Saga of two tragedies: Jabidah 1968, Sabah 2013

(First of two parts)

Within a span of 45 years, the Philippine claim to Sabah has spawned two tragedies: first, the slaughter of the followers of the sultan of Sulu who landed in Sabah on Feb. 9 at the hands of Malaysian security forces; second, the alleged murder of 27 Muslim recruits in the so-called Jabidah project, said to be a top-secret plan of then President Ferdinand Marcos to invade Sabah and reclaim it as part of Philippine territory.

In both cases, Filipino Muslim youths drafted into the Sabah landings were reported to have perished. Those recruited for the Jabidah operations were reportedly massacred by our own Armed Forces engaged in the project to silence them after they tried to escape their clandestine training on Corregidor island.

The Jabidah project was exposed by then Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., the opposition’s archcritic of Marcos, in a privileged speech on March 28, 1968, forcing the Marcos administration to abandon it.

Forty-five years on, Ninoy’s son, the incumbent President, called on the Filipino people to commemorate the abortion of the Marcos regime’s plan to claim Sabah—code-named Operation Merdeka (Freedom)—

partly to remind us it was his father’s exposé that led to the scuttling of the project.

Shotgun blast

The President’s speech in the commemorative rites was a shotgun blast that served several purposes.

First, it condemned the sultan of Sulu for embarking on the invasion of Sabah, triggering the ruthless military operations of Malaysia to wipe out the sultanate’s armed group in the area.

Second, it sent a strong message to Malaysia that the Aquino administration not only spurned the sultan’s ill-fated adventure  but also reaffirmed in ringing tone his policy of appeasement toward Malaysia and its subservience to Malaysia’s territorial grip on Sabah.

Third, the President cast his father, Sen. Ninoy Aquino, in the glorified light of  exposing the Jabidah project and coming out as the champion of the Muslims recruited for the Jabidah project.

Fourth, it excoriated the Marcos regime as the vicious author of the Jabidah plan.

The speech was built mainly on Ninoy’s privileged speech of March 28, 1968, melodramatically titled, “Jabidah! Special Forces of Evil?” (given Ninoy’s flair  for headline-grabbing attacks on Marcos).

Operation Merdeka

The incidents in 1968 and this year have strained diplomatic relations close to breaking point between the Philippines and Malaysia.

Ninoy’s speech was based on his interview with Jibin Arula, who survived the alleged massacre by escaping while his comrades being trained in Corregidor were being mowed down  by their military handlers.

In fact, Ninoy in his speech said he checked out Arula’s story, had gone to Simunol in Sulu to try and corroborate it but failed and decided that the supposed massacre was nothing more than “James Bond fiction.” Still, he found that there was indeed an Operation Merdeka, which Marcos was planning.

According to Ninoy’s interview with Arula, as recounted last week by the President, Arula revealed the Jabidah operations, as follows: “The military would gather Moro warriors from the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi… They would be brought to Corregidor and would undergo training to become commandos. They would be sent to Sabah. There, they would sow chaos and begin destabilization—not as soldiers of the Philippines but with the impression that they were working for the sultan of Sulu. In the midst of chaos, the Marcos regime would then find a way to claim Sabah for the Philippines.”

Eye-opener

In his speech on the 45th anniversary of the Jabidah massacre, President Aquino acknowledged such a massacre took place, and pointed out that the episode had been taught in class or inserted into books as if it  were mere gossip and no measures had been taken to record it in history.

“This is why, today, we are opening the eyes of the Filipino people to the Jabidah Massacre,” he said. “This happened. And it is our responsibility to recognize this even as part of our national narrative.”

The President pointed out in his speech, “The issue of the ownership of Sabah is connected to the Jabidah incident. We will begin to resolve this issue not through speculation or mere opinion but by identifying irrefutable truths. I have a responsibility to dissect history in search of these truths and from there lay down the direction that our country will take as regards Sabah—a direction that  I guarantee you will not involve the use of violence.”

Mr. Aquino’s reference to “violence” is understood to be violence sponsored by Philippine state and what is lacking in the speech is that the President cannot guarantee use of violence on Filipino nationals being slaughtered by Malaysian security forces in their hot pursuit of the remaining men of the sultan of Sulu, now  seeking merciful asylum in the jungles of Sabah.

Greatest tragedy

“What is happening in Lahad Datu, in Sabah, is like the tragedy that happened  Jabidah,” the President said.

“But perhaps the greatest tragedy is that it seems we have not learned from the lessons of the past—that following the law and respecting the rules are the only reasonable responses to the challenges that we face.”

This statement seeks to justify the administration’s policy of not denouncing the use by Malaysia of excessive military force  on the sultan’s men who landed in Sabah.

“That is why, from the very beginning, we have wanted those who headed to Lahad Datu to go home—because we know that calm and reasonable dialogue  is more productive and violence can led us nowhere,” the President said.

Calm and reasonable?

Now, if Malaysian leaders demand unconditional surrender of the sultan’s men and warn that the slaughter of the intruders will continue unless they  lay down their arms, is this a “calm and reasonable” response to a call  by the United Nations secretary general for a cessation of hostilities and start of peaceful negotiations?

Shifting his attack apparently to the sultan  of Sulu, the President said: “To this day, we are aware  that there are those who are attempting to use the common Moro to push forward their own agendas. Don’t these past few weeks reflect a case of history repeating itself? There are still those who are putting the Moros in harm’s way while risking those who planned and urged them on watch from afar. Instead of telling them, ‘Go home. Our lives are valuable,’ they keep adding fuel to the fire, as if the Moros were mere pawns to be sacrificed for some hidden cause.”

The blame game to tag the villains is in full blast. The possibilities to promote conspiracy theories are boundless.

(To be concluded on Wednesday)