by Cecil Morella
Police officials show a powerful machine gun unearthed as part of a weapons cache in Maguindanao
Philippines arrests 62 after imposing martial law
The Philippines said Sunday it had detained more than 60 people and seized a stunning array of weapons after imposing martial law in a southern province in the wake of a massacre.
A total of 62 people were swept up in raids over the weekend, including 15 taken from a ranch owned by clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Snr where the military found a cache of powerful rifles buried in a grassy area, police said.
Authorities said the decision to impose martial law in Maguindanao province from Friday night was needed to quell a rebellion by the clan, whose leaders were accused of being behind last month's massacre that left 57 people dead.
"Martial law (allowed) the security forces to really go after these suspects who are part of the rebellion, maybe some of whom are possible suspects in the recent massacre," said Andres Caro, the national police chief of operations.
The mass murders occurred on November 23, when 100 Ampatuan gunmen allegedly abducted and shot dead female relatives of a rival politician, plus a group of journalists and civilians, in a remote farming area of Maguindanao. Related article: Philippine massacre suspects rule over squalor .
Ampatuan Snr, the governor of Maguindanao, was detained Saturday along with four other family members in the initial raids following the imposition of martial law.
Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said Sunday that leaders of the clan now in detention would be charged with rebellion.
The rebellion charges are separate from murder cases being prepared against them over the massacre, she said.
"We did not see them plotting against the government, we saw the deed done. They have usurped power from the government there," Devanadera told DZBB radio.
"This is not ordinary chaos taking place in one area, this has an armed component. And there is removal of allegiance from the republic of the Philippines by the leaders of this group."
The Ampatuan family is a Muslim clan that had ruled the province for most of the decade with the backing of private armies and the support of President Gloria Arroyo's ruling coalition.
Justifying the controversial move to impose martial law, the government said large numbers of heavily armed gunmen loyal to the Ampatuans had threatened to attack if the clan chiefs were taken into custody.
The military's operations chief, Major General Gaudencio Pangilinan said troops "are not picking our targets at random." Two additional raids in Ampatuan properties Sunday afternoon however yielded nothing.
He said the military believes that the Ampatuans have about 4,000 loyal armed followers who could "create potential trouble."
"These forces are not only a threat to the public safety and security of the province, they are also capable of committing terrorism, such as bombings, arson and attacks on our convoys," he said.
The government alleged the Ampatuans had illegally amassed an array of military hardware that it was prepared to use in the rebellion.
Thousands of soldiers and police poured into the provincial capital, Shariff Aguak, and other Maguindanao towns after martial law was imposed to detain the Ampatuans and their militiamen, as well as find the weapons. Related article: Farmers flee over fears of violence.
On Saturday, security forces retrieved 340,000 rounds of ammunition, several assault rifles and a home-made armoured car at a warehouse owned by the Ampatuans.
On Sunday, about more 40 firearms, including M16 assault rifles, and dozens of boxes of ammunition were found on a property believed to be owned by Ampatuan Snr, the military said.
The biggest reported discovery came on Thursday when the military found what it said were enough weapons and ammunition to arm two battalions, or 1,000 soldiers, buried in a vacant lot near the Ampatuans' compound of homes.
The military said this finding was one of the triggers for its recommending to Arroyo that martial law be imposed.
One of Ampatuan Snr's sons, Andal Ampatuan Jnr, has already been charged with 25 counts of murder over the massacre. Police last week filed indictments recommending the clan chief and other relatives also be charged.
Police allege Ampatuan Jnr and his gunmen shot dead the occupants of a convoy that included female relatives of his rival for the post of governor in next year's elections, as well as about 30 journalists.
Before the massacre, Arroyo's government had supported the Ampatuans as part of its campaign to use powerful local clans to contain Muslim rebels whose bloody insurgency since the 1970s has left over 150,000 dead.
AFP
