From: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: eskrima-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V8 #505 Reply-To: eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest Tues, 27 Nov 2001 Vol 08 : Num 505 In this issue: eskrima: Re: AOL 7.0 eskrima: Terrorists in Philippines & Malaysia Arrests Misuari eskrima: Unrest in the Philippines eskrima: Filipino Militia in Manila: Stratfor eskrima: . ========================================================================== Eskrima-Digest, serving the Internet since June 1994. 1200 members strong! Copyright 1994-2001: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource The premier internet discussion forum devoted to Filipino Martial Arts. Provided in memory of Mangisursuro Michael G. Inay (1944-2000). http://InayanEskrima.com Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe eskrima-digest" (no quotes) in the body (top line, left justified) of a "plain text" e-mail addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. To send e-mail to this list use eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com See the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) FAQ and the online search engine for back issues of the Eskrima-Digest at http://MartialArtsResource.com Mabuhay ang eskrima! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ABurrese@aol.com Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 14:28:49 EST Subject: eskrima: Re: AOL 7.0 Ray and others, If I just hit reply to the DD, like this post, it seems to go through fine. When I had the trouble is when I highlighted a section to respond to. With AOL, when you highlight a portion and then reply, it copies that portion into your note. In earlier versions, it put brackets around it. The one I sent that didn't work did not put brackets around it, but rather I had a blue line beside the copied part. I'm not sure how to change this, is someone knows, please let us know. In any case, if you want to respond to something, don't let AOL do it for you automatically if you don't know how to turn this off. Copy and past and then put your own brackets. This will keep the problems for Ray down. Hope this helps. I'm still trying to learn this stuff too, as well as website stuff to design a new web site. It sucks, I don't want to be a computer expert, I want to spend my time studying HKD, SD, and Leadership and Achievement, the things I speak and write about. But I need to use technology to help. Yours in Training, Alain Burrese ------------------------------ From: "Marc Denny" Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 15:35:05 -0800 Subject: eskrima: Terrorists in Philippines & Malaysia Arrests Misuari Philippines Jails 3 Suspected of Terrorist Links Associated Press MANILA -- Police and soldiers in the Philippines arrested two Jordanians and an Iraqi in raids Friday and said they were suspected of being linked to international terrorists, officials said. Bomb-making materials and altered and fake passports were seized from the three men, according to intelligence officers. Police said the unidentified Jordanians were arrested in Manila. The military said the Iraqi was arrested in his home in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province, about 550 miles southeast of Manila. Maj. Julieto Ando, a regional army spokesman, identified the Iraqi as Mohammed Sabri Selamah. About 80 soldiers backed by two armored personnel carriers surrounded Selamah's house. Selamah, married to a Muslim Filipina, has taught since 1998 at the Islamic Koranic Memorization Center in the village of Simuay near a camp of the Muslim secessionist rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said. The MILF is holding peace talks with the government. Soldiers seized explosives components, passports allegedly used by Selamah to identify himself as a Palestinian or a Jordanian, and tools to alter passports, Ando said. Philippine authorities have been on alert for suspected foreign terrorists since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. They have cooperated with U.S. investigators in locating suspected members of the Al Qaeda network, which is blamed for the U.S. attacks. Philippine troops have also been pursuing the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group, which has been holding an American couple hostage for the last six months. The group has been linked to Al Qaeda. For information about reprinting this article, go to http://www.lats.com - ------------------------- More Philippine News Reports Author: Crafty Dog Date: 11-25-01 20:50 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Police arrested a renegade Philippine governor and six supporters when they tried to slip into the country by boat early Saturday, Malaysia's police chief said. Nur Misuari, governor of the southern Muslim region in the Philippines, and his supporters will be turned over to the Philippine government "as soon as possible," the Malaysian news agency Bernama quoted Police Chief Norian Mai as saying. Malaysia has ruled out granting asylum to Misuari, a former rebel leader whose supporters attacked government troops in the southern Philippines last week, breaking a five-year peace. "He cannot be running to Malaysia to seek refuge from an internal conflict he got himself into with the Philippine government," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said. Norian said Misuari was arrested on Jampiras, Malaysia's closest island to Philippine territorial waters. Misuari traveled from Jolo, a war-torn island in the southern Philippines where his supporters reportedly have teamed up with Islamic extremists from the Abu Sayyaf group to fight Philippine troops. Forces loyal to Misuari attacked a Philippine army base Monday, killing four soldiers and seven civilians. About 100 rebels have been killed in fighting since then, the Philippine military has said. Misuari abandoned a 1996 peace deal that Malaysia had helped broker. The Philippine government has accused him of trying to upset regional elections that were held Monday to choose his successor and has charged him with rebellion. The 1996 peace agreement with Misuari's Moro National Liberation Front was a historic step toward ending a revolt by Muslim separatists in the largely Roman Catholic Philippines. A smaller group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed a cease-fire this year. