US and Philippine military massacre civilians in Maimbung, Sulu

In the early morning of 4 February, while the villagers were sound asleep, troops of the reactionary Armed Forces of the Philippines launched an armed attack on the fishing village of Ipil in Maimbung town, Sulu, in the southern island of Mindanao. They massacred at least eight civilians, including two children aged 4 and 9, two teenagers aged 15 and 17 and a pregnant woman, and a soldier who was on leave at that time. The military operations also caused the wounding of many other civilians and destruction of property.

The AFP tried to cover up the massacre by saying that it was a legitimate operation and that the victims were members of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). The women and children who were killed, they said, died in the crossfire. The surviving victims, their families and local government officials however vehemently belied these claims of the military. They asserted that the victims were ordinary seaweed farmers and fisherfolk, and not members of the Abu Sayyaf Group.

The ASG is a creation of the AFP and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1991 to undermine the Moro people’s struggle for self-determination. It has since turned into banditry, kidnapping for ransom and terrorism, but continues to be handled by military officers.

But what is so damning about the Maimbung massacre aside from the killing of civilians is the presence of US military forces in the area. Eyewitness and survivors’ accounts report seeing heavily armed US soldiers in the area while the carnage was going on. There were even reports that what happened in Maimbung was part of the joint military exercise between US and Philippine troops called Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder), a sort of practicum for the Philippine military. This is not farfetched since soldiers that attacked the Ipil village belonged to the Light Reaction Company, a unit composed of soldiers who have undergone specialized training from the US military during the joint military exercises.

The specialized US military training produced brutal results in the fishing village of Ipil: civilians were attacked; the children were shot in the head; victims’eyes were gouged out; and fingers and ears were sliced off.

This was not the first time that the US troops have taken part in AFP military operations in Sulu. In early 2007, US troops were present during an armed encounter between the AFP and the Moro National Liberation Front in Indanan town, Sulu. During that period, US military personnel were supposedly building roads in Indanan while the AFP troops were launching big military operations in the entire province.

The US use the so-called humanitarian missions of building roads, bringing relief goods and medical services to neutralize people’s resistance against its presence and to cover up the real purpose of the joint exercises. According to Command Sgt. Maj. William Eckert of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTFP) in his article “Defeating the Idea:Unconventional Warfare in the Philippines”: “Working in close violations including extra-judicial killingscoordination with the US Embassy, JSOTF-P uses Special Forces, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations forces to surveillance and reconnaissance in very focused areas, and based on collection plans, to perform tasks to prepare the environment and obtain critical information requirements. The information is used to
determine the capabilities, intentions and activities of threat groups that exist within the local population and to focus US forces – and the AFP – on providing security to the local populace. It is truly a joint operation, in which Navy SEALs and SOF aviators work with the AFP counterparts to enhance AFP’s capacities.”[Bulatlat.com]

The presence of US military personnel in the Philippines must be seen in the context of the US’ continuing control of the social,economic, cultural and military aspects of Philippine society, and of the Philippines as the second front in the so-called US war on terror. The Philippines is an ideal launching pad for future attacks against enemies of the US especially in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

The people condemn the Balikatan exercises, the presence of US troops, andUS military aid as having exacerbated the already tense and dangerous situation in the country, and in Mindanao in particular, and has led to increasing human rights and forced disappearances.

They demand a pull out of all US troops, a stop to the joint military exercises, the conduct deliberate intelligence, scrapping of agreements and treaties between the United States and the Philippines such as the Mutual Defense Treaty, Visiting Forces Agreement and Mutual Logistics Support Agreement.