china and mishandled the pandemic. this is g.w. news remember you can keep up to date with all the latest on our website that state of utah caught i'm clay richardson in berlin thanks so much for joining us. in the car were all set. to go beyond. that. we're all about the stories that. really. whatever it takes. the running the. public good to know that. you made 4 minds.

in. the search. it was good don't know one mother always burned a place and i said it. really. if i have a minute. i won't join the ice and. this was squashed by an ideology that's foreign to us violent extremism coming in. to the country from

other countries. yes. but never anything. that. gets ugly british a couple says this is just eat i don't cement of a liberation. front in the school of law and in the blink of an eye my children were gone and i will never see them again and that some bearable in south korea but. what the president did raise a good lesson. this is all new to get. from.

whom you mean rude crude. to me. we are on mindanao the 2nd biggest island of the philippines. it's in the south of the country a little smaller than south korea and famous for its natural beauty. this

is also the site of one of the longest running conflicts in asia it's mainly a conflict between the christian majority and the muslim minority more than 100000 have been killed over the past decades. may 2017 saw a catastrophic development the self-proclaimed islamic state also known as i got involved in the conflict. with just a few 100 fighters it seized the mainly muslim town of mirali and held it for 5 months. the consequences were devastating. for. the philippine president rodrigo to taft known for his brutal 0 tolerance approach preceded to bomb the city the witness. we want to find out how it was possible for us to gain

a foothold in the philippines. and. we meet someone who witnessed the battle for. the people thank god it's a joke how can you attack a city. and they cost tens of thousands of people. it's unthinkable but it happened and the terrorism place it's black because it can explode to break out at any time or for not holding look mon is a historian and a member of a powerful muslim family nonetheless he asked to ask the army for permission to accompany us into the center of merari it's now an exclusion zone the city has a population of 200000 that.

is not allowed to enter his house not all the booby traps and explosive devices in the area have been cleared away. soldiers tell us where we may go and how long we may stay people here call the exclusion zone ground 0 tens of thousands have lost their homes. issues to the central mosque. he used to come here a lot stay here and pray for the dead.

artillery mortar our helicopter gunships jet fighters. ever therapists to meet bombs. i was watching you the whole time but much of this stuff in 12 minutes here. there was a time on the 2nd day of think my brother went to channel bautista. and us can to stop the bombings but the army rejected that because they say. they can't handle the situation. fontanes they were not able to handle the situation. taken downtown on may 23rd 2017 government forces responded swiftly and harshly.

in this warfare you have to flush out the enemy from their defensive position. if you look at the experience of. aleppo. all of this experienced bombings but in the case of. the hour when we did the bombings it was been pointed to specific targets only. the battle lasted 5 months more than a 1000 people were killed for the armed forces it was the toughest battle since the 2nd world war i as terrorists took hostages and murdered christians.

desperate terrified people sought shelter are no deano man's property both muslims and christians. i was not afraid i just want to make sure that everybody is safe i don't care about death i was ready to die. i don't know i did not fear death because. you know i was schooled you know really just so. the situation. will never think about that as an enemy. if it's god's will that you die you die if it's god's will that you really believe even if you're. right in the middle of more solar or in damascus or where. after 12 days of siege food and water were running out in morocco we.

look man whose nickname is norway decided to flee with those he had been sheltering . in front of the building. a boy was blocking my path. i was right in that. ring and then when i got near. he recognized me and said no way. and i said what are you doing here i know you. are what are you doing here. i fired him and he's even so proud of it and then after that he said this is no way let's let them pass let them pass so. when i pass by a bear i saw some snipers there in that building. bullets in their guns. were looking at me as it did. but this they stopped firing and i felt so happy i mean you cannot explain experienced that in any other situation but. i i felt that

elation i think that it's almost divine. i'm still alive and the people are alive nobody got hurt that's ok thank god. look man became the hero of harare he led more than $150.00 civilians to safety. in parts of the city that were not destroyed life looks like it is back to normal though martial law is still in force throughout mindanao. here stopped repeatedly at military checkpoints.

