Correspondent: Terror in the Philippines Tx Date: 15th June 2003 This script was made from audio tape – any inaccuracies are due to voices being unclear or inaudible 00.00.00 Correspondent Theme Music 00.00.11 Ben Anderson Manila, the Philippines. 00.00.13 Ben Anderson Music 00.00.25 Ben Anderson A third world country famous for little more than political corruption, sex tourism and a first world collection of shoes. 00.00.32 Music 00.00.38 Ben Anderson But for the United States it’s a lone Christian ally in a region of hostile Islamic populations. 00.00.43 Music 00.00.47 Ben Anderson Surrounded by twenty-five percent of the world’s Muslims it’s no surprise that this is America’s new front in the War on Terror. 00.00.55 Music 00.00.55 Title Page TERROR in the PHILIPPINES 00.00.57 Aston Col. DOUGLAS R. LENGENFELDER US Army Our president has said that he will combat terror across the world. Where our president directs us to go is where we’re going to go as the military. 00.01.11 American soldier And if the machine gunner is asleep, well you shoot him but…then you put your weapon… 00.01.18 Ben Anderson For the time being, the American soldiers here are just giving lessons. 00.01.22 American soldier Prrrp, you open and then they will follow. OK? 00.01.28 Ben Anderson They had planned to come here in much larger numbers and they wanted to fight one group in particular. 00.01.34 Gunfire 00.01.37 Ben Anderson The Abu Sayyaf terrorist group was founded by twenty-five men who had fought alongside Osama Bin Laden and the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan. 00.01.46 Ben Anderson Their make-up has changed over the years but their habit of kidnapping and killing foreign tourists has placed them high on America’s hit list. 00.01.53 Music 00.02.03 American soldier You say ‘burning’ and then we go. I love this guy. 00.02.09 Ben Anderson But America has been here before and Filipinos still have painful memories of their time as a US colony. 00.02.15 Music 00.02.28 Ben Anderson America weren’t the first to realise the huge potential of South East Asia. 00.02.32 Music 00.02.34 Ben Anderson One of the biggest arrests so far in the War on Terror has revealed some disturbing information about what had happened here. 00.02.41 Aston BEN ANDERSON Eight years ago a white tuxedo-wearing playboy who would eventually become the brains behind Al Qaeda lived in this area of Manila. 00.02.48 Music 00.02.50 Ben Anderson Hardly an Islamic fundamentalist, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed spent his time here dating local strippers. 00.02.55 Music 00.02.56 Ben Anderson It was ideas not religion that endeared him to Al Qaeda and it was in Manila that he first discussed a plan that led to September the eleventh. 00.03.04 Music 00.03.09 Ben Anderson His arrest in January was hailed as a major breakthrough in the War on Terror and could lead investigators closer to Bin Laden. 00.03.19 Ben Anderson But while in Manila he and two other men were just freelancing. Back then the only thing they shared with Bin Laden was their enemies. 00.03.27 Ben Anderson One of the men was Ramsi Yousef, the hapless bomb maker behind the World Trade Centre attack in 1993. The second was Abdul Hakim Murad, Yousef’s childhood friend. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed provided funding and encouraged them to think bigger. 00.03.42 Music 00.03.48 Ben Anderson With over forty-three aliases between them, they went scuba diving at beach resorts and got drunk in strip clubs in between plotting spectacular terrorist attacks. 00.03.56 Music 00.03.58 Ben Anderson One thing they didn’t do was visit a mosque. 00.04.04 Ben Anderson So this is the, the swimming pool of one of the swankier hotels in Manila and this is apparently where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was a regular, a regular by the pool and a regular downstairs where he used to entertain ladies in his white tuxedo with big wads of cash. 00.04.19 Ben Anderson But it wasn’t all play and no work for the Manila cell. They found time to set off a number of bombs including one on a flight to Tokyo. Luckily Ramsi Yousef had miscalculated and only one person was killed. 00.04.34 Ben Anderson But they had learnt how to use planes in what would become a trademark of their plots. 00.04.42 Ben Anderson While Khalid Sheik Mohammed lived like a king, Murad and Yousef built bombs in this modest apartment building. 00.04.49 Ben Anderson We’re in the Josefa apartment block in Manila and this is actually apartment six o three, which is where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramsi Yousef and another man called Abdul Murad met and discussed terrorist plans to attack America. 00.05.02 Ben Anderson Ramsi Yousef was already on the FBI’s ten most wanted list because he was held responsible for the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing. But the two men slipped into this country undetected and weren’t taking any chances. There was apparently one tiny slip up when they first signed in here – they forgot their aliases and wrote down their own names on the registration form. 00.05.21 Ben Anderson Hardly consummate professionals. The two started a fire here while making liquid bombs ideal for beating airport security. 00.05.30 Ben Anderson The police were called. Murad was arrested and sent for an interrogation by Rodolfo Mendoza. 