The Philippine president authorized the military yesterday to use aerial and artillery attacks on "embedded terrorist cells" that she blamed for recent bombings and other attacks in the southern Mindanao region.
In a live television address just hours before leaving for a state visit to the US, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said local governments had been warned of possible reprisal attacks for the crackdown and relief agencies were on alert for a possible surge in evacuees.
"Today I authorize the Armed Forces of the Philippines to employ selective aerial and artillery attacks to dislodge embedded terrorist cells that have attacked hapless civilian communities and murdered scores of innocent Filipinos in Mindanao," Arroyo said.
"We've decided to use extraordinary punitive force not merely in view of tactical necessity, but to signify the determination of government to bring terrorists to justice."
A rash of bombings and other attacks in the south, home to a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency, has left more than 210 people dead so far this year.
"We've seen that terrorism strikes anywhere, anytime, from the remotest barangays (villages) in Mindanao to the capitals of the world. The world in the post-Iraq war period has achieved greater strategic stability, but this has driven militant cells to deeper desperation," Arroyo said.
"Our country has been under terrorist attack, sporadic, intermittent, but nevertheless deadly. We must fight back now or face greater peril in the future."
Referring to the deaths of three Filipinos in Monday's bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, she added: "All Filipinos must be vigilant wherever they are."
Arroyo spoke of a "holistic" campaign encompassing political, diplomatic, military, cultural, economic, humanitarian and information aspects.
"This is not simply a war of guns and bullets. Its a strategic war of will and vision," she said. "We will nurture the seeds of a principled secure and enduring peace."
Arroyo did not specifically name any group that will be targeted.
The Abu Sayyaf, notorious for beheadings, kidnappings and other attacks, operates in the south and is to be the target of a six-month counterterrorism training exercises by US forces that could start as early as next month.
The group is on the US list of terrorist organizations, and Philippine officials have threatened to have the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), blamed for the most recent attacks, placed on that list. Government troops are also battling communist guerrillas and a hodgepodge of bandit and kidnap gangs.
Arroyo's administration has warned the MILF to renounce terrorism and surrender rebels responsible for deadly attacks by June.
The MILF has denied any terrorist links, and has said it would fight fiercely if the government cracked down.
Arroyo will be the guest of honor at a state dinner Monday in Washington by President George W. Bush. She is expected to seek an increase in US military aid. One of the staunchest US allies, the Philippines is getting more than US$100 million this fiscal year.
RARE EVENT: While some cultures have a negative view of eclipses, others see them as a chance to show how people can work together, a scientist said Stargazers across a swathe of the world marveled at a dramatic red “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of yesterday morning. The celestial spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa. The phenomenon happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the moon glowed a reddish color. This is because the
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
MINERAL DEPOSITS: The Pacific nation is looking for new foreign partners after its agreement with Canada’s Metals Co was terminated ‘mutually’ at the end of last year Pacific nation Kiribati says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China, dangling access to a vast patch of Pacific Ocean harboring coveted metals and minerals. Beijing has been ramping up efforts to court Pacific nations sitting on lucrative seafloor deposits of cobalt, nickel and copper — recently inking a cooperation deal with Cook Islands. Kiribati opened discussions with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Limin (周立民) after a longstanding agreement with leading deep-sea mining outfit The Metals Co fell through. “The talk provides an exciting opportunity to explore potential collaboration for the sustainable exploration of the deep-ocean resources in Kiribati,” the government said
RSS