i. wanted posters for suspected terrorists are everywhere. who are they. and what do they want. we meet abdul he was recruited at the age of 17 he didn't have a job i asked offered him money and a gun he says he trained in the jungle alongside local and foreign fighters. says unless audiences but those in the company taught us what the qur'an says that is an eye for an eye. and we have the right to take revenge but i know i don't for instance i've been in. the i.a.s. commanders launched the attack earlier than planned abdul wasn't in morocco at the time. you know.

when we heard that they had started fighting those of us outside. and we discussed how to get to the center. i mean. that i mean we tried 7 times we even used motor boats to try to get in from the lake but it didn't work but it. passed information about the movement of government troops to his eye as comrades inside the besieged city by cell phone he tells us that 40 of his friends were killed none the less he could imagine joining battle again. so. we have an advantage because we young people just blend in with the population. the military can't easily identify which of us are fighters who know

how to use a gun and having the. fight there or not only coming home. because . i wouldn't fight in iraq and. any other muslim area the same thing would happen again. muslim people with. but if the battle took place somewhere else i would join somalia. is out of a job again and he's disappointed about losing the battle and about the empty promises i said made. the leaders of the i.a.s. finder's in my role we were 2 brothers omar and abdullah mounted. members of a powerful clan they are revered as heroes by their young followers. but most

muslims on mentor now have no sympathy for the ideology of the so-called islamic state other can share reef is a leading figure in the local muslim community he knew the mountain brothers because of his long beard he has been dubbed bin laden as in osama bin laden. 'd sharif likes the nickname even though he says he is opposed to violence and said that to the local fighters. sitting me in my house and convincing me to join them sometimes they told me please join us we will make you us our army. yes and you will make us our leader actually when you have talking with me but they have been letting me join us because we

cannot trust in them or people have been governments because they are always betraying us yes so that's why i did become. bad because. sharif did not join the group led by the mountain brothers he told them he could not fight because he had heart disease. islamic state called on its sympathizers around the world to support them out to brothers in the battle on mindanao. to make . a try at the it is impossible because even you. were in this water but i laid a pretty big go but i mean we're not allowed to hop if you see have been in iraq. doing. anything so what. do you loose. i'm sorry for run

several religious schools in morocco way he says the kind of islam they teach is peaceful and has nothing in common with i.s.i. the ology. he tells us that muslims here are concerned to maintain their own culture independence is not a priority in fact he says many muslims in iraq we had actually voted for do character. and yet it was the president himself he continues who provoked the attack on the city. what our brazilian did is good but did you ok you can board the one and borg. actually in may on opinion this is the part of the i.c.c. but goldberg the go betterment or self as

a pawn because did not allow us to negotiate. that. we accompany show relief to midday prayers in the mosque. so if. muslims make up just 5 percent of the philippine population the majority are catholics almost all the muslims live on and you know all. sharif says that many here feel marginalized and abused by the philippine government a feeling only confirmed by the bombing of. as

a result of the conflict and the destruction tens of thousands fled the city. we visit one of the many camps set up for the displaced. is a widow and used to run a small shop downtown she has 8 children since the battle erupted she hasn't seen 4 of them. and you know when i won a lot of my strength comes from allah only from allah he keeps me alone. when tapping. before i could hear my children's voices but not anymore. before in the middle of the night at 1 in the morning i could hear them crying for help but

now i can't hear them anymore my children are too far away already i can no longer hear their voices. normal. the 4 who have gone missing 3 girls and a boy were all in qur'an school when the fighting began. fatima and the 4 children still with her are tormented by thoughts of what might have happened to the others were they seized by the i s fighters are they long dead . honest. i'm trying to hide my suffering from my other children. it turns when i pray to god to ask him to take my knowing. that when i see my children. i still so young.

