Word: sulu
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...south since the Philippines was a Spanish colony. Indeed, U.S. troops were first sent to the southern provinces over a century ago to subdue rebellious Moro tribespeople. "You can see civilians working well with the military and supporting [its civic] projects," says Yusop Jikiri, a congressman for Sulu, the province of which Jolo is the capital. "But what happened in the past is still in their hearts. Deep inside, they look at the military as their enemy." Civilian casualties during army ops, not an uncommon occurrence, also undermine public confidence in the authorities. The most recent example was a botched...
...Coultrup, however, is upbeat. He says the security situation has improved dramatically, thanks in large part to the aid program, and local government is getting stronger. Sulu province "used to be the Wild West," he says. "Now the governor has banned all weapons and private militias and is instituting an islandwide ID-card system." Coultrup says four-fifths of Basilan Island, another hub of Islamist agitation, is also much safer. "The secret to counterinsurgency is if the people can answer yes to two questions,'' says U.S. Special Forces Major Eric Walker: "One, do people believe the government is going...
...National Liberation Front, a former separatist group that gave up armed struggle in the late 1990s. Its peace deal with the government secured autonomy for some Muslim areas, which the group now governs. Jikiri is skeptical about the Manila-led effort to win local people's trust. "Life in Sulu is still 40 years behind the times," he says. But the military is doing some good, he adds, by "curbing the commission of crimes in some areas where the police presence is very minimal." According to a national intelligence report sighted by TIME, however, troops are being reshuffled from...
...sparked a new conflict in Jolo. Misuari fled to Malaysia, was extradited home, and is now in custody in a police camp outside Manila awaiting a trial. After the flare-up on Jolo last week, the rebels demanded their former leader be brought to the southern island of Sulu for trial. (Misuari could not be reached by TIME: his wife Tarhata said his guards had confiscated his cell phone.) The rebels also called for a withdrawal of the military from Jolo. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo quickly dismissed those demands. "We will not give the terrorists a moment of peace...
...radio interview, Khadaffy said he aimed to return the fighters to the original goal of independence. Senior Philippine intelligence officials say they believe that as part of his reconsolidation of the group, Khadaffy and a core band of supporters have left the traditional Abu 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...