REPORTER: John Martinkus
The Philippines is a country of 86 million people. The majority are Catholic, and Easter in the capital Manila is the most devout time in the religious calendar.
But this Easter, Manila was on high alert for terror attacks and it was the minority Muslim population from the southern island of Mindanao that provided the main suspects.
Australia, the UK and the US all issued warnings for their citizens to stay away from public centres like shopping malls. For the Americans, who already have troops in Mindanao, this area is a prime focus for their war on terror.
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI, ACTING US AMBASSADOR IN PHILIPPINES: There is training, there are bomb-making, there are experts who have come here, JI experts who have trained others how to make bombs.
On Valentine's Day this year, 20 people were injured when a bomb placed on a bus was detonated here at a busy central Manila bus terminal. The bomb was timed for detonation inside the terminal where it would cause maximum casualties. Simultaneous bombings took place in the cities of General Santos and Davao in Mindanao. 12 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the bombings and the notorious Abu Sayyaf group claimed responsibility. In response, the Philippine Government reacted harshly when the opportunity arose.
In March, these elite troops from the Philippine police special action force stormed into Bicutan jail in Manila after weapons had been seized from the prison guards by two Abu Sayyaf members. The police response left 27 prisoners dead, including three senior commanders of Abu Sayyaf. Most of those killed had not been convicted of any crime and opposition politicians like Ana Thersea Baraquel suspects that many of those killed may have been deliberately executed.
ANA THERESIA HONTIVEROS-BARAQUEL, AKBAYAN PARTY: My party Akbayan was really very disturbed that so many were killed. And only a few so far have been reported to have been armed actually. So, for example, on the first level of that prison where 10 people were found dead, only three were armed. And then we asked why were all of the leaders killed, including Commander Rohmat who was already severely disabled. Even the lead negotiator of the group was killed.
I'm on my way to Mindanao 500km south of Manila. Ever since September 11, the Americans identified this troubled island as a major target for their war on terror. But their claims of a terrorist hub are hotly disputed by the Philippine authorities, so I've come to investigate. What I find is a Muslim insurgency with a complex and long history.
For 30 years the Bangsamoro Muslims of southern Mindanao have fought a war against the central government that has left large parts of the island outside of Manila's control. South-western Mindanao is home to the Abu Sayyaf said to number no more than 400 fighters. They're known as a criminal group involved in kidnapping and terror attacks and are said to work with Jemaah Islamiah.
A far more significant group is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, based in central Mindanao. They have 15,000 fighters and recently started peace negotiations with the Arroyo Government. What's fuelling the current debate is the American claim that the MILF also has links with Jemaah Islamiah or JI.
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: What we do know and what the Philippine Government also knows is that there are links between certain individuals, certain leaders of the MILF, certain factions of the MILF and these terrorist organisations and it is a concern to us, yes.
The MILF leaders are wary of revealing their position, fearing assassination attempts by the military who control the major towns. We are directed by phone to a secure location beyond the area controlled by government troops.
Mohammad Iqbal is a member of the MILF central committee and the main representative for the peace talks with the Philippine Government in Kuala Lumpur. His troops are keeping a low profile due to the peace talks and wouldn't let me film them. Iqbal denies any links to terrorist groups.
MOHAQMER IQBAL, MILF CHIEF NEGOTIATOR: We are not terrorists. We can never be in good condition with the terrorists. We are a separate organisation. We are older than the al-Qa'ida. We are older than the so called Abu Sayyaf, so we cannot be with them. It is like water and oil, they would never mix together.
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: I think certain portions of the MILF are still in denial. Whether it's conscious denial or not, I honestly don't know, but they don't seem to want to accept the reality that some of their colleagues, friends, leaders are in bed with JI.
REPORTER: What kind of evidence do you have of those links?
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: There are... the main information that I could divulge here is that certain JI operatives have been arrested by the Philippine authority and they have admitted freely that they have these links with MILF and with ASG. But there's a great deal of evidence in all various channels that it's conclusive, that there are links between certain factions of the MILF and JI.
The alleged JI operative with the most recent evidence of a link to Mindanao's rebel groups was arrested there in March. He is now held here in Fort Bonifacio in Manila. Rohmat says he has been in Mindanao training members of the Abu Sayyaf Group, or ASG, in military tactics and bomb making since 2000.