although about going to go my request and instead ask him to give me more years to live the good when the young. ones. who couldn't do for. most of the children in the displaced persons camp still go to school most of the families are poor. family an important person has come to visit some miracle talk she's running for the senate and if she wins she will be the 1st muslim senator in a quarter of a century she's critical of the way to turn take conducted the campaign to retake

or just. that's not liberation of all this is just a kind of announcement of our liberation but the real liberation is not living in this kind of the way is right this is not the way we were there is not the kind of life we want this is not the kind of freedom that we want for children missing amongst 1000 people missing is not an achievement it is a moral disaster it's in funny it is infamy for us. that can never be repaired. nobody knows how many civilians were killed during the siege. so mere a good talk takes a. to a mass grave outside of town. it's not known who is buried here. none of the victims were ever identified.

is an example of discrimination of not allowing traditional indigenous mediation systems if we keep on making peacekeeping as a decision of only men in uniform and the national with local civilian population on it will always be a lock and failed experiment it's a failed decision tomorrow is a failed decision it cannot be any more used as a template for any other. the following day we have an appointment with the largest muslim rebel group on mindanao the moral islamic liberation front or m i l f we are told to follow the black pickup in front into territory controlled by the group.

for decades the rebels fought for independence from the central government in manila many thousands were killed in the fighting. a wait wait wait wait. but since i has burst onto the scene the former arch enemies the front and the government have become strategic allies. ringback we lead a rebel leader who played a key role in dialogue with the government under successive presidents. god's only jaafari tells us of his determination to establish an atomic homeland for his people bangsamoro. negotiations lead to a deal codified in the bungs

a more organic law the basis for the new bangs and morrow autonomous region in muslim mindanao with its own parliament government budget and islamic legal system . what is the reason why this model recedes how is this because of its injustice this young people are never fed up. that's why i and then here come the group which is more militant. opponents there. of course are in awe. and they isis. and they isis. plain to find out. who can be. there to be our ally. outside of the middle east. and. they believe. mindanao or a place. can't meet their eye because. the

muslims are not satisfied but example are there so much corruption. and overall. and miss marr administration. narration the development. we're allowed to visit the headquarters of the military wing of the liberation front. follows yes sir. the chief of staff isn't in uniform a sign perhaps of the shift from armed struggle to political action and

responsibility. we ask what might happen if the project of autonomy doesn't go well . there may be day. people or maybe a saudi leads us but our committee really did a lot of people really become diminished the time that the isis with. the station. all the followers of the old joe in for their good will and the time that they had become bigger. for the liberation front has a lot of support among the muslim world poor many believe their ancestors were victims of a historical injustice committed by christians the spanish an american colonists and the philippine government in manila. the prospect of autonomy and peace has

given the people here new hope. the m i l f says it will disarm up to $30000.00 fighters once autonomy for the muslim majority region is implemented. what if not then they start the square with them and we will not. the commission our forces and we will not also give up our fight arms which we promised that a government. of. the rebels take us on patrol. out in the marshes here there are still fighters loyal to i.a.s. lying low. we have the impression the m.i.l.f. men want to show that they are still in charge as if to say without us there can be

no peace on mindanao. the movement's leaders evidently think highly of president hu territory for advancing peace but also because he too is from mindanao and has muslims in his family. history as you see it in diffuse process that's why i really thought i was president the deputy because obey his pronouncement his action. all these. attributed the words have been displaced that's why really but i suppose it is that . we ask ourselves who does the land really belong to to the muslims whose ancestors settled on mindanao in the 13th century or 2 the christians who came much later but now account for the majority of the island's population.

we visit the village of mali 100 families live here they're all catholic. the only dust to combat looks after the small chapel the villages within the new bangsamoro autonomous region. possibility. and. my worry is that we just don't know. if we go to the town hall for example we don't

know what will happen to us when the muslims are in poland and what they can do to us. given the money and the long i mean what sam malone said to all in that book i know that's why i'm scared when our date is in town and not christians. or in a. magical guy did that mean i'm a good i don't know enough cause i'm afraid that my robbery will happen again i saw what happened in mirali the city was destroyed and our livelihood would also be destroyed if this were to happen somewhere here in our area that we let the deadly danger come it was a lot more to him we've got we've got easier life here. we don't want to be evacuated we don't want to life without direction and they don't like