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo praised the arrest, which came a day after she asked Malaysia and Indonesia for help catching Misuari. For information about reprinting this article, go to http://www.lats.com ------------------------------ From: Uli Weidle Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 09:35:59 +0100 Subject: eskrima: Unrest in the Philippines Responding to "Unrest in the Philippines" dated 23 Nov 2001 Dear Roland! Greetings from Germany! Thank you for posting your analysis of the situation in the Philippines. I had several opportunities to meet and train with members of the Force Reckon Battalion when I was together with Grand Tuhon Leo T. Gaje in the Philippines and reading the name triggered a lot of memories of courageous and fine people like for example Col. Ecarma - a very fine gentleman. I was in the Philippines when the Abu Sayuf had the first 'international media appearance' because of the European hostages - my first real life impression of the affair was, when the plane in which Grand Tuhon and I arrived in Manila international airport touched down, there was a bomb blast right beside the reception area of the airport. In my many visits to the Philippines of course I could read about the ongoing military operations, but personally I never felt unsafe (more than usual ;-) and anyway I like the country and I will visit my friends in January again and I will be happy to receive Grand Tuhon again in Europe this coming May. Halong Ka! Uli, http:/www.pekiti-tirsia.net ------------------------------ From: "Marc Denny" Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 16:56:59 -0800 Subject: eskrima: Filipino Militia in Manila: Stratfor Woof All: The following comes from www.Stratfor.com For quality info and analysis of events around the world recommend subscribing. Woof, Crafty Dog - -------------------------------------------- Philippines: Militias May Add to Instability 2300 GMT, 011126 Summary Philippine police are recruiting ethnic Chinese to form a civilian militia in Manila. The government's plan, which the Catholic Church has criticized, will eventually lead to the creation of several neighborhood militias in Manila -- both to fight crime and to reassure the Chinese and international business community of the safety of investing in the Philippines. The involvement of ethnic Chinese, police and military personnel in kidnapping gangs, however, threatens to complicate the government's efforts. Analysis Philippine police have launched a recruitment drive to attract ethnic Chinese Filipinos to form a civilian militia in metro Manila. A police spokesman said the formation of so-called "self-defense units" is in line with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's anti-kidnapping efforts, according to ABS-CBN News. Arroyo initiated the formation of armed self-defense units in Manila to stem the rise in kidnappings that have been plaguing the city and undermining investor confidence in the Philippines' already battered economy. The Roman Catholic Church and several anti-crime groups have expressed reservations about the plan. The involvement of police and military personnel in many kidnapping gangs -- as well as that of ethnic Chinese themselves -- will further complicate the government's efforts to bring security to Manila. Kidnappings are on the rise in the Philippines, and many of the targets are ethnic Chinese - who are part of a small but wealthy community -- or foreign business people. Beyond its threat to personal safety, the trend undermines the Arroyo government's attempts to revitalize the economy, which suffers from entrenched corruption and mismanagement. Potential capital flight from the ethnic Chinese community -- which controls 20 percent to 22 percent of the nation's wealth -- casts a long shadow over the nation's future. Security fears related to decades of Islamic and communist insurgencies also frighten potential investors. Death Penalty Breathes Life into Arroyo's Political Standing Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently ordered the executions of 95 kidnappers, reneging on a pledge to commute all death sentences during her administration. The move will help bolster support for Arroyo in the politically important ethnic Chinese and business communities, which are frequently targeted in kidnap-for-ransom schemes. Analysis Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the immediate executions of 95 convicted kidnappers in a decision designed to "strike fear " in the hearts of kidnap-for-ransom syndicates, Agence France-Presse reported Oct. 15. cision As part of a broader plan to combat kidnappings, Arroyo proposed the formation of armed, neighborhood self-defense units in Manila. Similar units already operate in rural areas in the southern Philippines, particularly in places where Muslim insurgencies have raged for decades. Deploying such units inside metro Manila, however, will be a new step for the government, which in the past has relied on police or special deployments of the army or marines to ensure security. If successful, the militia program eventually will spread to other neighborhoods of the capital. The creation of civilian militias in the city is controversial. The Catholic Church, which wields considerable influence in the Philippines, has expressed deep concerns over the plan, particularly as the trial neighborhoods are ethnic Chinese. A spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said that arming a civilian militia undermined the public trust in the police and military, according to the Philippine Star. He further cautioned that rich Chinese-Filipino businessmen might begin to hire private armies, setting a potentially destructive precedent. The government has countered such concerns by assuring that all militia personnel would be carefully screened and then trained and supervised by police. To make them effective, however, the police would arm militia members and authorize them to carry out citizen's arrests. The Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce has cautiously approved the plan because it would protect the particularly vulnerable ethnic Chinese business community. The militia plan is not without problems, however. First, the government has admitted several times that kidnapping gangs often include former or even current military and police personnel. This may present a situation in which the Chinese community, rather than drawing closer to the police, instead pulls farther away, taking into its own hands all forms of justice in predominantly Chinese areas. Another factor complicating the effectiveness of the militias is that several kidnapping gangs are apparently Chinese themselves. Manila has been working with Beijing to sign an extradition treaty whereby Chinese kidnappers are tried in the Philippines, given the death penalty and then deported to China where the sentence is carried out. By arming certain members of the ethnic Chinese community, Manila may be creating a situation in which competing gangs or factions vie for control of the self-defense units, potentially leading to turf wars inside the city. A third problem is that vigilante justice may become the norm within the self-defense units. The government already contends with vigilantism throughout the nation, including some perpetrated by police. Ultimately, Arroyo may be bringing more trouble then benefits upon the Philippines. With the police and military still weeding out corruption in their own ranks, communities increasingly will turn to local self-defense units for security and stability. The units, which risk falling prey to local political and economic rivalries, may take on a life of their own, sliding beyond the central government's control. If private militias and local political and business interests merge, it would lead to a boom in organized crime, doing little to reassure potential investors of the stability and security of the Philippines. ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 22:05:52 PST Subject: eskrima: . ------------------------------ End of Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V8 #505 **************************************** To unsubscribe from the eskrima-digest send the command: unsubscribe eskrima-digest -or- unsubscribe eskrima-digest your.old@address in the BODY (top line, left justified) of a "plain text" e-mail addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com. Copyright 1994-2001: Ray Terry and the Martial Arts Resource Standard disclaimers apply. Remember 9-11!