REPORTER: How many Abu Sayyaf have you trained?
ROHMAT: Many... 60 sir, 60 men. Just 30 complete, and 30 training not complete.
He explained to Dateline the MILF had assisted in the supply of JI camps based in their areas and of their involvement in the Valentine's Day bombings in Davao and General Santos.
ROHMAT: In Davao and General Santos, a member of the MILF... they're making bombs, and deploying the bombs. The orders came from ASG, financed from ASG.
REPORTER: These MILF members - who were they, do you know who they are?
ROHMAT: Yes, I know but maybe hide the name.
REPORTER: You can't tell the names.
During the interview I was surrounded by military intelligence officers. I was only allowed to film the suspect himself, not those on either side of him. Many of my questions went unanswered.
REPORTER: Have any Australian officials or American officials come to interview you since you were arrested?
I felt throughout this interview that Rohmat was looking for guidance from his military handlers and that his answers were not necessarily his own.
Professor Louis Geodoro at the University of the Philippines says it's not uncommon for the military to provide suspects who say what the military wants them to.
PROFESSOR LOUIS GEODORO, UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILLIPPINES: I mean there's no way of saying how credible these statements are but there is the suspicion that he's saying, he's acting according to - he's speaking according to a script, to something scripted. It fits very nicely into the military thing. And that does work in favour of the idea that maybe the negotiations will be cut off and that the MILF is a terrorist group.
Even the chief of staff of the Philippine army himself, General Efren Abu, seems reluctant to act on the evidence of Rohmat.
GENERAL EFREN ABU: Right now we cannot just go there in central Mindanao and run after this ASG or JIs because we might encounter big groups of the MILF and we don't want that to happen.
We don't want to say that the MILF is harbouring the JI or the ASG. As I have said, we have been talking to their leaders.
I then asked the General what he made of the US statements that linked the MILF to Jemaah Islamiah.
GENERAL EFREN ABU: Well, that is a statement coming from a foreigner and maybe, you know, they know something which we do not know. But that's what I have said earlier. we have been talking with the MILF hierarchy, that is known to us. So we respect their statement, and we are comfortable with that. Unless it will be shown in the future that they really were harboured by the MILF.
REPORTER: Now, are you aware of any JI-, Jemaah Islamiah-linked activity in MILF areas?
MOHAQMER IQBAL: If they are operating they are doing it very secretly and the only Indonesians that I know are those who were so-called arrested by the Philippine Government.
It's not surprising that the Americans might have suspicions about the Islamic links of the MILF. Back in the early '80s, members of the MILF travelled to Afghanistan to join the fight against the Soviets. They also developed links with the Middle East. Saudi charities and religious teachers became frequent visitors to Mindanao. Back then these associations did not carry the instant tag of links to terrorists.
The MILF claim that they remain an Islamic secessionist movement protecting an ignored minority.
REPORTER: Why do you think the American Government, and sections of the Philippine Government, and the Philippine military continually make accusations that the MILF and Jemaah Islamiah are linked?
MOHAQMER IQBAL: Well, I cannot - it's an injustice to say that what I am saying here is what the Americans are thinking or the military is thinking. But there are groups who do not want peace to be possible in Mindanao. So they are lumping together the MILF with these so-called terrorists so that the peace process will not proceed.
What is certainly true is that Mindanao desperately needs peace. For the civilian population, just moving around is a dangerous exercise. I'm driving out of Cotobato into the heart of MILF territory. This is the end of government control - beyond here, you drive fast and need local contacts to minimise the danger of kidnapping or theft from bandits.
FROILAN GALLARDO, JOURNALIST: Here, they usually stop passenger buses.
REPORTER: What do they do?
FROILAN GALLARDO: They rob the buses.
I've come to the village of Pikit, which is firmly in MILF territory and close to the areas claimed to be JI training camps.
Father Roberto Layson has been the Catholic priest here for the last eight years. Despite his religious differences with the MILF, he says the local population support them.
FATHER ROBERTO LAYSON: The support for the MILF is strong from Christians - from Muslim civilians.
