Confront Abu Sayyaf, Daesh as unified force, Asean nations urged

KUALA LUMPUR: Asean should confront the Abu Sayyaf and Daesh as a unified force because these terror groups have become a common threat to the region, said an expert on terrorism.

Assoc Prof Dr Aruna Gopinath, the desk officer on South East Asian Studies at the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, said there is a need for the regional grouping to unanimously decide on action to be taken against these militant groups, especially Abu Sayyaf which has been recognised by Daesh as ‘a caliphate in the region’.

Asean has to decide whether there is a need for a military offensive against the Philippine terrorist group, she told Bernama.

“We believe in the Asean noninterference policy but this is a common threat now as Abu Sayyaf is not just attacking Malaysia. It’s going everywhere from Thailand to Singapore, and we don’t know what their next move is,” she said.

Touching on the noninterference policy, Aruna said negotiations can only take place when ‘ you are able to talk to somebody but when diplomacy fails, the ultimatum is war’.

“I believe if these people (Abu Sayyaf) are not cooperating, we should go on the military offensive,” she said in commenting on the recent increase in the spate of abductions by the group.

In July last year, Abu Sayyaf senior leader Isnilon Hapilon was seen on social media taking an oath of allegiance to Daesh. Daesh has also declared the Philippines as a caliphate in a video released

We believe in the Asean non-interference policy but this is a common threat now as Abu Sayyaf is not just attacking Malaysia. It’s going everywhere from Thailand to Singapore, and we don’t know what their next move is. Assoc Prof Dr Aruna Gopinath, desk officer on South East Asian Studies

last June in a move seen as an attempt by the group to recruit more fighters from neighbouring countries in the region to fight with them.

Abu Sayyaf came into the picture after they split up with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which was then led by Hashim Salamat following the MILF acceptance of autonomy for the Bangsamoro.

“The group (Abu Sayyaf) tentatively came to power in 1991 led by Abdul Razak Janjalani. They said they were going to carry out the separatism ideology in a very aggressive manner,” said Aruna whose research has focused on the conflict in Mindanao.

She said the militant group then started killing a lot of nonMuslims, especially Christians, and insisted on separatism and ‘thought they could get separated faster through killing, but the government never gave in’.

Abu Sayyaf, which was reported to have started with about 100 followers, today has more than 400 members. Meanwhile, a political analyst at the International Islamic University Malaysia, Dr Maszlee Malik, said the Abu Sayyaf/ Daesh matter has gone beyond the security issue.

“We are in a state of a war of civilisation or propaganda, a war of values and cultures. So, when such a thing happens, we must stand together as one and fight this unwanted barbaric trending that’s coming to our soil.

“It should be a collective effort among civil society, people of conscience to fight this extremism and terrorism because, with their recognition of Abu Sayyaf, they ( Daesh) are now trying to export their sentiments (to this region),” he said.

Maszlee said Daesh has at least 6,000 channels in the social media, including Twitter, Telegram, Whatsapp and YouTube and in various languages, to promote its propaganda and beliefs.

“The Daesh issue must be viewed in a bigger picture. Failure to do so, could result in a very wrong conclusion.

“If we look at the discourse or narrative that’s being used by Daesh and the way they recruit members, it is all on injustice towards Muslims, regardless of where it happens,” he said.

Maszlee said this propaganda will definitely tempt Muslims to subscribe to their fight, “but what they fail to understand is that if they go deeper, what they are doing is causing more trouble to Muslims all over the world.

“You cannot eliminate one wrong with another. So, for simple logic, simple thinking, people cannot understand the underlying facts beneath the propaganda. They (Daesh) are using simplistic propaganda to attract the younger generation, the youths,” he added.