00.05.37 Ben Anderson The local police didn’t get any information from Abdul Murad, how did you get him to start talking? 00.05.43 Aston RODOLFO MENDOZA Philippine National Police Our success on breaking his spirit lies mainly on very, very …scenario. I told him that I will turn you to the Israeli Jews, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation because I don’t want to consume my time with you. 00.06.03 Rodolfo Mendoza We started at three o’clock. About nine thirty he was broken because I play the bad guy and good guy. Good cop, bad cop combinations so called. 00.06.16 Rodolfo Mendoza He told us about the plan to blow up the commercial jet liners because evidently we lifted several sets of papers from the laptop computer seized from the room. 00.06.37 Ben Anderson Ramsi Yousef sent Abdul Murad back to get the laptop, which sounds like a pretty stupid thing to do but on that laptop were plans for Operation Bojinka, which was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s big plan to blow up eleven or twelve planes as they flew from Asia to America. 00.06.51 Ben Anderson It also contained recipes for bombs and their intended targets. It was their desperation to retrieve it that lead to Murad’s arrest and the cell’s unravelling. 00.07.01 Crowds chanting 00.07.05 Ben Anderson Under interrogation Murad also revealed a plot to blow up the Pope, who was visiting Manila and due to drive right past their apartment. 00.07.14 Ben Anderson So you discovered a plan to fly planes into American targets… 00.07.17 Rodolfo Mendoza Yeah, yeah. 00.07.18 Ben Anderson …and you told your American counterparts about that. 00.07.20 Rodolfo Mendoza Yes, yes. Of course. 00.07.21 Ben Anderson What did they do with that information? 00.07.25 Rodolfo Mendoza I have no personal knowledge about that. 00.07.29 Ben Anderson But when you passed this information on, how did you feel when you, when you watched September the eleventh on the news? 00.07.35 Rodolfo Mendoza I was really frozen. I thought that they have done it. 00.07.43 Ben Anderson According to Abdul Murad this could actually be the place where the idea that turned into September the eleventh was first discussed. If you walk out of this building and turn right and then turn right again and just walk just a few hundred metres you come to the bar with the plane crashing into the roof. And Murad claims he suggested to the other two men that they should fly a plane into the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. 00.08.06 Ben Anderson The Americans had missed some vital information. They had taken their eyes off a region awash with disparate Islamic terrorist groups. 00.08.14 Ben Anderson Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was far more in touch and even told Bin Laden he could unite all of the region’s groups under one banner. 00.08.22 Ben Anderson We’ve only been in the Philippines for four days and already it’s become fairly normal to read headlines about pretty horrific violence every day. Today it’s two hundred rebels killed yesterday. The Philippines two biggest rebel groups have agreed to help each other fight the government. 00.08.41 Ben Anderson So actually the big surprise today has been this front page. The US ambassador walking about seven hundred metres from the US Embassy, just there to get his lunch and he’s got to walk with four armed guards but at the same time he’s saying that his fellow Americans should come and visit the Philippines because it’s a safe and beautiful place with fantastic beaches. And while it’s true there are fantastic beaches here it’s also true that Abu Sayyaf might turn up and take you hostage and kidnap you for up to a year until your government agree to pay millions of dollars in ransom. 00.09.17 Ben Anderson I wanted to find out how much Abu Sayyaf were guided by ideology and how seriously they should be taken. 00.09.23 Ben Anderson Their founder had wanted an independent Muslim state but he died in a battle and it seems that Abu Sayyaf’s original goals died with him. 00.09.31 Ben Anderson I went to watch the news footage, which first brought them to international attention. 00.09.35 Music 00.09.39 Ben Anderson Over a year before September the eleventh they targeted twenty European tourists who were staying on a paradise island just off the coast of Borneo. 00.09.47 Ben Anderson At gunpoint, and with speedboats that can outrun the Navy, Abu Sayyaf took the tourists into the jungles of the southern Philippines. 00.09.54 Kidnapper Message to your family ma’am? 00.09.56 Kidnapped tourist I miss my son. 00.09.59 Ben Anderson They were eventually paid around twenty million dollars to release their hostages. But what really caught the world’s attention was what Abu Sayyaf were prepared to do when their ransom demands weren’t met. 00.10.10 Ben Anderson So we’re watching tapes shot by Abu Sayyaf of them beheading hostages. They shot a guy tied up on the ground who was still alive, just. And they’ve got a machete, which isn’t sharp enough so it’s taken them three or four hacks to chop his head off. 00.10.34 Ben Anderson A guy getting interviewed before he gets beheaded. 