This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/29/world/asia/philippine-police-raid.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Botched Philippine Police Raid Jeopardizes Peace Deal With Rebel Group Philippine President Says He Didn’t Give Go-Ahead for Police Raid
(about 3 hours later)
MANILA — In the aftermath of a botched raid that left 44 elite police officers dead, several key lawmakers in the Philippines have withdrawn their support for legislation that would formalize a peace agreement with Islamic rebels in the country’s south, jeopardizing the landmark deal that was meant to end more than four decades of violence. MANILA — President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines said on Wednesday that he had not specifically authorized the raid that left 44 elite police officers dead on Sunday and jeopardized a landmark peace deal with rebels in the country’s south.
Some congressmen have called for retribution and the surrender of insurgents involved in the clash on Sunday that killed only a handful of rebels. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed the peace deal in March, was involved in the fighting. “ ‘Can we proceed with the mission?’ I don’t think I was ever asked that question,” Mr. Aquino said during a nationally televised speech, without saying who had ordered the operation.
About 400 police officers from an elite counterterrorism unit conducted the raid early Sunday in the remote town of Mamasapano, on the southern island of Mindanao, to capture a top terrorism suspect. The police say that the suspect, Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, a Malaysian national and a senior leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network, was killed in the operation. About 400 police officers from an elite counterterrorism unit conducted the raid early Sunday in the remote town of Mamasapano, on the southern island of Mindanao, to capture a top terrorism suspect. The police say the suspect, Zulkifli bin Hir, a senior leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network who also goes by the name Marwan, was killed in the operation.
The raid was conducted near areas where the Moro Islamic Liberation Front operates, and its chairman, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, said on Wednesday that his group had not been informed of the operation, as is required under the cease-fire agreement. He said his fighters were acting in self-defense when they fired on the police. The raid was conducted near areas where the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel group operates, and its chairman, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, said on Wednesday that his group had not been informed of the operation, as is required under the cease-fire agreement it signed with the government in March. He said his fighters were acting in self-defense when they fired on the police.
Since then, a ferocious national debate has erupted about the raid, with photos of the dead police officers circulating on social media and some former military and police officials calling for a full-scale military offensive against the rebels. Since then, a national debate has erupted about the raid, with photos of the dead police officers circulating on social media and some former military and police officials calling for a full-scale military offensive against the rebels.
The government has responded by calling for calm, firing two top police officials and announcing an investigation of the raid. The spokesman for the national police, Wilben Mayor, was relieved of duty on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the head of the unit that conducted the operation, Director Getulio Napenas, was removed. President Benigno S. Aquino III was scheduled to give a nationally televised speech on Wednesday night to address the issue. The government has responded by calling for calm, dismissing two senior police officials and announcing an investigation of the raid. The spokesman for the national police, Wilben Mayor, was relieved of duty on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the head of the unit that conducted the operation, Getulio Napenas, was removed.
The violence and the reaction to it have occurred amid congressional debate on a law that would underpin the March peace deal. The proposed legislation, the Bangsamoro Basic Law, would give a degree of autonomy to Muslim communities in the southern Philippines and allow local governments to keep a greater share of tax revenues from the resource-rich area. In his speech on Wednesday, Mr. Aquino acknowledged that there had been poor coordination of the raid between the police, the military and the rebels. He said that he expected the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to assist with the government investigation and to help identify the rebels who were involved in the gun battle with the police. Other groups, including the smaller Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, who are opposed to the peace deal, were also involved in the fighting, he added.
“This incident has tremendous political implications for the peace process,” Rommel C. Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said by phone. “Some legislators have already withdrawn their support for the draft legislation, and there are other politicians calling for a halt to the debate on the law.” Some congressmen have called for retribution and the surrender of insurgents involved in the clash, which killed a handful of rebels.
Mr. Banlaoi noted that because of the sensitivity of the operation — trying to capture an international terrorism suspect — only a few government officials were informed of the raid. The resulting confusion has triggered rumors and a public backlash that lawmakers are now hearing about from their constituents. “The only way forward,” Senator Ralph Recto said in a statement released on Wednesday, is for the Moro front “to surrender their men who were responsible for the killing of the policemen.”
On Monday, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Joseph Victor Gomez Ejercito withdrew their support for the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and Senator Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called for an end to the debate on the bill. Other lawmakers, including the Senate president, Franklin Drilon, have called for deliberations to continue while the incident is investigated. Several influential lawmakers in the Philippines have withdrawn their support for a bill that would formalize the agreement signed in March, which was intended to end more than four decades of violence.
“I’m withdrawing my co-authorship of the B.B.L., and I seriously doubt if there will ever be a peace agreement,” said Mr. Cayetano, who described the clash on Sunday as a “slaughter” that cast doubt on the commitment of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to peace. The proposal, the Bangsamoro Basic Law, would give a degree of autonomy to Muslim communities in the southern Philippines and would allow local governments to keep a greater share of tax revenues from the resource-rich area.
On Tuesday, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Maria Lourdes Sereno, made a rare public statement, calling for sobriety in reaction to the fighting and continued support for the peace process. “This incident has tremendous political implications for the peace process,” Rommel C. Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said by telephone. “Some legislators have already withdrawn their support for the draft legislation, and there are other politicians calling for a halt to the debate on the law.”
“A call for war and retribution should never be made lightly and should remain always a final option,” she said. “It should certainly not be made in the heat of the moment and in the face of, as yet, unclear facts and confusing narratives.” Because of the delicate nature of the operation — trying to capture an international terrorism suspect — only a few government officials were informed of the raid, Mr. Banlaoi noted. The resulting confusion set off rumors and a public backlash.
On Monday, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Joseph Victor Gomez Ejercito withdrew their support for the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and Senator Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called for an end to the debate on the bill. Other lawmakers, including the Senate president, Franklin Drilon, have called for deliberations to continue while the episode is investigated.
“I’m withdrawing my co-authorship of the B.B.L., and I seriously doubt if there will ever be a peace agreement,” said Mr. Cayetano, who described the clash on Sunday as a “slaughter” that cast doubt on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s commitment to peace.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno made a rare public statement, calling for sobriety in reaction to the fighting and continued support for the peace process.
“A call for war and retribution should never be made lightly and should remain always a final option,” Chief Justice Sereno said. “It should certainly not be made in the heat of the moment and in the face of, as yet, unclear facts and confusing narratives.”