I found this an interesting article. Duterte: Abu Sayyaf are not criminals Personally, I find the killing of innocent people reprehensible regardless of how misunderstood someone is. Just sayin........ What do you think Duterte's end game is here? Probably should be in news, but not sure how to move so feel free mods.
he said the Abu Sayyaf—a group known for bombings, extortion and assassination—resorted to violence because “they were driven to desperation.” Read more: Duterte: Abu Sayyaf are not criminals Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook What are they desperate for ?? If it is to live as Muslims under Muslim law it's easily solved, move to a Muslim country, i hear Syria is looking for people as a lot have left / died lately.
My guess would be money/land, influence and power. Same as pretty much every political/religious group. Drugs = Evil = Kill them all no questions asked Kidnapping + demanding ridiculous ransoms + chopping off heads when ridiculous ransoms cannot be met = Misunderstood and driven to desperation = Talk it out and give them more land
Just another take, and in no way condoning Abu Sayaafs actions, it crossed my mind that he might be doing a Northern Ireland thing here. Bring 'em around the table, see if we can solve it type of thing. It worked in the UK in the 1980/90s...and boy were there atrocities committed by both sectarian sides at home. Pretty similar to some of the excesses seen here. Won a couple of folks Nobels as far as I remember. C
He may also merely be pointing out, and letting "them" know he understands why people may have joined and that not everyone that has joined is going around kidnaping and killing people. Everyone in the organization is not a criminal, just the criminals are.
I've said the same elsewhere. It's a political fig leaf. If you insist that someone is pure evil, they won't want to negotiate with you on that basis. If you negotiate with someone you say is pure evil, your own side is going to question why you are negotiating with "pure evil".
Thanx for the agrees boys, let's just stand back n watch what happens. Hoping for peace in this region. Cheers, C