00.10.41 Ben Anderson When you read reports about Abu Sayyaf back at home in the American press and the British press it’s easy…ooh! 00.10.53 Ben Anderson That was another guy still alive, getting beheaded and again not a clean chop so he had to do it twice. The guy was still alive with a machete deep into the back of his neck. 00.11.09 Ben Anderson When you see them grinning and beheading hostages you, you do take them a bit more seriously. 00.11.17 Terrorists Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar! 00.11.26 Ben Anderson Like most terrorist groups, they’ve been tenuously linked with Al Qaeda. It’s a connection they’re clearly happy to play up. 00.11.37 Ben Anderson Mujahadeen, southern Philippines, he just said. 00.11.46 Ben Anderson And Osama Bin Laden. And that’s another reason to take these guys seriously if the Philippine army are to be believed, the twenty-five guys who founded Abu Sayyaf trained alongside Bin Laden in Afghanistan fighting the Russians. 00.12.02 Ben Anderson In 2001 Abu Sayyaf took another three holidaymakers hostage; this time they were Americans. 00.12.10 Ben Anderson Guillermo Sobrero was beheaded just a month after being kidnapped. 00.12.15 Ben Anderson While Martin and Gracia Burnham were held for seven months by Ghalib Andang, also known as Commander Robot. 00.12.24 Ben Anderson While Gracia was eventually freed, Martin Burnham was shot dead during a rescue attempt by the Philippines Army. 00.12.32 Ben Anderson Abu Sayyaf are currently operating in Sulu, a collection of tiny islands in the southern Philippines. The capital of Sulu is Jolo. When we were there Abu Sayyaf had six Jehovah’s Witnesses as hostages. Four have since escaped; the other two were beheaded. 00.12.48 Ben Anderson Just a few days ago the Abu Sayyaf leader Ghalib Andang just escaped military forces in Sulu, which is where we’re going in a few days time. Apparently he’s nicknamed Commander Robot because as a child he used to do a very good Michael Jackson robot dance and moonwalk. So it’s always nice to put a human face on terrorist groups who behead people. 00.13.13 Music 00.13.15 Ben Anderson Security is tight in Manila. And while it’s relatively safe in the capital, the southern part of the country is a no-go zone for westerners. 00.13.22 Music 00.13.23 Ben Anderson So much so that on our first day in the Philippines the British Embassy came to see us and asked us to reconsider our trip. 00.13.31 Ben Anderson I’d promised to call and let them know what we were doing. 00.13.34 Music 00.13.37 Ben Anderson Hi, is that Katie? I thought I’d just put in a courtesy call because we’re heading off to Zamboanga today. But we’ve had meetings with the, we went to the US Embassy and we’ve had meetings with the US and Philippines military and taken their advice and we, we will be going to Jolo but only for a day. Ok, thanks a lot. All right, bye. 00.14.02 Ben Anderson Well; the advice is still the same, don’t go to Jolo but good luck and let them know how we get on. 00.14.11 Man Are you nervous? 00.14.14 Ben Anderson Yeah. I am a bit actually because the, Abu Sayyaf haven’t got any western hostages at the minute. And apparently Filipino hostages aren’t worth as much as western hostages. 00.14.26 Music 00.14.30 Ben Anderson In fact we’d be worth two million dollars each to Abu Sayyaf, whereas Filipino hostages only generate about fifty thousand. 00.14.37 Music 00.14.38 Ben Anderson Last year the Americans advised the Filipino military in an operation to drive Abu Sayyaf from one of their strongholds. I was travelling south to see how successful the project had been. 00.14.48 Music 00.14.52 Ben Anderson I started in Zamboanga, a Christian city in a largely Muslim area. It’s also home to over three hundred American troops, although they were keeping an incredibly low profile. 00.15.03 Ben Anderson For now, they’re restricted to training the Philippines military as part of a twenty-five million dollar aid and equipment package donated by the US government. 00.15.11 Music 00.15.14 Ben Anderson The War on Iraq had just started and this former US colony was even more suspicious of America’s motives than usual. 00.15.23 Ben Anderson We were repeatedly told by the Americans that they were here as invited guests of the Philippines government. They were treading on eggshells. 00.15.32 Aston Major JOHN AMBERG US Army One of the stories we want to put out here – this whole thing was built in about three weeks. And part of what it shows is the commitment of the AFP in training and receiving a training force. You know these guys are heroes to me because of the sacrifices they make and I always am impressed with soldiers, the conditions they live in, so that they can serve their countries. 00.15.52 Ben Anderson Last year a US soldier was killed in town by a terrorist bomb. 00.15.58 Music 00.16.01 Ben Anderson And although the Muslim and Christian communities seemed to be living happily alongside each other, I had been told that the town was regularly used by Abu Sayyaf members on leave. 00.16.10 Music 00.16.12 Ben Anderson As a result the entire US contingent is confined to the base. And while the Filipino soldiers on these exercises have no ammunition at all, the Americans’ weapons are fully loaded. Despite all talk about being invited guests here, it was clear that the Americans had good reason to be so concerned about security. 