NYT: Duterte's braggadocio partly to blame for Marawi crisis

MANILA, Philippines — American newspaper The New York Times gave President Rodrigo Duterte a stinging rebuke, saying that the chief executive’s braggadocio was partly to blame for the escalation of conflict in the Philippines’ troubled south.

In an editorial, the newspaper said that Duterte’s arrogant and boastful attitude contributed to the seriousness of the situation in Marawi City after he rejected a ceasefire offer from the Maute Group last year.

The paper said that it was already time to scale down the fighting and start negotiations with the militant groups.

“Mr. Duterte’s braggadocio is partly to blame for the escalation of the conflict,” the Times said. “Last year, he rejected a cease-fire offer from the Maute group, which is leading the fight in Marawi. He said in December that when the group pledged to ‘go down upon Marawi to burn the place,’ he responded, ‘Go ahead, do it.’”

Philippine security forces are currently engaged in a protracted battle with Islamist militants in Marawi, an Islamic city of 200,000 on the southern island of Mindanao.

According to government troops, the siege started when government soldiers and policemen tried to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf subleader, who was named “emir” by so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In attempting to arrest the terrorist leader, the military and police encountered strong resistance from both Abu Sayyaf and Maute fighters.

The Armed Forces has since pummeled Marawi City with bombs in an attempt to flush the remaining militants out of the area which has seen most of its residents flee to neighboring towns and cities for safety.

Based on the latest reports, more than 200 people have been killed in the clashes while thousands of civilians are still trapped in the city as evacuation is made difficult by threats of sniper fire from the militants.

The Times said that the use of Duterte’s “strongman tactics” and “brute force” by the Philippine Armed Forces aided by the US military would not address the problems that have fueled militancy in Mindanao, an island of 20 million which has been traditionally beset by secessionist and communist movements.

“But strongman tactics — like Mr. Duterte’s recent threat to declare martial law over the entire country — and a widening military show of brute force aided by the United States will not address the fundamental problems that have fueled militant movements on Mindanao since the 1970s: grinding poverty; lawless zones, where criminal gangs reign; and overcrowded prisons, which are a boon to Islamist recruiters,” the newspaper said.

The Times advised the Philippine government: “The most urgent need now is to ratchet down the fight in Marawi and press Mr. Duterte to restart negotiations with militant groups.”

The New York-based newspaper said that the involvement of the American military, which Philippine officials described as limited to technical assistance, had raised the stake as Duterte was faced with a problem in which foreign fighters, including Malaysians and Indonesians, were already involved.

The paper said that the security problem facing Duterte imperiled the “security of the entire region.”

This is not the first time that the newspaper has criticized Duterte.

In March this year, the paper said that Philippine trading partners should impose tariffs on Philippine goods as the government pursued its bloody war against drugs.

The following month, the Times told the International Criminal Court at the Hague that Duterte was a man who needed to be stopped following the filing of a case against the president in the tribunal.

Then in May, the Times and the Washington Post condemned Donald Trump, the American president, for inviting Duterte to the White House.