Frontline World

PHILIPPINES - Islands Under Siege, June 2003


Related Features THE STORY
Synopsis of "Islands Under Siege"

REPORTER'S DIARY
On the Front Lines in Mindanao

A CONFLICTED LAND
Rebellions, Wars and Insurgencies in the Philippines

FACTS & STATS
Population, Government, Economy

LINKS & RESOURCES
Muslim Rebels, U.S. Presence, Politics

MAP

REACT TO THIS STORY

   

A Conflicted Land: Rebellions, Wars and Insurgencies in the Philippines
1898-1933: America’s Colony 1934-1964: War and Independence 1965-1986: The Marcos Years 1987-2003: Reform and Rebellion


Introduction: Behind the Headlines

After September 11, the Bush administration responded forcefully to help the Philippines combat its homegrown "terrorists" -- the Muslim separatists who have turned the island of Mindanao into a battleground and have pledged to fight Americans. This is hardly the first time the Philippine government has confronted a rebel group within its own borders. Nor is it the first time the United States has become deeply involved in a bloody conflict in the nation. Follow the trail backward to understand how these two countries have become linked in a violent fight against insurgencies -- again.

Filipino poet Maria Fatima Lim once described her homeland as a nation of people shouting at each other. With more than 84.5 million people speaking more than 100 languages, the Philippines is anything but quiet. Its people are spread across a vast archipelago of 7,100 islands and live in environments that range from jungle villages to overcrowded, media-saturated cities. Filipino culture is a swirl of Roman Catholicism (with Muslim and tribal minorities), American pop culture, hyperactive commerce and seemingly unquenchable peasant rebellions.

Holding together such a sprawling, contradictory society has never been easy. The United States knows this as well as anyone. At the end of the 19th century, it claimed the Philippines as a colony and fought a guerilla war against Filipino rebels. The ensuing history of the Philippines -- its shaky democracy, its armed insurrections and its ongoing economic troubles -- has been marked by a recurring U.S. military presence and political influence. As a new century begins, the United States is still deeply involved in the Philippines -- and the stakes are higher than ever.

NEXT - 1898-1933: America's Colony

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Dave Gilson is a journalist in Berkeley, California.

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