00.16.37 Ben Anderson So this is the North Philippines; this is Manila where we started out. Then nine hundred kilometres south the very southern area is called Mindanao. And within that is the ARMM, which is the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The Philippines is ninety-five percent Christian but the five percent who are Muslim live in this area here. 00.17.01 Ben Anderson This is Basilan Island, which is home of the Balikatan operation last year. That is hailed as a great success because people who were afraid to talk or who were loyal to the Abu Sayyaf have started coming forward with information. 00.17.19 Ben Anderson Before my trip to Basilan I met with Colonel Daniel Lucero who had been in charge of Operation Balikatan, last year. He welcomes a continued American presence. 00.17.30 Ben Anderson Basilan, what happened there last year? 00.17.33 Col. Daniel Lucero Ah Basilan. Well, the peace in our situation has drastically improved, you know, compared to last year and the other year. Actually the war was won on, on guns and bullets but you know the humanitarian action programmes that the government with the help of the Americans you know. 00.17.54 Ben Anderson Yeah. 00.17.56 Col. Daniel Lucero Offered to the people of Basilan. 00.17.59 Ben Anderson Abu Sayyaf only have a few hundred fighters. Their strength lies in the support of the local population. 00.18.05 Col. Daniel Lucero Actually the Abu Sayyaf is operating in Basilan, in Sulu and in… But they are more active here in Sulu. 00.18.16 Ben Anderson And how many soldiers do you think there are there? 00.18.18 Col. Daniel Lucero More or less about four thousand. 00.18.21 Ben Anderson Four thousand of your soldiers. 00.18.22 Col. Daniel Lucero Yes. 00.18.23 Ben Anderson And how many Abu Sayyaf? 00.18.25 Col. Daniel Lucero About, about four hundred. Plus about six hundred thousand residents, you know, that would allow them to swim freely, that’s the problem. 00.18.35 Ben Anderson Do they support them or are they scared of them? 00.18.37 Col. Daniel Lucero No, they are actually they’re supporters because most of them are relatives so… 00.18.41 Ben Anderson Right. 00.18.41 Col. Daniel Lucero So, yes. They share the same culture, the same religion, the same psyche and same belief. 00.18.49 Music 00.18.54 Ben Anderson I took a short ferry ride to Basilan to see the operation that the Philippines and American military were evangelical about. 00.19.01 Ben Anderson It was a model they clearly believed could work anywhere in the world. Although this one was still far from complete and we still had two million dollar price tags on our heads. 00.19.10 Music 00.19.14 Ben Anderson I keep on checking the horizon for speed boats with guerrillas with bandanas on, with machine guns and big grins on their faces. But no sign of anything so far. 00.19.24 Ben Anderson We seem to be the only white boys on the island. We’re both very tall, there’s a big camera and one of us is ginger. So, we stand out quite a bit. And every time someone checks you out seriously you, you start wondering if they’ve got a friend on the island they’re phoning up and tipping off. And you know, there are lots of text messages going on here as well. But hopefully not relating to us. 00.19.50 Music 00.20.03 Ben Anderson Despite the successes on Basilan, two million dollars would still go a long way here. 00.20.08 Music 00.20.10 Ben Anderson Colonel Lucero had arranged two armed guards to be with us at all times. 00.20.14 Music 00.20.32 Ben Anderson We’re on Basilan Island; the security is tanks and machine guns and dynamite sticks. This is, this is supposed to be the model example of how the, the further War on Terror should be fought. They’ve mostly removed the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas from this island and they’ve also embarked on a long humanitarian campaign where they’ve built hospitals, schools, roads and the idea is that the, the locals are starting to trust the government and as a result give them information about Abu Sayyaf and, and the civilians have got things to lose that they don’t want the Abu Sayyaf to, to hijack or destroy. 00.21.13 Ben Anderson Christians have lived on Basilan for hundreds of years and we saw no evidence of any conflict with the island’s large Muslim majority. 00.21.23 Ben Anderson One project everyone had benefited from was the enlargement and rebuilding of the local hospital. 00.21.30 Ben Anderson With American aid they are making dramatic improvements and locals are starting to believe the changes are permanent. 00.21.37 Ben Anderson What was life like before the Balikatan? 00.21.40 Aston Dr NILO BARANDINO Basilan General Hospital Before the Balikatan came, after six o’clock you could hardly see people moving around and people stay at home most of the time. 00.21.47 Ben Anderson Because they were scared of being kidnapped? 00.21.49 Dr Nilo Barandino Yes, not only kidnapping, there was a time in ’99, in the year ’99, there were one hundred six people that were shot in town proper, in the bridge, in the market, always on the head. 00.22.00 Ben Anderson And how many, can you remember how many people were beheaded? 00.22.02 Dr Nilo Barandino Fifty. 00.22.03 Ben Anderson Fifty. 00.22.04 Dr Nilo Barandino Civilians are fifty, other than the military who were beheaded in the operation, about twenty-six of them. 00.22.12 Ben Anderson Doctor Barandino has also fallen prey to the Abu Sayyaf kidnap tactics. His son and daughter were both kidnapped and he was forced to mortgage all his property in order to raise the ransom money. 