For over 100 years, the mostly Muslim Tausug tribe has sung ballads and recounted tales of forefathers being massacred by U.S. colonial soldiers on the remote island of Jolo, on the Sulu Sea roughly midway between the Philippine archipelago and Borneo.
Though they fought Spanish colonialists in previous centuries, Japanese troops during World War Two and the Philippine army after independence, the fiercely independent Tausugs have always reserved a special antipathy for Americans.
And when U.S. troops were posted again to Jolo four years ago to help the Philippines put down an insurgency by the Islamic radical Abu Sayyaf group, the wheel, it appeared, was turning circle.
The U.S. special forces on Jolo are barred from combat by the Philippine constitution and instead have poured their energies into training troops, providing intelligence on the Abu Sayyaf and conducting social projects like building roads and schools, providing Internet access and giving medical care.
Despite scores of Abu Sayyaf members being killed on Jolo, their bastion, in recent months, and a heavy Philippine military presence on the jungle-clad island of 600,000 people, the U.S. troops are coming in for rare praise. "We have a good camaraderie with the United States," said Jainal Salip Aloy, a local mayor on Jolo.
"That incident is a part of history," he said of the 1906 and 1913 massacres on Jolo, in which hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men, women and children were killed. "There is no advantage in recalling the bad or wrong activities that transpired."This is one of the poorest areas in the Philippines and we have to cater to the needs of the people."
GOOD FOR BUSINESS
Still, U.S. soldiers travel heavily armed on Jolo, with armoured cars mounted with machine guns accompanying jeeps and trucks. Soldiers are dressed in full battle gear, bullet-proof jackets and reinforced helmets.But the motorcades are met with waves from bystanders and cheers and blown kisses from children.
And the downturn in hit and run raids and kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf has resulted in a rare boom for the local economy.The bazaars of Jolo town are full, a fast-food restaurant is doing good business and there are hundreds of more vehicles on the road, residents say.
Along a major road in the town, the walls are painted over with landscapes and portraits, a contest for local artists."We are doing very well," said Raida Jainal, a 45-year-old woman who owns a stall selling cold drinks and biscuits in the village of Bato-Bato, west of Jolo town.
"We are happy with the U.S. projects, business is flourishing."There are some, however, who are not happy with the Americans."They don't come here to help us, they come to help the Manila government oppress us," said Cocoy Tulawie, a member of the Jolo town council."They have destroyed Iraq. They can do that in Sulu if they want to," he said, referring to the province of which Jolo is the capital.
Tulawie however said: "I congratulate them for neutralising key personalities in the Abu Sayyaf. But there should be a timeframe for how long they will stay."
But both the U.S. and the Philippine governments say nothing is about to change soon."We cannot actually set a date but as long as there is a peace and order problem, then I think it is better that we maintain the same activity," said Philippine Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, who was on Jolo on Saturday.
"The bottom line here is the attainment of peace."U.S. ambassador Kristie Kenney, who was also on Jolo for the ceremonial closure of annual military exercises between the two militaries, echoed that line."We will stay as long as we can be useful, and as long as there are things we can do," she said. (Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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