With God and a gun on his side

Josey1

With God and a gun on his sideBy Mark BakerMarch 2 2002 http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/03/01/1014704998112.html Father Cirilo Nacorda comes armed with more than his faith to daily Mass at the Church of St Peter on the southern Philippines island of Basilan. Beneath his flowing vestments the stocky, 44-year-old Catholic priest packs his favourite .45 automatic pistol."Life is so precious. This is God's gift to us and I have to protect it," he says. "I believe God understands my predicament and why I need to do this. He knows my heart."Father Nacorda has good reason to watch his back. He has already spent two months as a hostage of the Abu Sayyaf rebels, was almost kidnapped a second time last year, and has been threatened with death more often than he cares to remember.But the parish priest of the town of Lamitan has more to worry about than the bandits whose murderous reign has brought hundreds of American troops to this new front line in the war against terrorism. His allegations of collusion between the Abu Sayyaf, local officials and sections of the Philippines armed forces have made him fresh enemies."I know there are a lot of people who would be happy to see me dead, including members of the military and some of the leaders here. I am afraid, but I have no choice but to speak out."In June last year, a squad of 40 Abu Sayyaf fighters, who days earlier had kidnapped a group of tourists from a resort in neighbouring Malaysia, stormed the hospital adjoining the compound of the Lamitan church in search of medical treatment.Several people were killed in the crossfire as Philippines troops surrounded the hospital. Father Nacorda narrowly escaped being shot.What should have ended in the killing or surrender of the kidnappers ended in farce. Father Nacorda - whose accusations are backed by the bishops of Mindanao province - says the Abu Sayyaf fighters were allowed to escape after army officers were handed cases containing about 22 millions pesos ($A800,000) in cash."Our problem is not just the Abu Sayyaf. Our real problem is the extent of corruption among the military and local government officials," he says."They have been selling arms and ammunition to the terrorists and they are getting a percentage of the ransoms from these kidnappings. It's good business for them. If not for this corruption, our problems could be solved very easily."The allegations of a deal to end the Lamitan siege - strongly denied by Philippines military commanders - were the subject of an extensive congressional inquiry last August. Nothing more has been heard from the politicians since then.As American special forces soldiers - part of a contingent of more than 600 US troops - this week began moving into positions across Basilan, a place of dense jungles and inaccessible mountains that favour the fugitives, several US officers called on Father Nacorda. They would not have been encouraged by his assessment."I believe the Americans are beginning to understand how big the problem is that we are confronting here," he says.The Pentagon insists it has come to Basilan for a training exercise with Philippines forces, that their troops will not be engaged in combat and will fire only if they are fired on.But as the military build-up continued through the week, with high-tech surveillance flights and the arrival of Black Hawk combat helicopters in nearby Zamboanga City, there were growing signs that the Americans were preparing for a far more elaborate engagement - with the rescue of Kansas missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham, held hostage for nine months, a primary objective.The crash last week of a US military helicopter with the loss of 10 lives, while believed to have been accidental, has been a sobering reminder of the risks of what is shaping as a dangerous assignment.Father Nacorda - who estimates that as few as 80 of the rebels remain in hiding on the island - remains skeptical that the American intervention can achieve much. "Perhaps the Americans can help us a little but there are already 8000 Philippines soldiers and another 12,000 militia running after the Abu Sayyaf and they haven't been able to solve it," he says.He says the bigger issue is the role of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has hundreds of fighters on Basilan and is part of a broader movement to establish an independent Islamic state in this remote and impoverished corner of the Philippines.Despite substantial evidence of links between the MILF and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, as well as evidence of their connections with Abu Sayyaf, the Philippines Government, which last year reached a ceasefire agreement with the militants, has sought to quarantine them from its campaign to wipe out Abu Sayyaf. So far, the US has agreed to play along."We are afraid that this operation could inflame the situation with the MILF again," Father Nacorda says. "If the fighting spills into their areas, the MILF have already said that they will retaliate."But he welcomes any effort that might help bring an end to the banditry of the Abu Sayyaf, whose tactics he knows too well. Taken hostage in 1994, he was held for 61 days before the government paid a ransom for his release. During that time he was repeatedly tortured and threatened with beheading. "I did not believe that I would survive, I was sure that they would kill me eventually," he says.Since making his allegations against sections of the military and local officials last year, he claims rogue soldiers have come to Lamitan twice, looking to attack him. He now has a permanent bodyguard of several trusted soldiers and police, and rarely travels outside his church compound.Despite the risks, he remains determined to expose those whose corruption he insists is perpetuating the conflict and the misery of the people of Basilan, Christian and Muslim alike. "I will keep speaking out. It is my duty as a Christian and it is my responsibility as a priest to take care of my people," he says.