than it will the insurgency." Rafael Mariano, a leftist congressman, said "a purely military solution will not solve the insurgency problem. Addressing the root cause of the armed conflict, like landlessness and injustice, over the negotiating table remains as a viable solution." |
| Posted by:Steve |