00.22.25 Ben Anderson He knew from experience that Abu Sayyaf would go through with their threats. 00.22.30 Dr Nilo Barandino If they are kidnapped then the ransom has been demanded but it is not granted they will show you sample, by beheading and this was aggravated in the later years, the numbers have been increasing. 00.22.44 Ben Anderson It was your job to sew some of the heads back on? 00.22.47 Dr Nilo Barandino Yes. 00.22.50 Ben Anderson It wasn’t uncommon for bodies to turn up with no heads. 00.22.55 Ben Anderson And even on occasion for heads to appear on poles in the town square. 00.23.04 Dr Nilo Barandino There was an incident here where, you know, I took over, in that very particular day, in one incident, four were beheaded and all of these four people is a personal friend of mine to the extent when I have them in the morgue, when I was on duty, really of being, every time you look at the ceiling you can imagine these people because you know them personally. I was really affected and most of the victims in Basilan are distant relatives of mine. 00.23.29 Ben Anderson As well as helping run the hospital Doctor Barandino has also researched Abu Sayyaf and is vital for members of the community who are gaining the courage to come forward with information. 00.23.40 Ben Anderson But you’ve been very vocal against Abu Sayyaf and you’ve compiled the history of Abu Sayyaf, do you not worry for your safety? 00.23.47 Dr Nilo Barandino No, I’m carrying gun with me every time I go round. 00.23.50 Ben Anderson Oh really? You’d be prepared to fight if they came? 00.23.55 Dr Nilo Barandino Yes. I, they have been threatening to go to the house because they are asking for more, a part of the ransom. I said your more will come but I will give you the lead of the bullet, I will not give you money. I’ll fight back. 00.24.07 Ben Anderson And do you think you’ll see justice and peace here? 00.24.09 Dr Nilo Barandino Yes. I can see the beginning of justice because my kidnapper, out of the twenty-four, sixteen are killed, three are in jail, so that’s part of justice already. Right now, I’m almost sixty-three, sixty-three! Why be afraid to fight with these people? Soon I will die of natural death, I might as well die of a principle or cause in fighting against them. 00.24.29 Music 00.24.30 Ben Anderson But principles can often be sold in a poor rural economy where nothing can compete with the millions made from the kidnap and ransom trade. 00.24.38 Music 00.24.39 Ben Anderson I next went to see a Catholic priest, Father Cirilo Nacorda, who was kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf in 1994. 00.24.45 Music 00.24.50 Ben Anderson Based on a more recent encounter, Father Nacorda is convinced there is collusion between Abu Sayyaf and the local military. He has collected evidence and witnesses that he says prove this. 00.25.02 Aston Father CIRILO NACORDA Basilan Parish Priest They came here last June first, almost midnight. They passed that, that highway there and then getting inside the hospital, hospital compound. When they came inside the compound, it seemed that everything was planned, was planned very well. 00.25.23 Gunfire 00.25.29 Ben Anderson The walled compound was surrounded by the military and there was a gunfight that lasted eighteen hours. 00.25.34 Gunfire 00.25.36 Ben Anderson It looked certain that the Abu Sayyaf members inside would be killed or captured. 00.25.40 Gunfire 00.25.43 Ben Anderson The forty, forty Abu Sayyaf plus twenty-eight hostages just walked out in daylight? 00.25.47 Father Cirilo Nacorda They walk out, they walk out. 00.25.48 Ben Anderson How did that happen? Why did that happen? 00.25.51 Father Cirilo Nacorda Because they literally were positioned in this area, they left open this area, they, everybody, all of them pull out. 00.25.59 Ben Anderson But this wasn’t just a mistake, for the military this wasn’t incompetence? 00.26.03 Father Cirilo Nacorda I don’t think that’s a mistake, that, there was really, they were really prearranged. 00.26.09 Ben Anderson There are forty Abu Sayyaf with twenty-eight hostages walking in single file… 00.26.13 Father Cirilo Nacorda Yeah single file. 00.26.14 Ben Anderson In broad daylight. 00.26.15 Father Cirilo Nacorda Yes. 00.26.15 Ben Anderson This way. 00.26.16 Ben Anderson In front of dozens of witnesses troops guarding this side of the compound suddenly left for a meeting and a total of seventy-eight people simply walked out. 00.26.26 Father Cirilo Nacorda This is the small gate that we have. 00.26.32 Ben Anderson Was there a padlock then? 00.26.33 Father Cirilo Nacorda Not. They opened this, this gate. 00.26.39 Ben Anderson Several were killed and the rest released after a ransom of twenty-five million pesos, about three hundred thousand pounds, was paid. According to Father Nacorda the money was split between the Abu Sayyaf, local officials and some military officers. 00.26.55 Ben Anderson Things had obviously improved here since Operation Balikatan, but Abu Sayyaf were still active. Just three days before my visit they’d attacked an army outpost although the base commander was reluctant to give them that much credit. 00.27.08 Ben Anderson So we would call it an attack but you would call it harassment. 00.27.11 Aston Colonel BONIFACIO RAMOS Philippine Armed Forces Well, yeah. I would say harassment because they, they weren’t that determined really. 