REPORTER: There's a lot of talk in Manila about Jemaah Islamiah are operating out of central Mindanao. Do you hear about that in your community? Do people talk about that?
FATHER ROBERTO LAYSON: I heard many of these talks in the media but coming from local sources here I haven't heard of any serious discussions about it. How could I rely on this information gathering of the United States, of the real situation here in Mindanao? That's very scary if you rely only on that information.
It is not hard to see why the American claims of JI training camps and MILF links to them are difficult to verify and are not well reported. In 2004, the Philippines was rated as the second most dangerous country for journalists, after Iraq. 17 journalists have been killed since last year.
As we are returning to Cotobato and government control, Froilan Gallardo, a local journalist, tells me how his colleague was killed in Jolo Island last November.
FROILAN GALLARDO: There was no reason. There was no reason at all, he was just killed by somebody who didn't like him.
Back in Manila, the effects of the American pursuit of their war on terror in Mindanao is now a major issue in the Philippines. This demonstration is for the 32 labour and human rights activists that have already been killed in 2005 by the police and military. The demonstrators see a clear link between the government's war on terror, its attempts to extend the power of the armed forces through a new anti-terror bill and US influence in the military. I asked this opposition congressman why he blamed the Americans.
RAFAEL MARIANO, ANAKPAWIS PARTY: Supplying military aid and supplies, equipments, and advising military leadership, the AAP and the Arroyo Government how to deal what they call this counter insurgency problem.
Conscious of this growing national sentiment, the American acting ambassador ramps up the threat he sees in the situation in Mindanao.
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: Certain portions of Mindanao are so lawless, so porous, the borders, that you run the risk of it becoming like an Afghanistan situation. Mindanao is almost, forgive the poor religious pun, the new Mecca for terrorism.
REPORTER: Do the US State Department feel that the Philippines Government is doing enough here?
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: Well, you could ask me if the Australian Government is doing enough or the American Government is doing enough. We could always do more. Is it the right priority for the Philippine Government? They have so many issues to deal with. They have their fiscal crisis, they have an educational issue, they have taxes that need to be increased. Are they devoting enough time to the fight on terrorism? My personal view is no.
The embassy, eager to get across its point of view, and without permission from SBS, published the transcript of my interview with him on its own website five days later. The effect was instantaneous. The Philippine media were outraged by the diplomat's comments and they became front-page news.
His comparison of Mindanao to Afghanistan was widely condemned as alarmist. Mussomeli was called in to the Philippine foreign office to explain his comments while prominent opposition senators called for him to be expelled from the country.
President Arroyo herself was forced to immediately call on the acting ambassador to clarify what she called his misleading comments. Mussomeli further aggravated the Philippine press by alleging he had been misquoted when called on to clarify his comments. A bizarre response considering his statements had been accurately published by his own embassy.
The sharp end of this war of words over terrorism in Mindanao lies with these men of the Philippines Southern Command in Zamboanga. They constantly see combat and lost 33 men in the latest round of fighting including a battalion commander. For Colonel Tutaan, the realities on the ground are far more complicated than the Americans suggest. His men are not even fighting the MILF. Their problems are with the Abu Sayyaf Group and other armed factions. Even with the ASG, he is not convinced the link to terror groups is firmly established.
COLONEL DOMINGO TUTAAN, PHILIPPINES SOUTHERN COMMAND: If you say Abu Sayyaf then probably some people, OK they're a spent force. But when you say Abu Sayyaf force with some JI again you keep on thinking about it. But it's just a projection of authority or projection that they are a force to contend with. We do not even know how big the alliance is, if there is indeed an alliance or if there are elements here.
There is now widespread fear in the Philippines that, by linking the MILF to terrorism, the Americans will derail the peace process and further isolate the Muslims in Mindanao.
ANA THERESIA HONTIVEROS-BARAQUEL: Our government uses a term, 'terrorism'. Unfortunately they use it in the way that the US Government does, which is a way that turns a blind eye to the roots of what we call terrorism. Turns a blind eye to the very real marginalisation and alienation felt by sections of the population in the country or felt by certain peoples.
The result could be the further radicalisation of the Muslim community - creating another front in the American's so-called war on terror.
