Terrorism Out Of Place In The Millennium - Roses And Thorns

We were looking forward to the millennium being the start of the Information Revolution. To our disillusionment, it seems as if what we are getting is not more information but more terrorism. The sad part is that it seems to be a world-wide phenomenon.

The situation in Mindanao was bad enough. As we have repeatedly said kidnapping and killing is not condoned by Islam. Now, we have senseless terrorism even in places like the National Museum in Manila and Glorietta Mall in Makati. In the former Finance Building that has become a part of our National Museum, a guard found a time bomb. In the Glorietta, a bomb exploded wounding innocent children. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombs which means that the persons responsible for the bombs merely want to create an atmosphere of fear. Obviously, there are people who want the people to feel that there is no safety anywhere. If you can't even visit a museum or shop in a mall where can you feel safe? We just hope that Philippine National Police manages to identify the individuals or groups behind these senseless attempts to injure innocent people.

The Department of Education has announced that in certain parts of Mindanao, Christian teachers will have to be withdrawn from service because they may be taken as hostages by Muslim bandits. We hope that there are enough Muslim teachers to take their place. We cannot deprive the Muslim youth of education. They are precisely the disadvantaged groups in Mindanao who need education the most. They are as much victims of the Muslim bandits as the foreign and Christian hostages now held by the Abu Sayyaf camp.

In Mindanao, terrorism is now a military problem. In Metro Manila, it is a police problem. It will not be easy for the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to track down the persons who are planting bombs in public places. Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora was right in advising the public to stay calm. The public should take extra precautions to avoid being victims of senseless bombings but they should continue with their normal day-to-day activities.

It is indeed sad that this spate of terrorism is coinciding with the millennium. We hope it is a passing phase. The Information Revolution should prevail in our times. And with information, we should have the correct values. Then, it will add up to wisdom and there will be no room for meaningless violence.