a muscle in the mine but with the man i mean and that's what i'm really stood by. which is what. we're hearing. the villagers are descendants of christian settlers from the north most of whom came here while the philippines was under u.s. control which only ended in 1906. many here don't trust muslims of course you know they don't but don't let muslims come to our village says no problem but when we go to where they are they want to cut off our heads well let me in. the middle of you know melissa long as that's why we don't want them to rule in our community vigilance on them but that's the attitude of muslims is very different from our christian attitude we're standing by live. on money it's terrifying. what will happen to our children when we have to live under muslim broke. muslims and christians are different but the love of the mother wasn't just

simply had not begun. and once the muslims rule they will make us their slaves and steal our harvest. among a number of them. after church on sunday in a nearby village it's time for some cock fighting. it's a bloody spectacle and a favorite pastime for many in the philippines mainly among christians.

muslim religious leaders and the moral islamic liberation front disapprove not of the cruelty but because it involves gambling.

we reached the biggest city in mindanao. president was mayor here for more than 20 years. this is where he began his notorious war on drugs seemingly deploying the police as extrajudicial hitman. estimates of the number of people killed ranged between 502-0000. the next morning we meet an old friend and confidant of the president his who stood

a sec. he invited us to see his fish farm. because so this is where i heard my money beyond what they are earning over there and more here we go from here. oh he's a busy politician so he heads back to the city. we arranged to meet him again later. is a mainly catholic city and it's striking how prosperous it appears to be compared to

muslim communities on mindanao it is also considered the safest and cleanest city in the country. many say that's thanks to run the territories ten-year as mer. case used to raise some agrees we need him again at his waterfront resort he says to tell is a man of action not words watch out for only what the das the option that it takes that is how you measure him don't measure him by what comes out from the small he's doing to be unprecedented when he was mayor here for more than 20 years in this city that plus his way of doing things and he had to do it hands on you know i he's my friend. during night time during times when there are high incidence of holdups drivers he would drive a taxi himself. how about gun ready and drive and go to places where holdouts are

usually happening here once also will be held up because he can personally counter them in his own way drugs corruption bile and extremists if you handle them with kids gloves and all that maybe you will just prolong the agony. for you but i want to research does p.r. for do terror tape when ever he can. for many years he was presidential peace and visors he explains the peace plan for mindanao to a group of visitors many of whom are fans of the president. was easily. derisive says it's a very western point of view to accuse the territory of abusing human rights and

argues that paternity is so popular because he both pursues reconciliation and embody toughness as he demonstrated with respect to morale we. it is a strong signal to the bad guys that don't bear around with this country have been in the peace process under several presidents and we have not moved as far as we have this time the president feels that we can improve as a nation if we try to give more authority and power to the locals. we head back to murali to meet nordin look mom again. he shows us the small museum that his family sponsored. heat.

in. the central exhibit is a painting depicting a battle between muslims and spanish colonizers who arrived in the 16th century and were the 1st christians to settle in mindanao. what happened in maori city is a continuation of the colonial war against our people. and that is for us happening now. and until. they see a circle any more city has the end result. and healthfully. we can resolve this peacefully without going through a war. that i said.

look man says he's going to run for deputy governor political developments over the coming months will prove decisive. for. the home little that. he views the prospect of autonomy for muslims in the region as an opportunity to overcome old enmities. but as a historian he's all too aware of a long history of conflict of many centuries or many decades for many generations. most of the problems that are being solved in mindanao has to go to war. every don't want war and war but if it comes then so be it.

at the end of our trip we take part in a ceremony to mark the start of reconstruction in the wrong way well over a year after the brutal battle for a little while only. cut it out how. the event had been postponed several times so that president deter take credit tend. but in the end he doesn't show up. we leave mindanao with the feeling that regional autonomy will not amount to much unless the muslim minority see real improvements in their everyday lives. enduring poverty and discrimination would only keep the threat of islamist terror alive and render peace an empty promise her. first.

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