SULU has become notorious for becoming a veritable Mecca for kidnap-for-ransom syndicates, as shown by the recent kidnapping of Ces Drilon and her team and Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo. The kidnap gangs are believed to be members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf, a band of terrorists that maintains an alliance with elements of Jemaah Islamiyah. They move about in territories either held by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) or the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
From the accounts of past kidnap victims, we can surmise that not only does the Abu Sayyaf collaborate with terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda, it also liaises with the secessionist fronts, as seen in not a few encounters in Basilan and in Zamboanga del Sur.
The MILF in particular should be wary of the intrusion of terrorist elements into their camps. As with the recent kidnapping, we saw that they no longer consider even the faith and religious affiliation of their victims. Dinampo, like Drilon and her crew, were held not for any other reason but for ransom. Which means that anyone with money and the capability to raise money are, for them, good enough targets. In effect, these bands of terrorists not only gain media mileage, which is their prime objective; they also make an industry of kidnapping. Their victims are Christians and Muslims alike.
No one therefore is safe in places where the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah lurk. If this condition persists in Sulu and Basilan, the ultimate victims will be Christians and Muslims alike. Make no mistake about that, for these terrorist bands have completely forgotten their faith and have totally transformed themselves into beasts.
If the MILF and the MNLF have any sense of devotion toward Islam, they should not waste time partying with the Abu Sayyaf and kidnap-for-ransom gangs. They owe it to their people to preserve their belief and to repudiate those whose conduct and way of life willfully contravene their religious faith. Certainly they cannot continue to sustain an alliance with the devil. --EDGAR PALMA, via e-mail
