In 1986, Filipinos, inspired by the French Revolution, brought a bloodless change of government, through “People Power”. As the French motto: “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite”, keep ringing, as the whole world grappled with the reality of the terrorist attacks on innocent, civilians in Paris.
Friday, the Thirteenth , in the month of November, was one such confusing day, as the Breaking News of every major media outlet, informed the World of the gun and bomb attacks of two restaurants, a bar, Pizzeria, a theater with a rock concert, stadium hosting a friendly soccer game between France and Germany.
After 9/11, intelligence officials have lived in fear of this moment. With Friday’s attack on Paris, the world has passed a tipping point in what is sure to be a decades-long battle against radical Islamist terrorism. And, to combat it, from government leaders to citizens – have to move past the fear and partisan politics. The attack, signals a tactical change in Islamist terrorist strategies.
The Paris jihadists struck on soft targets such as restaurants, concerts and sports venues–using small arms and easy-to-assemble bombs–, all obtained from local sources. The first warning came in 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba – a Pakistan-based Islamist group – engaged in a series of shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai. Then in January 2015, attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly newspaper that often lampooned Islam. Two gunmen, who identified themselves as belonging to a group called Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, raided the offices and killed 12 people. The attack sparked a massive global reaction, far more than the response to the Mumbai assault, with marches and public commitments to stand up to terrorists.
President Benigno Aquino expressed concern and condolence, in behalf of the nation, as Filipinos stand with the whole world, in upholding the essence of humanity, condemning in the strongest terms, the barbaric acts in the streets of the City of Lights.
Many Southeast Asian countries are battling their own local insurgencies with defined grievances, like the Muslims in southern Thailand, the Moros of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, or the persecuted Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar. The Islamic State finds recruits for its “jihad” among the pool of the world’s victimized and marginalized young Muslim men — including in Southeast Asia. Now, intelligence-sharing, joint policing, common military force for peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is imperative in facing a common enemy like ISIS — whose barbarity violates every known tenet of Islam. Hundreds of Indonesians, scores of Malaysians, Filipinos, hundreds of ethnic Uighur Muslims from western China, and possibly Muslims from Myanmar and Southern Thailand are now either confirmed or widely believed to have traveled to Syria to enlist with IS as fighters, or have pledged allegiance to the self-styled caliphate in their home countries. If it happened in Paris, it can happen anywhere.
“See something, say something,” is the key to the active involvement of the citizenry against this imminent threat. Pray for peace, let us do our part to avert any possible attack on our way of life.
Be vigilant!
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