The Philippines is a country of 86 million people. The majority are Catholic, and Easter in the capital Manila is the most devout time in the religious calendar.
But this Easter, Manila was on high alert for terror attacks and it was the minority Muslim population from the southern island of Mindanao that provided the main suspects.
Australia, the UK and the US all issued warnings for their citizens to stay away from public centres like shopping malls. For the Americans, who already have troops in Mindanao, this area is a prime focus for their war on terror.
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI, ACTING US AMBASSADOR IN PHILIPPINES: There is training, there are bomb-making, there are experts who have come here, JI experts who have trained others how to make bombs.
On Valentine's Day this year, 20 people were injured when a bomb placed on a bus was detonated here at a busy central Manila bus terminal. The bomb was timed for detonation inside the terminal where it would cause maximum casualties. Simultaneous bombings took place in the cities of General Santos and Davao in Mindanao. 12 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the bombings and the notorious Abu Sayyaf group claimed responsibility. In response, the Philippine Government reacted harshly when the opportunity arose.
In March, these elite troops from the Philippine police special action force stormed into Bicutan jail in Manila after weapons had been seized from the prison guards by two Abu Sayyaf members. The police response left 27 prisoners dead, including three senior commanders of Abu Sayyaf. Most of those killed had not been convicted of any crime and opposition politicians like Ana Thersea Baraquel suspects that many of those killed may have been deliberately executed.
ANA THERESIA HONTIVEROS-BARAQUEL, AKBAYAN PARTY: My party Akbayan was really very disturbed that so many were killed. And only a few so far have been reported to have been armed actually. So, for example, on the first level of that prison where 10 people were found dead, only three were armed. And then we asked why were all of the leaders killed, including Commander Rohmat who was already severely disabled. Even the lead negotiator of the group was killed.
I'm on my way to Mindanao 500km south of Manila. Ever since September 11, the Americans identified this troubled island as a major target for their war on terror. But their claims of a terrorist hub are hotly disputed by the Philippine authorities, so I've come to investigate. What I find is a Muslim insurgency with a complex and long history.
For 30 years the Bangsamoro Muslims of southern Mindanao have fought a war against the central government that has left large parts of the island outside of Manila's control. South-western Mindanao is home to the Abu Sayyaf said to number no more than 400 fighters. They're known as a criminal group involved in kidnapping and terror attacks and are said to work with Jemaah Islamiah.
A far more significant group is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, based in central Mindanao. They have 15,000 fighters and recently started peace negotiations with the Arroyo Government. What's fuelling the current debate is the American claim that the MILF also has links with Jemaah Islamiah or JI.
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: What we do know and what the Philippine Government also knows is that there are links between certain individuals, certain leaders of the MILF, certain factions of the MILF and these terrorist organisations and it is a concern to us, yes.
The MILF leaders are wary of revealing their position, fearing assassination attempts by the military who control the major towns. We are directed by phone to a secure location beyond the area controlled by government troops.
Mohammad Iqbal is a member of the MILF central committee and the main representative for the peace talks with the Philippine Government in Kuala Lumpur. His troops are keeping a low profile due to the peace talks and wouldn't let me film them. Iqbal denies any links to terrorist groups.
MOHAQMER IQBAL, MILF CHIEF NEGOTIATOR: We are not terrorists. We can never be in good condition with the terrorists. We are a separate organisation. We are older than the al-Qa'ida. We are older than the so called Abu Sayyaf, so we cannot be with them. It is like water and oil, they would never mix together.
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: I think certain portions of the MILF are still in denial. Whether it's conscious denial or not, I honestly don't know, but they don't seem to want to accept the reality that some of their colleagues, friends, leaders are in bed with JI.
REPORTER: What kind of evidence do you have of those links?
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: There are... the main information that I could divulge here is that certain JI operatives have been arrested by the Philippine authority and they have admitted freely that they have these links with MILF and with ASG. But there's a great deal of evidence in all various channels that it's conclusive, that there are links between certain factions of the MILF and JI.
The alleged JI operative with the most recent evidence of a link to Mindanao's rebel groups was arrested there in March. He is now held here in Fort Bonifacio in Manila. Rohmat says he has been in Mindanao training members of the Abu Sayyaf Group, or ASG, in military tactics and bomb making since 2000.