00.27.21 Ben Anderson So how many of them attacked? 00.27.23 Colonel Bonifacio Ramos The least is around forty. 00.27.28 Colonel Bonifacio Ramos That wooden gate. 00.27.30 Ben Anderson Yeah. 00.27.31 Colonel Bonifacio Ramos That’s where they were trying to cut the wire so that they could get inside. 00.27.36 Ben Anderson So then your men chased them in that direction. 00.27.38 Colonel Bonifacio Ramos Yeah. We used the mortar, mortar rounds and that is where they incur casualties. It’s the mortar that made the day for us. 00.27.51 Ben Anderson Despite the Balikatan, Abu Sayyaf and their allies still had the ability to attack and disappear. 00.27.58 Ben Anderson But changes have been dramatic. Corruption in the police and military has been reduced and people can move around freely for the first time in years. 00.28.10 Ben Anderson The Philippines was granted a kind of independence in 1948 but right into the seventies Basilan still had an American as its mayor. 00.28.20 Ben Anderson Now the mayor is a local Muslim and despite being a former Abu Sayyaf member, he’s a vocal supporter of Balikatan. If he can be convinced anyone can. 00.28.30 Music 00.28.42 Ben Anderson But while Balikatan has greatly improved the lives of those on Basilan, all its actually done to Abu Sayyaf is move them a few hours away to Sulu. 00.28.51 Ben Anderson Winning the hearts and minds of residents there will be a much tougher call. 00.28.55 Ben Anderson Sulu has a much larger Muslim majority and suffered greater losses than anyone when the Philippines was an American colony. 00.29.02 Music 00.29.04 Ben Anderson I took a plane to Jolo, the main island in Sulu. 00.29.07 Music 00.29.16 Ben Anderson It’s here that Abu Sayyaf enjoy the support of almost the entire population. So it’s considered to be one of the most dangerous islands in the Philippines. 00.29.23 Music 00.29.36 Ben Anderson Local legend has it that over a hundred years ago General Pershing ordered the invention of the forty- five revolver for the locals of Jolo. 00.29.44 Music 00.29.48 Ben Anderson He believed that if you shot a Muslim with a mere thirty-eight they would simply get back up and keep advancing. 00.29.54 Music 00.29.58 Ben Anderson Those days are still remembered here. 00.30.02 Ben Anderson We’ve just passed a big sign saying no to Balikatan, so no to the Americans coming here. There’s a ninety-five percent Muslim majority and a four hundred year history of American or Spanish governments conducting pacifying operations here, which have normally meant the slaughter of civilians. 00.30.18 Ben Anderson And it’s always been Christian invaders suppressing the Muslim locals. Many here view the arrival of US troops as history repeating itself. 00.30.32 Ben Anderson We’ve just had another drive through another town and the kids are all friendly, the kids all smile and wave but especially the men, all men over eighteen, nineteen years old give you evil eyes. 00.30.44 Ben Anderson The centre of town is supposedly gun free but even soldiers won’t come into town on their own for fear of being attacked. 00.30.52 Ben Anderson Four hundred years of repression is not easily forgotten. 00.30.57 Ben Anderson Most of the locals presumed our white faces were American rather than British and pretty soon our escort was nervous about us hanging around any longer. 00.31.06 Ben Anderson We’ve been told quickly to move on because there are so many people and there’s so much traffic congestion that if you get stopped, if you get stuck and you can’t move on then there’s a chance you’ll get hacked by a knife or machete by someone. 00.31.22 Ben Anderson With such a heavy military escort it was impossible to talk to locals. There were also no hotels safe enough to stay in on Jolo, so we had to spend the night in the main army base. 00.31.36 Ben Anderson Just a couple of months before I was there the base had been attacked by heavily armed Abu Sayyaf members. 00.31.45 Ben Anderson So how many men attacked? 00.31.48 Aston Captain ROMMEL FRANCISCO Philippine Armed Forces They said, more or less, five to eight hundred. Five hundred rebels. 00.31.55 Ben Anderson Five to eight hundred rebels? 00.31.57 Captain Rommel Francisco Yeah. 00.31.57 Ben Anderson Attacked the base. 00.31.58 Captain Rommel Francisco Yeah. 00.32.00 Ben Anderson And how many people were inside the base? 00.32.02 Captain Rommel Francisco Less than one thousand. 00.32.04 Ben Anderson Any casualties? 00.32.07 Captain Rommel Francisco Four, four casualties. 00.32.12 Ben Anderson Despite hundreds of fresh bullet holes, they assured me that things were under control and that once again Abu Sayyaf were on the back foot. 00.32.21 Ben Anderson Some of these bullet holes are going out. Coming… 00.32.23 Captain Rommel Francisco Yes, going out. 00.32.25 Ben Anderson That’s from the fire fight? 00.32.26 Captain Rommel Francisco Fire fight. 00.32.28 Music 00.32.30 Ben Anderson Right next to the army base is an airstrip. There’s only one plane a day so it’s used as an exercise yard. It’s safer than the local park where it’s common knowledge that the police pose almost as much of a threat as Abu Sayyaf. 00.32.43 Music 00.32.46 Ben Anderson The airfield is constantly patrolled by soldiers. 00.32.48 Music 00.32.59 Ben Anderson The next morning I was taken on a tour of the island. 