Philippine Group Known for Cruelty

M A N I L A, Philippines, June 13, 2001 -- Members of the Abu Sayyaf, the group that claims to have killed an American tourist in the Philippines, say they are fighting for the creation of a separate Islamic state. But most Filipinos see them as just what they are — a gang of extortionists, kidnappers and thugs.

The group has its roots in a separatist rebellion that began in the Philippines' Muslim-dominated southern islands in the 1970s. An estimated 50,000 people were killed before the main rebel group signed a final peace accord with the government in 1996.

The Abu Sayyaf (which means Father of the Sword) broke away from a smaller rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MLIF), in the early 1990s, when the MLIF began to hold peace talks.

From the beginning it was clear the group's only interest was in continuing the extortion and protection rackets the MLIF had used for income. The Abu Sayyaf, whose victims are usually the impoverished islanders, has a reputation for ruthlessness and extreme cruelty.

They terrorized local villages and came into the national spotlight in 1995 when they rampaged through the small town of Ipil and massacred more than 50 residents.

The group then gained international fame (or infamy) when it raided a resort on the Malaysian island of Sipadan last year and kidnapped 21 people, including eight Europeans. They freed most of the hostages after extracting an estimated $20 million in ransom from several sources, including the Libyan government.

The Abu Sayyaf, which is believed to have no more than 1,000 fighters, is not known to be linked to any other organized or legitimate Islamic group. The group has been widely condemned by respected Muslim leaders in the Philippines and abroad.

However, some of its leaders — like Abu Sabaya, the man who claims current American hostage Guillermo Sobero has been beheaded — were allegedly trained outside the Philippines in places like Libya.

More and more Philippines newspapers refuse to call its members "rebels" or "Muslim insurgents." Instead, they refer to the Abu Sayyaf as a "criminal gang."

Remote Islands

The islands where Abu Sayyaf operates — Jolo, Sulu and Basilan — are small and remote. They lie at the southernmost end of the Philippine archipelago, more than 500 miles from the capital, Manila.

They are, however, close to several popular resort areas on the larger island of Palawan, popular with foreign tourists for scuba diving and fishing. Sobero and the 19 other hostages were captured in a raid on a resort off the Palawan coast.

Muslims are a minority in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, accounting for less than 10 percent of nation's 80 million people.

Most of the Muslims live on the southern islands. They have historically had legitimate grievances against the central government: discrimination; poverty and lack of development in their areas; and lawlessness that allows powerful warlords to dominate business and agriculture.