Yes, there was a bomb attack on the Philippine embassy in Jakarta. Seemed aimed at the ambassador, and nearly got him. A spinoff from the renewed fighting in my old stomping grounds down in Mindanao, where the Muslim population wants to secede. That's putting it very simply: it is less an organized secession movement than a diverse and largely disconnected group of rebels, bandits, kidnap-for-ransom gangs, etc., operating under the loose purpose of making as large a mess as possible, and making as much money as possible in the process. Financial and technical support from the bin Laden group, which isn't helping much. Big rash of kidnappings lately, including a rather dramatic one, in which the locals popped down to Malaysia by boat and raided a posh dive resort, taking a bunch of tourists hostage. Some journalists who came down to cover that were also snatched, as was Manila's equivalent of Jimmy Swaggart, who went down there with a dozen followers intending to free the hostages with the power of Jesus. That became typically bizarre: Manila-based followers claim the group has nothing to fear, as they have amulets which render them invulnerable to bullets. When the Muslim group holding them was asked about this, they responded "then we will have to behead them, to show them that Allah is more powerful than Jesus". Some hostages have been released; substantial sums have been paid, though denied. The consensus is that when (if) all the hostages (all the foreign ones, at least) are out, there will be a big military crackdown, but I don't expect it to be very effective. The Philippine military doesn't have the resources or logistic capabilities to mount a very effective campaign over such a large area. The local "Christian" population is forming armed vigilante groups with military support; as usual, each side is aiming its attentions mainly at the civilian supporters of the other.
All very ugly, and unfortunately it is beginning to spill over. The current government is more than usually inutile (hardly surprising with a movie actor as President), and persons with specific agendas are taking advantage of the disorder to settle personal scores and create more disorder. Talk of coup d'etat runs about again, something we really don't need, no matter how bad the government is.
I could go on, but you get the picture. Naturally, ordinary life changes not a bit, for those with the luck not to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I once had a bit of a talent for being in exactly that place, which I hope has rubbed off. I'm too old for that stuff.
I'm sure we're better off than the Chechens, although parts of Mindanao probably compare. Sloppy world we live in. |
