Word: arroyos
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...Responsibility for the attack was immediately claimed by representatives of Abu Sayyaf, a group of Islamic separatists chiefly known for kidnapping for ransom in the southern Philippines. But just as rapidly, officials in Manila scoffed off the claim; President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo dismissed it as coming from "pranksters." Despite promises of a swift investigation into the attack, concrete conclusions about the cause of the explosion have yet to appear...
...International Crisis Group. Security officials in Manila say half a dozen alleged Abu Sayyaf operatives arrested in June for possession of materials for explosives were members of the squad. "Thank God we got them before the President's inauguration," says outgoing Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita, referring to Arroyo's swearing in on June...
...Sayyaf stomping grounds in the Sulu archipelago and Basilan and moved onto the main southern island of Mindanao, the vast home turf of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (M.I.L.F.), the much larger separatist group engaged in on-again, off-again peace talks with the Philippine government. (See story.) Arroyo is anxious to get a peace deal with the M.I.L.F. to bring stability and development to Mindanao. M.I.L.F. chairman Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim says a deal is needed quickly before younger Muslims in the region succumb to the greater radicalism of Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiah, the regional network blamed...
...Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wants the M.I.L.F. at ease permanently. She has spent the past three-and-a-half years trying to get a peace accord with the group, going so far as to persuade Washington to keep the M.I.L.F. off its list of terrorist organizations. Murad is now the man her government must deal with, and he says he's "hopeful but not too optimistic." He wants the government to adopt "a new formula" that will break the cycle of failed negotiations and mutual distrust between the two sides. A similar peace accord with the oldest Islamic separatist...
...Regional security experts say a peace accord between Murad and Arroyo would probably spell the death knell for J.I. "It's simple," says Zachary Abuza, a Southeast Asia terrorism expert. "Without their bases in the Philippines, Jemaah Islamiah cannot survive." Murad goes so far as to say Americans can come on an inspection tour of his camps. "We have nothing to hide," he says with a smile. If he really wants peace, Murad will have to ensure that by the time any peace accord is nearing completion, that claim is true...