Amid the brutality of the fighting in Marawi City, we read about heartwarming stories about the heroism and bravery of people in the face of danger.
The story of that gun shop owner named Farida who is a Muslim and her loyalty to her 13 Christian employees is so extraordinary that even President Duterte should acknowledge it. According to the news, when an armed team from the Maute group threatened to take the Christian employees with them, Farida told them that they have to kill her first before she allows them to take her employees prisoners. If that is not raw courage, I do not know what is. She then spirited her employees to the safety of Iligan City.
There is also the story of Muslims teaching Christians how to answer questions being asked by the Maute group which saved several Christian lives.
It goes to show that the conflict is not about religion but the ruthless ambitions of a few maladjusted elements of society. This is not the first time that an urban center was taken over by rebel groups fighting the government. This also happened in Jolo in 1974 when the MNLF took over the town and had to be retaken by a massive assault by the Armed Forces. Jolo is much smaller than Marawi City and the fighting a lot different. But although a lot bigger, Marawi City was taken over by an armed group numbering that is much smaller in a surprise assault.
Some observers are saying that it was a failure of intelligence on the part of the police and military that the attack was not monitored and detected earlier. We have seen the AFP score many accomplishments against the Maute group and the Abu Sayyaf in the weeks before Marawi City which might have caused the military to misread the intentions of the Maute group.
The battle in Marawi City is also taking longer than previously estimated because the Maute group has resorted to sniping, necessitating house-to-house clearing operations. The AFP in addition is very careful with bombing sorties to avoid collateral damage.
I also suspect that there are more in the Maute group than previously estimated. If the group suffered 65 casualties, and the intensity of the fighting has not diminished much, there are probably more of them although the fighting is now confined in a smaller portion of the city. The military should proceed carefully so as not to allow Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon escape the dragnet if he is in the city. Now is the chance to get him. Who knows, the Maute brothers might also be in the city, allowing the AFP to also neutralize them.
There is therefore a lot hanging on the outcome of the battle. This is not to mention trapping a number of foreign terrorists. Before Marawi City, the fighting with the Maute group and other rebel factions have been centered in the jungles and remote villages. With Marawi City, the fighting is being widely covered by the media. The brutality of the conflict is therefore now in the living room of everyone with a TV set. Many journalists who cover the fighting often refer to the militants as bandits which is not the appropriate word.
Yes, the two groups operate outside the law but the better term to use to refer to the members of these two groups should be terrorists. The study of social banditry is a bit more complicated. Social banditry is a term more appropriate for outlaws in earlier times in history. Robin Hood, for instance, if he really lived, was a bandit and an outlaw. But he was a noble bandit.
In contrast, there is nothing noble about the Abu Sayyaf and the Maute group. These two groups are plain and simple terrorists and they should just be called that. The indiscriminate killing of civilians by the Maute group that were shown on TV could not be beneficial to their cause. Thus, the Marawi City takeover may turn everyone against them including the Muslims. Marawi City, after all, is predominantly a Muslim enclave.
President Duterte has asked the MILF, MNLF and the CPP/NPA to join in the fighting. We do not know whether this move was made upon the advice of his military and advisers or his alone but since the fighting is confined to Marawi City and does not seem to be spreading, perhaps the President should just allow the AFP to finish the job of retaking Marawi City. The AFP, after all, is completely capable of doing it. The entry of MILF or MNLF into the fray this late, might not be good for the morale of the troops fighting there. If, however, the fighting spreads throughout Mindanao in the other important urban centers like Davao City or Cagayan de Oro City, then perhaps this could be revisited and only after careful study. If we consider the current capabilities of the Abu Sayyaf and Maute group, however, the two groups do not have the capabilities to mount simultaneous raids in other big Urban Centers.
We must also remember the case of the MNLF when they took over part of Zamboanga City and burned the place down. Up to now, some people whose houses were destroyed are still waiting for the promised help from the government. Counting the costs of the Marawi fighting will therefore be difficult and tough. War is always costly most especially to non-combatants who suffer the most in trauma and material terms. Waging war is also insane and anyone who says otherwise is doubly insane.
Marawi should be a lesson to us all.