Philippines has a long running history of insurgency. From the Japanese era towards the present generation, the Philippine island is still a popular avenue of insurgency and military resistance. Philippines had a number of group of insurgents who became popular at varied eras. The Huk Rebellion was popular during the Japanese era, the New People’s Army became distinct during the Marcos’ regime which also marked the era of Communist struggle, and there came the Islamic separatists and insurgents lead by Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf Group (“Insurgency in the Philippines,” n.d).
The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) is one of the most prominent Islamic separatist groups in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf literally means “bearer of the sword” is a militant separatist organization based in the southern part of the country. ASG is a split faction from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which aims to create a separate Islamic state for the Philippines’ Muslim minorities (“Abu Sayyaf Group,” 2008).
ASG was founded by Abdurajik Janjalani in 1991 after a large part of MNLF membership settled into ARMM, an established political party. It wa during this time that Janjalani gathered all radical members of the MNLF to form the Abu Sayyaf group with the goal of continuing their struggle of forming an independent Islamic state (“Abu Sayyaf Group,” 2008).
The ASG Insurgency
In contrast to the ideologies and principles started by the MNLF, the Abu Sayyaf Group has gone far beyong being radical. Since the conception of ASG until the present days, ASG is known as a violent Muslim separatist terrorist group who engaged in illegal activities such as kidnap-for-ransom, extortion, beheadings, assasinations and bombings. The ASG made use of terror, fear and chaos for monetary profit. They engaged in such illegal activities to be able to finance their pursuit of spreading violence and destruction (Pike, 2006, n.p).
The Essay on Abu Sayyaf Philippine Three Burnham
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) - Philippine forces launched attacks on three southern islands in an effort to wipe out the guerrillas who held a U. S. couple hostage for more than a year, military officers said Sunday. The assaults, which started Saturday after one of the Americans and a Philippine captive died in a rescue attempt, are aimed at the top three commanders of the Islamic militant group ...
The ASG initially operated in the southern part of the Philippines, eastern part of the Mindanao island including Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Basilan (Pike, 2006, n.p).
Until the year 2000, they started to widen their operations in other parts of the Philippines. In 2003, they have started doing their operations in Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao (Pike, 2006, n.p).
In addition, ASG members have also crossed the borders of Sulu Sea towards Malaysia to pursue their kidnapping activities.
The ASG Strength and Downfall
The ASG is largely supported by Jemaah Islamiya (JI).
JI is an international terrorist group, also a widely popular Muslim extremist based in Indonesia. JI is also known with their acts of extortion and ransom. JI is an extension of Al-Qaeda, a more active Islam terrorist group operating the Middle East. Aside from financial assistance which the JI has provided for ASG, they have also extended training and assistance in facilitating ASG terrorist attacks (Pike, 2006, n.p).
Initially, Abu Sayyaf had a core of 200 to 500 members and 2000 extended membership (Pike, 2006, n.p).
This small membership is an indicator that the group is lacking from local community support. However, intensified campaigns launched by the Philippine government with assistance from United States defense greatly weakened the ASG operations. These counterterrorism efforts resulted to the elimination of 124 ASG members and the capture of 38 more members (“Abu Sayyaf Group,” 2008).
Though there was a significant decrease in the ASG membership – from a rough 1,000 members in 2002 to 204 in 2006, the strength and growth of the ASG should still not be taken for granted (“Abu Sayyaf Group,” 2008).
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The ASG Means and Tactics
Upon their establishment, their first ever attack under the leadership of Abdurajik Janjalani commenced in 1991 when an Abu Sayyaf bombing killed two innocent American victims (“Abu Sayyaf Group,” 2008).
And by 1995, the ASG has been infamous for their involvement in massive bombings and attacks in the Philippines which resulted to the deaths of many innocent lives. In 1998, large campaigns set against the group brought about the death of ASG’s first leader Abdurajik Janjalani.
As such, his younger brother Khadaffy Janjalani succeeded the leadership for the ASG. He worked to consolidate the remaining forces of the Abu Sayyaf Group and to further intensify their attacks to destabilize the government in the south. Although the period of consolidation for the ASG meant that they had to appear inactive for a some period, their return to battle equipped them with new tactics that proved to be effective in instilling fear amongst the citizens. During this second phase of their reign, they used hostages aside from the usual bombing which they have previously took part in.
Under Khadaffy’s leadership, the group made use of kidnap for ransom tactics to spread fear while acting as a source of funds for them. In April 2001, one of the greatly publicized incidents was the kidnapping of Jeffrey Schilling. In May 2001, they kidnapped 20 people including three American nationals, wherein one American was beheaded and the other two were held as hostages. Martin and Gracia Burnham’s kidnapping became equally sensationalized and watched by the whole country (“Abu Sayyaf Group,” 2008).
In 2004, the worst terrorist attack Philippines had ever seen happened. Superferry 14 was bombed and destroyed, killing 116 people boarding the ship. The ASG admitted the crime through Cain Redendo Dellosa who planted the bomb in the ship. Investigations made prompting the attack concluded that the explosion was indeed from a bomb. And as such, it was speculated that the attack was due to the fact that WG&A did not comply with the ASG’s demands for “protection money.”
The Essay on Abu Sayyaf
... Islamic fundamentalists. From this core group was born the Abu Sayyaf. Its principal organizer was Abdurajak Janjalani, who was killed in ... National Police. Whatever its goals, the Abu Sayyaf (known also as ASG or Abu Sayyaf Group) announced its existence to the world ... the Philippine National Police has tagged the ASG responsible for several bomb attacks, of which the most serious was the ...