REPORTER: How many Abu Sayyaf have you trained?
ROHMAT: Many... 60 sir, 60 men. Just 30 complete, and 30 training not complete.
He explained to Dateline the MILF had assisted in the supply of JI camps based in their areas and of their involvement in the Valentine's Day bombings in Davao and General Santos.
ROHMAT: In Davao and General Santos, a member of the MILF... they're making bombs, and deploying the bombs. The orders came from ASG, financed from ASG.
REPORTER: These MILF members - who were they, do you know who they are?
ROHMAT: Yes, I know but maybe hide the name.
REPORTER: You can't tell the names.
During the interview I was surrounded by military intelligence officers. I was only allowed to film the suspect himself, not those on either side of him. Many of my questions went unanswered.
REPORTER: Have any Australian officials or American officials come to interview you since you were arrested?
I felt throughout this interview that Rohmat was looking for guidance from his military handlers and that his answers were not necessarily his own.
Professor Louis Geodoro at the University of the Philippines says it's not uncommon for the military to provide suspects who say what the military wants them to.
PROFESSOR LOUIS GEODORO, UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILLIPPINES: I mean there's no way of saying how credible these statements are but there is the suspicion that he's saying, he's acting according to - he's speaking according to a script, to something scripted. It fits very nicely into the military thing. And that does work in favour of the idea that maybe the negotiations will be cut off and that the MILF is a terrorist group.
Even the chief of staff of the Philippine army himself, General Efren Abu, seems reluctant to act on the evidence of Rohmat.
GENERAL EFREN ABU: Right now we cannot just go there in central Mindanao and run after this ASG or JIs because we might encounter big groups of the MILF and we don't want that to happen.
We don't want to say that the MILF is harbouring the JI or the ASG. As I have said, we have been talking to their leaders.
I then asked the General what he made of the US statements that linked the MILF to Jemaah Islamiah.
GENERAL EFREN ABU: Well, that is a statement coming from a foreigner and maybe, you know, they know something which we do not know. But that's what I have said earlier. we have been talking with the MILF hierarchy, that is known to us. So we respect their statement, and we are comfortable with that. Unless it will be shown in the future that they really were harboured by the MILF.
REPORTER: Now, are you aware of any JI-, Jemaah Islamiah-linked activity in MILF areas?
MOHAQMER IQBAL: If they are operating they are doing it very secretly and the only Indonesians that I know are those who were so-called arrested by the Philippine Government.
It's not surprising that the Americans might have suspicions about the Islamic links of the MILF. Back in the early '80s, members of the MILF travelled to Afghanistan to join the fight against the Soviets. They also developed links with the Middle East. Saudi charities and religious teachers became frequent visitors to Mindanao. Back then these associations did not carry the instant tag of links to terrorists.
The MILF claim that they remain an Islamic secessionist movement protecting an ignored minority.
REPORTER: Why do you think the American Government, and sections of the Philippine Government, and the Philippine military continually make accusations that the MILF and Jemaah Islamiah are linked?
MOHAQMER IQBAL: Well, I cannot - it's an injustice to say that what I am saying here is what the Americans are thinking or the military is thinking. But there are groups who do not want peace to be possible in Mindanao. So they are lumping together the MILF with these so-called terrorists so that the peace process will not proceed.
What is certainly true is that Mindanao desperately needs peace. For the civilian population, just moving around is a dangerous exercise. I'm driving out of Cotobato into the heart of MILF territory. This is the end of government control - beyond here, you drive fast and need local contacts to minimise the danger of kidnapping or theft from bandits.
FROILAN GALLARDO, JOURNALIST: Here, they usually stop passenger buses.
REPORTER: What do they do?
FROILAN GALLARDO: They rob the buses.
I've come to the village of Pikit, which is firmly in MILF territory and close to the areas claimed to be JI training camps.
Father Roberto Layson has been the Catholic priest here for the last eight years. Despite his religious differences with the MILF, he says the local population support them.
FATHER ROBERTO LAYSON: The support for the MILF is strong from Christians - from Muslim civilians.