00.33.04 Ben Anderson Every time we left the base we were accompanied by around twenty heavily armed soldiers. They told us that Abu Sayyaf were probably within a mile or so most of the time. 00.33.15 Ben Anderson The army were keeping a close eye because they didn’t want to spend months trying to rescue us from the jungle. 00.33.28 Ben Anderson And so you really think that Abu Sayyaf would know we are here? They would find out. 00.33.32 Aston Captain ROMMEL FRANCISCO Philippine Armed Forces They, they, they find out already. 00.33.35 Ben Anderson Straight away. 00.33.36 Captain Rommel Francisco Mmm. 00.33.37 Ben Anderson Because local people see us in your vehicles. If we have ten or twelve armed soldiers with us they would not attack. 00.33.43 Captain Rommel Francisco Err; I think that is not enough. So it’s too risky even, even one platoon I think. 00.33.53 Ben Anderson Right so we’ve got heavy security but, but it’s not enough. You could have told me that at the end of the trip. When we were getting on the boat. 00.34.00 Music 00.34.07 Ben Anderson Our convoy included a tank and we rumbled through a number of tiny local villages. In no more than seven miles we ran over one dog and two chickens. 00.34.17 Music 00.34.18 Ben Anderson I was assured that someone would go back to compensate the villagers later but killing their pets and livestock was hardly the best way to win the hearts and minds of the local people. 00.34.27 Music 00.34.29 Ben Anderson I was as close as possible to Abu Sayyaf but I was hearing no mention of Islamic fundamentalism or Al Qaeda. Here Commander Robot is seen as a domestic problem. 00.34.40 Aston General ROMEO P. TOLENTINO Philippine Armed Forces Robot is an ordinary bandit actually that uses the name of the Abu Sayyaf and that is what I am telling you, that most of them that join their group, their ranks, are bandits. He was not, he was not saying before or he was not flaunting before that he was in the Abu Sayyaf. It is only now that where, when we were running after him. 00.35.06 Ben Anderson This kind of talk about Abu Sayyaf was beginning to sound familiar. They seemed more like a ruthless, but ultimately rag-tag bandit group with an appetite for guns and money. 00.35.17 Ben Anderson But it was in everyone’s interests to play up the Al Qaeda connections. Actually the military’s main problem here is a lack of technology. Abu Sayyaf have spent their millions on weapons and satellite phones but the military don’t even have the equipment to listen in on those phone calls. 00.35.34 Ben Anderson So these are the only two choppers they’ve got on the base here, they’re MG five twenties and apparently these were, these are exactly the same as the choppers or they were actually the choppers that were flown in, in Vietnam. 00.35.46 Ben Anderson And the commander of the base has just described them as baby choppers pretending to be attack choppers. They do look pretty old. 00.35.58 Ben Anderson The result of such limited means is a dirty, protracted war, with no conclusive end in sight. 00.36.06 General Romeo P. Tolentino We have accounted for two hundred body counts, more than two hundred body counts of the enemy. 00.36.13 Ben Anderson And how many soldiers have you lost? 00.36.15 General Romeo P. Tolentino During that period I lost, fifty-eight dead and another ninety-two wounded. 00.36.26 Ben Anderson And how many civilians have been killed? 00.36.29 General Romeo P. Tolentino Very, very few. 00.36.33 Ben Anderson The night we were there four civilians were beheaded and government soldiers had been blamed for the attack. 00.36.40 Ben Anderson The military denied it was carried out by soldiers but promised an investigation. 00.36.46 General Romeo P. Tolentino We have started disarming, disarming people here. But of course you cannot find, you can’t find the firearms because they have ways of keeping their firearms. 00.36.59 General Romeo P. Tolentino Slowly there are civilians who are now getting enlightened and starting to operate with us but it will take time. 00.37.08 Ben Anderson But it’s taking too much time. The Americans had been coming to fight Abu Sayyaf themselves but a huge row erupted about foreign forces fighting on Filipino land, which is against the country’s constitution. 00.37.21 Ben Anderson American troops had actually left Okinawa for the Philippines but once their combat role had been discovered by opposition MPs and journalists they had to turn around and go home. 00.37.33 Ben Anderson The US troops already here are restricted to training and trying to convince local opinion that they are just here to help. 00.37.40 Soldiers training 00.37.47 Ben Anderson For the time being it’s just play fighting. 00.37.51 Ben Anderson Is that slightly frustrating for you because these are terrorists with Al Qaeda links, they’ve killed Americans before? 00.37.57 Col. Douglas R. Lengenfelder We do missions all over the world. Our mission right now is to train these guys and that’s kind of our part, I guess. What they do with it hopefully is up to them. 00.38.07 Soldiers training 00.38.12 Ben Anderson The Americans can’t fight but they can pass on the experience they’ve gained from fighting so many other wars. 00.38.19 Soldiers training 00.38.21 Col. Douglas R. Lengenfelder It’s more like a guerrilla warfare. It’s a low intensity kind of warfare. 