ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines, 10 February 2008 — Military authorities yesterday suspended about 50 troops involved in a raid where seven civilians and an off-duty army soldier were killed in the southern Philippine province of Sulu.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, commander of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, announced the suspensions as the government moved to placate outraged Muslims and human rights advocates.
Teodoro, joined by Allaga, visited the island of Jolo yesterday to meet with relatives of the victims and promised that there will be no whitewash in the investigation.
Outside the government office where the dialogue took place, representatives of civil society groups, non-government organizations and Muslim religious groups held a rally to demand justice for the victims. Two of the largest Muslim human rights groups, the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society and the Suara Bangsamoro also joined the protests.
“We want justice. There should be no cover-up of this barbaric act,” said Amira Lidasan, national president of the Suara Bangsamoro.
Mayor Hussin Amin of Jolo town, one of the marchers, said: “We want those involved in the murder to pay for their crimes. We want them lock up in jail.”
Jul Ismael, another protester, urged the government to pull out troops from the island. “We hate them. We hate the soldiers and we don’t want them here. Those soldiers are Muslim-killers and blood is now on their hands,” she said.
Teodoro told Sulu officials and villagers that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has given him specific orders to ensure that there would be no whitewash in the investigation. “We have to get to the bottom of what really happened in the incident, we really have to establish that because there are deaths on both sides,” he said.
Local military commanders have insisted that the operation targeted the Abu Sayyaf and that two soldiers and three militants were also slain in the fighting that took place in the village of Ipil in Maimbung town.
But the Commission on Human Rights, a government agency, which investigated the killings, said there were no Abu Sayyaf militants in the village and that the soldiers were probably shot by their companions when they surrounded and attacked houses in the village.
Civilian officials had earlier claimed that the two soldiers died due to “friendly fire” when the two raiding teams mistook each other for hostile groups.
The soldiers who raided the village were identified as members of the army’s Light Reaction Company, trained by US forces, and navy’s Special Warfare Group.
Allaga said the suspension of three officers and their men, whom he did not identify, was meant to assure the Tausug — as most natives of Sulu are known — that the investigation will be impartial.
Allaga said he ordered the soldiers involved in the operation to cooperate with the ongoing investigations.
“I have ordered the troops to be open in the investigation and to tell the truth,” he said.
But he stressed that the hunt against the Abu Sayyaf, who have been linked to the worst terror attacks in Philippine history, would continue despite the controversy.
Teodoro said he expected results in about two weeks. He vowed to ensure that the results of the investigation would be credible and promised financial aid to relatives of the victims.
Credible Investigation
Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan advised the military to come up with a “believable result.” He said the residents would not claim that soldiers, supposedly backed by United States forces, slaughtered the eight villagers of Ipil, if they were not certain.
He said the residents of Ipil were peaceful seaweed farmers and did not have any reason to wrongly accuse the military.
Tan also balked at the idea of providing food assistance to the victims because “what they want is justice.”
Tan said the police will also investigate the killings, which he branded as “barbaric and dastardly.” One of the victims was shot at close range in the forehead, his right eye was gorged and right ear missing. One had a missing finger while another had burns on his body and legs. Those killed were identified as Marisa Payian, 4; Wedme Lahim, 9; Alnalyn Lahim, 15; Sulayman Hakob, 17; Kirah Lahim, 45; Eldisim Lahim, 43; Narcia Abon, 24; and Pfc. Ibnul Wahid, of the army’s 6th Infantry Division.
US Soldiers
Teodoro declined to comment when asked what action would be taken against US soldiers who allegedly joined in the killings. Small numbers of US military advisers are based in the Abu Sayyaf stronghold of Jolo and nearby southern islands to provide training as well as intelligence to Filipino troops.
“The victims have issued affidavits already. Let’s just wait for the result of the investigation,” he said.
Sandrawina Wahid, whose vacationing soldier-husband was killed by the raiding troops, issued a sworn statement on the presence of four US soldiers in the village on the day of the raid.
She said her husband offered proof of his identity but the raiders just dragged her out of their thatched house in the village. “My husband told the soldiers that he is a member of the Philippine Army, but they never listened and dragged him out of the house, bound his hands behind his back and then shot him,” she told Teodoro.
She said there were no Abu Sayyaf militants in the village, but civilians. “People in our village are just seaweed farmers. We are all civilians and there is no Abu Sayyaf in the village,” she said.
Sulu lawyer Ulka Ulama said US forces involved in the raid should also be punished like their Filipino counterparts.
“They are criminally liable for the executions even if they didn’t lift a finger. They were there. We look up to them as champions of democracy but being there and not doing anything make us think otherwise,” Ulama said.
The US Embassy denied American soldiers had taken part in the raid, saying US soldiers were acting only as advisers.
Reps. Yusop Jikiri of Sulu province and Mujiv Hataman of Basilan have separately called for a congressional investigation into the killings. (Additional input from Inquirer News Service & agencies)
