From: "Stasi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Peoples War] Phillipines: Guide To Main Armed Groups In South - BBC Thursday, 6 December, 2001, 18:23 GMT Guide to Philippines conflict =================== http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1695000/1695576.s tm The southern Philippines has a long history of conflict. BBC News Online looks at the main factions operating in the region. ============================== 1) New People's Army (Communist rebels) 2) Moro National Liberation Front 3) Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao 4) Moro Islamic Liberation Front 5) Abu Sayyaf ============================== 1) New People's Army (NPA) ===================== A communist insurgency in the Philippines has lasted more than 30 years, with more than 40,000 people killed. The New People's Army (NPA) has an estimated 12,000 fighters, according to the Philippines military - about double its numbers in the mid-1990s. Peace talks between the rebel's political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Philippines government stalled in June 2001 when the government suspended negotiations following the rebel assassination of two members of congress. The government demanded that the rebels carry out no further political killings during negotiations but the rebels refused, saying such actions were part of their revolutionary justice system. In November 28 people died in the worst clashes for a decade between NPA and government soldiers. 2) Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) ============================== The original group which began the Muslim separatist rebellion in the south of the mainly Christian country in the 1970s. It signed a peace agreement in 1976 - the Tripoli agreement - which failed to stick, and another 20 years later. The 1996 agreement gave predominantly Muslim areas a degree of self-rule, setting up the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The MNLF chairman and founder of the group, Nur Misuari, was installed as governor, but his rule ended in violence when he led a failed uprising in November 2001. His party had dropped him as leader earlier in the year, and he did not run in the election for governor. About 1,000 rebel fighters are still loyal to Mr Misuari. Another MNLF leader, Parouk Hussin, a former rural doctor, was elected the new ARMM governor. He had been the government's favoured candidate. 3) Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) ===================================== The ARMM is a semi-autonomous area set up in 1996 as part of the peace deal with the MNLF. It was originally made up of four impoverished Muslim provinces (two of them on the mainland and two island provinces). Another province and a city joined following a plebiscite in August 2001. But the majority of areas on the islands of Mindanao and Palawan where the vote took place rejected Muslim self-rule. The provinces that are included: Lanao del Sur (population 571,000) Maguindanao(662,000) Tawi-Tawi (250,000) The Sulu islands (540,000), including Jolo Basilan (295,000) The member city is Marawi (population 115,000). The ARMM has only limited autonomy, mainly over the economic development of the region. The central government remains in control of defence, financial and foreign policies. 4) Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ============================ A more militant rebel group that split from the MNLF in 1977, and carried on fighting after the 1996 peace deal between the MNLF and the government. The MILNF is based on central Mindanao, and has broad popular support in rural areas. Many Muslims continued to support the MILF because they were disappointed by the lack of economic development in the autonomous region. In 2000 the army under then President Joseph Estrada launched a crackdown on the group. But despite some successes, the army was unable to crush the rebels - believed to number about 12,500. The following January, President Estrada was deposed amid popular protests. His successor, Gloria Arroyo, revived peace talks with the MILF. The two sides concluded a ceasefire agreement in August, and the peace process is continuing. Shortly before that agreement, the MILF also made a peace accord with the MNLF. The MNLF and MILF do not have significant differences in terms of their stated goals. However, the MILF puts more emphasis on the Islamic aspect of the movement, and has more clerics in leadership positions than the MNLF does. The group's leader, Salamat Hashim, is himself a cleric. 5) Abu Sayyaf ========== The group is the smallest and the most radical of the Islamic separatist groups operating in the southern Philippines. But it is probably the best-known of the rebel groups because of a series of kidnappings of Western nationals and Filipinos, for which it has received several high ransom payments. It has also beheaded a number of hostages. The rebels' stated goal is an independent Islamic state in western Mindanao and the Sulu islands. But the government says they are nothing but common bandits and refuses to negotiate with them. The group's main base is the island of Jolo, about 930 kilometres (580 miles) south of Manila. It also operates on Basilan island where it is holding an American couple hostage. The Abu Sayyaf split from the Moro National Liberation Front in 1991 under the leadership of Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani, who was killed in a clash with Philippine police in December 1998. His younger brother Khadafi Janjalani is now thought to be the group's nominal leader. However the group is made up of several factions, which have sometimes squabbled. The US has linked the Abu Sayyaf with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and the Philippine Government has vowed to stamp it out. The group, which calls itself "Sword of God" in Arabic, is thought to have around 200 core fighters. But according to a US State Department estimate, it has access to a further 2,000 attracted by the prospect of receiving ransom payments. Both the MNLF and MILF have condemned the activities of the Abu Sayyaf, which has limited public support. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
