US commander tells Filipinos: Do not be ‘hostages’ of history

JOLO, Sulu — A top US commander appealed yesterday to residents of this island province "not to be ‘hostages’ of the historic 1906 Bud Daho Battle" that killed thousands of Tausugs, mostly women and children, for their defiance of the US colonial rule.

Col. James Linder, commander of the Joint Operations Special Task Force in the Philippines, made the appeal after a Catholic priest here urged the US government to issue an apology to the people of Sulu, who commemorated the centennial anniversary of the Bud Daho Battle (Battle of the Clouds).

Fr. Romeo Villanueva, who has been assigned in the province since 1998, said an apology from the US government would help heal the wounds inflicted by the Bud Daho Battle and bring peace to the province.

"If the American government wants peace they can make it during this centennial anniversary of the Bud Daho massacre. A statement of apology for what happened will be good if the US will admit that there was a mistake in the killing," Villanueva said during an inter-faith dialogue attended by Linder, US Embassy officials and two American Muslim leaders.

Linder did not give a categorical answer on a possible apology but said that the US government is trying to make a difference in the province through humanitarian missions to bring peace and development.

For his part, Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer Stephen Ashby of the US Embassy in Manila, gave assurances that the apology being sought by the community will be conveyed to the US government through its diplomatic mission.

"Americans prevent loss in civilian lives and it is something we try to avoid. It saddens me it (Bud Daho Battle) happened. When something goes wrong, the government and the military are accountable. I will convey your message to the people at the embassy," Ashby said.

Linder added that the works of the US forces, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the province are aimed at bringing peace.

Tausug moros honored and remembered the 1,000 men, women, and children, who were killed by American soldiers at the foot of a mountain known as Bud Daho on March 6, 1906 in a week-long program.