The Threat from the Heart of Mindanao
Taxi driver Mike strongly rejected our request to drive us to Marawi. No matter how much we offered, he would refuse. "Even if you gave me 50,000 pesos, I would not go, even if you gave me more than that, I would not accept it," said Mike, a taxi driver in Iligan, a small town, about 38 kilometers from Marawi.
According to Mike, whoever goes to Marawi now is crazy. "If you ask another taxi driver, they will also reject it," Mike said. He knows Marawi is a beautiful place, beside Lake Lanao, but is no place to go right now. "That place is very dangerous," Mike said. The danger is due to the armed conflicts, which have engulfed the area.
The emergency situation is reflected in the existence of 10 checkpoints from the outskirts of Iligan to Marawi. There are more and more checkpoints when entering the boundary region of Lanao del Sur, the province where Marawi is located. The posts are guarded by soldiers and police. While in the villages, local units also take care of the posts and inspections.
They not only check the citizens’ identity cards, but also their luggage. They try to prevent members of the Maute militant group spreading to other towns around Marawi. "You know, because of the conflict in Marawi, in Iligan, one cannot hang around after 11 o\'clock at night," Mike said.
Mike\'s concerns are understandable. In addition to being known as a drug trafficking base, the city also has a long history of fighting between clans for influence. The condition is exacerbated by political and ideological conflicts. The area around Marawi is home to bases of communist rebels and other armed militia groups such as the Abu Sayyaf.
The presence of radical groups such as the Maute brothers, which is motivated by the idea of an Islamic State, like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), makes Marawi even more insecure. While the battle in Marawi continued, two days ago a communist rebel group ambushed Presidential guards in Arakan, North Cotaboo.
Communist groups
When President Rodrigo Duterte visited Marawi on Friday, July 21, the fighting was still ongoing. A series of automatic shotgun and artillery booms were heard during the four-hour visit.
At a meeting in city, Duterte said that in addition to the radical movement in Marawi, there had been a revival of communist groups in Mindanao. Once the Marawi conflict had been resolved, he asked the Philippine army to quell the communist rebels. According to Duterte, communist groups are taking advantage of the crisis in Marawi to attack the government.
He asked the authorities to remain vigilant. In a separate report to the Senate, the military said one of the leaders of a radical group, Isnilon Hapilon, had sent 96 members to Marawi to conduct attacks outside the city.
Together with other armed extremist groups, they are ready to launch similar diversion attacks and rebellions elsewhere. An intelligence officer said Isnilon had sent funds and ordered allies to launch attacks in other cities in the Mindanao region.
The situation and the crisis in Marawi must be approached with caution. Referring to an article written by former Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab in Mohammed Asad Shahab\'s book “Moro,” the Abu Sayyaf movement is different from the movement of the Moro Liberation Front initiated by Nur Misuari.
Nur Misuari’s movement was driven purely by the love of the homeland and tended to be defensive. The offensive Abu Sayyaf movement aims at hurting other parties. This tendency is demonstrated by the involvement of the group in cases of hostage taking and kidnapping.
Today, when the Abu Sayyaf movement collaborates with the Maute group and promotes the idea of a caliphate, the threat is not limited to Mindanao alone. The crisis in Marawi has sparked fears that ISIS is finding a foothold in Southeast Asia. The movement has attracted ISIS sympathizers, including those from Indonesia.
The movement of Indonesians to Marawi, according to the Director of Law Enforcement at the National Terrorism Agency (BNPT), Brig Gen (Pol) Martinus Hukom, is not motivated only by the call from ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi, but also from extremist figures in the network of terrorist groups in Indonesia.
"Before the incident in Marawi, Ba\'asyir (Abu Bakar Baasyir), for example, said that if people in Indonesia could not go to Syria, they could conduct “jihad” in Minadanao,” Martinus said. Besides Baasyir, Aman Abdurrahman also issued a similar fatwa.
According to Martinus, the authorities are trying to curb the movement of Indonesians to the southern Philippines, even though it is difficult to do. "They often use official channels, as if they were traveling on business. For example, they go back and forth between Jakarta and Singapore, so there are records showing that they often go abroad for business. Then, after several trips, they travel from Singapore directly to the Philippines, and do not return," Martinus said.
20 years
The authorities, according to Martinus, have so far tried to prevent the departure of Indonesians to Marawi by arresting the facilitators who play a role in connecting Indonesians interested in travelling to Marawi.
The relationships between extremist groups in Indonesia, and also Malaysia, with violent groups in the Philippines have lasted for more than 20 years. The book “Unraveling Jamaah Islamiyah” by Nasir Abas, a former Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) combatant, reveals details of the relationship.
Nasir was one of JI\'s former combatants and played a role in the establishment of the Hudaibiyah camp in Mindanao in 1997. This camp became one of the most important bases for training of JI militants and Afghanistan war fighters.
According to Martinus, the phenomenon of Indonesian participation in the crisis in Marawi could have further negative impacts in the future. With their capabilities increased, these militants have a greater potential to create security threats at home. "This is dangerous," he said.
(Reuters/SF)