00.38.26 Ben Anderson And you guys have learnt about that from Vietnam. 00.38.28 Col. Douglas R. Lengenfelder From a lot of different places. A lot of the officers, senior officers down here have, have fought this, this same problem their whole career. 00.38.42 Ben Anderson While many Filipinos would love to see the end of Abu Sayyaf, they don’t believe that’s all the Americans want here. 00.38.49 Ben Anderson Since our visit Philippines’ President Arroyo has announced the US Special Forces will be allowed to conduct exercise ‘in many places including Sulu’. They can expect a hostile reception. 00.39.02 Ben Anderson So we’re on our way to Imee Marcos, daughter of Ferdinand and Imelda and a congresswoman here in the Philippines. 00.39.12 Ben Anderson She’s fiercely sceptical about America’s motives. 00.39.17 Aston Congresswoman IMEE MARCOS Well the Philippines and the United States have had a very long and troublesome history. We are very fearful and I am deeply troubled, personally, by the desire of the Americans to establish their former presence in South East Asia, here in the Philippines. There are those who speak of the re-colonisation of the Philippines. 00.39.48 Ben Anderson The Philippines has been fighting for independence for over four hundred years. 00.39.55 Ben Anderson It’s a fight that has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. 00.40.01 Ben Anderson But memories of fifty thousand American troops leaving here just twelve years ago are still fresh and anything that even smells of re-colonisation will be fiercely resisted. 00.40.30 Ben Anderson This is Clark Field, which was once one of the largest US military bases of the twentieth century. 00.40.36 Ben Anderson It took over forty years of Filipino independence and a nearby volcanic eruption before the Americans finally left in 1992. 00.40.44 Music 00.40.48 Ben Anderson There are plenty here who believe the current American benevolence is nothing more than an attempt to regain old bases like this. 00.40.54 Music 00.40.57 Ben Anderson Especially when it became clear that what was originally billed as a training exercise was actually a combat mission. 00.41.05 Congresswoman Imee Marcos I think the Americans have made it very clear that they need a forward presence in South East Asia. It is very apparent that they will get that from the Philippines, much more so than any chance of being allowed to operate in Malaysia, much less Indonesia. I do not think the target is my country. I am certain on the other hand that it is, it is Indonesia where you find the largest Muslim population in the world. 00.41.36 Music 00.41.41 Ben Anderson The Philippines is the only Christian country in South East Asia. If the US is going to establish a base anywhere in the region it’s going to be here. 00.41.49 Ben Anderson Strategically it’s the perfect place to keep an eye on countries like Indonesia who host a group held responsible for the Bali bombing. 00.41.56 Music 00.41.59 Ben Anderson The Philippines is also a desperately poor country, much in need of foreign aid. Allying itself with America in the War on Terror has already meant well over a hundred million dollars in largely military aid. 00.42.11 Ben Anderson The Philippines also joined the ‘coalition of the willing’ in the War on Iraq, although only verbally. But it will take a lot more than aid to change public opinion. 00.42.22 Ben Anderson Much has been made about the former US colonial role here. How much of a problem is that going to be for you? 00.42.29 Aston Col. DOUGLAS R. LENGENFELDER US Army History is always an issue. Whether it’s good or bad history, it is always an issue. You saw history come into play with the break up of Yugoslavia in many different ways and so you have to be sensitive to the historical issues. 00.42.49 Filipino soldier Fire in the hole one. 00.42.51 American soldier Fire in the hole one. Alpha team leader; pick up the assault. Pick up the assault. 00.42.57 Music 00.42.58 Ben Anderson The Philippine Armed Forces badly need the expertise of the US. 00.43.03 American soldier Now you count. One, two, three, four, five, six. 00.43.07 Music 00.43.10 Ben Anderson But America is facing increasingly ferocious opposition to its War on Terror, especially when wars fought in its name also happen to secure strategic interests, like oil or in the Philippines, old bases. 00.43.24 Ben Anderson For the Philippines government it’s a struggle between the need for help in the fight against the many groups like Abu Sayyaf and the fact that such help will only come from its former colonial master. 00.43.35 Ben Anderson History is always an issue. 00.43.38 End Music 00.43.43 Ben Anderson You can comment on tonight’s programme by visiting our web site at: www.bbc.co.uk/correspondent Credits 00.43.42 Reporter BEN ANDERSON Dubbing Mixer KARL MAINZER VT Editor JASPAL BANGA Graphic Design STEVE ENGLAND Production Team JULIA DANNENBERG SARAH EVA MARTHA O’SULLIVAN AGNES TEEK Production Manager JANE WILLEY Unit Manager SUSAN CRIGHTON Film Research NICK DODD Research SABINA LACSON Picture Editor PHILIP CLEMO Filmed & Produced by LEO TELLING Deputy Editor DAVID BELTON 00.43.53 Voice over Next week on Correspondent; after the war, the chaos in Iraq. Just whose country is it now? 00.43.59 CORRESPONDENT 00.44.01 Editor KAREN O’CONNOR © BBC MMIII 00.44.17 End BBC Correspondent 1 1