REPORTER: There's a lot of talk in Manila about Jemaah Islamiah are operating out of central Mindanao. Do you hear about that in your community? Do people talk about that?
FATHER ROBERTO LAYSON: I heard many of these talks in the media but coming from local sources here I haven't heard of any serious discussions about it. How could I rely on this information gathering of the United States, of the real situation here in Mindanao? That's very scary if you rely only on that information.
It is not hard to see why the American claims of JI training camps and MILF links to them are difficult to verify and are not well reported. In 2004, the Philippines was rated as the second most dangerous country for journalists, after Iraq. 17 journalists have been killed since last year.
As we are returning to Cotobato and government control, Froilan Gallardo, a local journalist, tells me how his colleague was killed in Jolo Island last November.
FROILAN GALLARDO: There was no reason. There was no reason at all, he was just killed by somebody who didn't like him.
Back in Manila, the effects of the American pursuit of their war on terror in Mindanao is now a major issue in the Philippines. This demonstration is for the 32 labour and human rights activists that have already been killed in 2005 by the police and military. The demonstrators see a clear link between the government's war on terror, its attempts to extend the power of the armed forces through a new anti-terror bill and US influence in the military. I asked this opposition congressman why he blamed the Americans.
RAFAEL MARIANO, ANAKPAWIS PARTY: Supplying military aid and supplies, equipments, and advising military leadership, the AAP and the Arroyo Government how to deal what they call this counter insurgency problem.
Conscious of this growing national sentiment, the American acting ambassador ramps up the threat he sees in the situation in Mindanao.
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: Certain portions of Mindanao are so lawless, so porous, the borders, that you run the risk of it becoming like an Afghanistan situation. Mindanao is almost, forgive the poor religious pun, the new Mecca for terrorism.
REPORTER: Do the US State Department feel that the Philippines Government is doing enough here?
JOSEPH MUSSOMELI: Well, you could ask me if the Australian Government is doing enough or the American Government is doing enough. We could always do more. Is it the right priority for the Philippine Government? They have so many issues to deal with. They have their fiscal crisis, they have an educational issue, they have taxes that need to be increased. Are they devoting enough time to the fight on terrorism? My personal view is no.
The embassy, eager to get across its point of view, and without permission from SBS, published the transcript of my interview with him on its own website five days later. The effect was instantaneous. The Philippine media were outraged by the diplomat's comments and they became front-page news.
His comparison of Mindanao to Afghanistan was widely condemned as alarmist. Mussomeli was called in to the Philippine foreign office to explain his comments while prominent opposition senators called for him to be expelled from the country.
President Arroyo herself was forced to immediately call on the acting ambassador to clarify what she called his misleading comments. Mussomeli further aggravated the Philippine press by alleging he had been misquoted when called on to clarify his comments. A bizarre response considering his statements had been accurately published by his own embassy.
The sharp end of this war of words over terrorism in Mindanao lies with these men of the Philippines Southern Command in Zamboanga. They constantly see combat and lost 33 men in the latest round of fighting including a battalion commander. For Colonel Tutaan, the realities on the ground are far more complicated than the Americans suggest. His men are not even fighting the MILF. Their problems are with the Abu Sayyaf Group and other armed factions. Even with the ASG, he is not convinced the link to terror groups is firmly established.
COLONEL DOMINGO TUTAAN, PHILIPPINES SOUTHERN COMMAND: If you say Abu Sayyaf then probably some people, OK they're a spent force. But when you say Abu Sayyaf force with some JI again you keep on thinking about it. But it's just a projection of authority or projection that they are a force to contend with. We do not even know how big the alliance is, if there is indeed an alliance or if there are elements here.
There is now widespread fear in the Philippines that, by linking the MILF to terrorism, the Americans will derail the peace process and further isolate the Muslims in Mindanao.
ANA THERESIA HONTIVEROS-BARAQUEL: Our government uses a term, 'terrorism'. Unfortunately they use it in the way that the US Government does, which is a way that turns a blind eye to the roots of what we call terrorism. Turns a blind eye to the very real marginalisation and alienation felt by sections of the population in the country or felt by certain peoples.
The result could be the further radicalisation of the Muslim community - creating another front in the American's so-called war on terror.