Commies Accuse US, Arroyo Of Exploiting Kidnap Crisis In Zamboanga

Communist rebel leader Gregorio Rosal. Rebels have accused the United States and the Philippines of exploiting kidnap crisis in Mindanao.

ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY (Mindanao Examiner / 13 Jun) – Communist rebels on Wednesday accused the United States and President Gloria Arroyo of exploiting the kidnapping of an Italian missioner to allow U.S. forces to freely operate in Mindanao.

Rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels kidnapped Fr. Giancarlo Bossi on June 10 after celebrating mass in the coastal village of Bulawan in Zamboanga Sibugay’s Payao town.

Manila sought U.S. deployment of an EP3 reconnaissance plane in Mindanao to help soldiers track down the kidnappers and their hostage.

“The U.S. and Arroyo governments are taking advantage of the abduction of Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi to allow the U.S. military free range in its intelligence operations in Mindanao, including flying spy planes around the island purportedly to assist in the rescue operations,” CPP spokesman Gregorio Rosal said in a statement.

Marine Maj. Gen. Mohammad Dolorfino said the kidnappers on Tuesday tried, but failed to escape Zamboanga Sibugay and hand over their hostage to the Abu Sayyaf group tied to al-Qaeda terror network because of blockade in the province.

Rosal scoffed at the government's gratitude for U.S. participation in the search, saying, it violate the Filipino people's sovereignty. “In reality, U.S. intelligence operations in the country cannot be belittled as these are used by the U.S. military to control and direct troop deployment and ground operations."

"They also want to show in this way that U.S. military assistance, including intelligence operations, has become indispensable even at the expense of making the local military and police looking stupid and incapable," Rosal said.

"In fact, the hidden principal agenda of U.S. intelligence operations in the Philippines has always been the monitoring of revolutionary and anti-U.S. imperialist forces, such as the New People's Army and the Moro revolutionary forces," he said.

The New People's Army is the military wing of the CPP, which is fighting to topple the democratic government and install a Maoist state in the Philippines.

While the Moro revolutionary forces refer to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), also fighting for separate homeland in Mindanao, but is currently negotiating peace with the Philippine government. (Mindanao Examiner)