US embassy cable - 05MANILA2991

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MANILA 002991 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
STATE FOR EAP, EAP/PMBS, AND EB/WAYNE 
STATE FOR S/CT/CHANDLER, INR/EAP 
STATE FOR DS/DSS/ATA/VANCIO, SCHNAIBLE, AND SCHEEL 
CIA FOR CTC 
NSC FOR GREEN 
DOD/ISA/AP FOR ALLEN 
CDRUSPACOM FOR JIACG-CT/CURTIN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2015 
TAGS: PTER, ASEC, EFIN, PINR, PREL, RP 
SUBJECT: DESIGNATION OF THE RAJAH SOLAIMAN MOVEMENT AS A 
FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION 
 
REF: A. TD-314/30582-04 
     B. TD-314/31184-04 
     C. TD-314/17506-05 
     D. TD-314/17434-05 
     E. TD-314/65734-03 
     F. MANILA 2356 
     G. TD-314/27849-02 
     H. MANILA 804 
     I. TD-314/37110-04 
 
Classified By: (U) Political Officer Paul O'Friel 
for reasons 1.4(b), (c), and (d). 
 
1.   (S) Summary and Action Request. The Rajah Solaiman 
Movement (RSM) has emerged as one of the most dangerous 
terrorist groups in the Philippines.  Its members have been 
involved in the 2004 Superferry 14 bombing, the synchronized 
2005 "Valentine's Day" attacks in Manila, General Santos, and 
Davao, and plots against the US Embassy and other Western 
targets in Manila.  Post recommends the Department of State 
designate RSM as a foreign terrorist organization and pursue, 
in cooperation with US Treasury and the Department of 
Justice, the blocking and seizure of any of its assets under 
Executive Order 13224.  We also recommend designation of two 
key individual RSM leaders and one of its principal members. 
We recommend the Department of State consider pursuing, in 
cooperation with the Philippine government, the inclusion of 
RSM on the UN 1267 Committee's sanctions list.  End Summary 
and Action Request. 
 
IRREFUTABLE INVOLVEMENT IN TERRORISM 
------------------------------------ 
 
2.  (S/NF) RSM is the operational arm of the Balik Islam 
Unity Congress movement led by Mariano Ahmad Lamarda. 
Lamarda, a RSM member, has been directly implicated in plots 
to bomb US Embassy Manila.  He ordered two operatives to pose 
as visa applicants to surveil the Embassy for a bombing 
attack (refs A and B).  RSM adherent Renendo Cain Dellosa 
fabricated and planted the explosive device aboard Superferry 
14 that killed over 100 Filipinos on February 27, 2004 in 
what was the largest terrorist attack in the Philippines and 
the second largest terrorist attack in Asia after the Bali 
bombing.  RSM also was implicated in the February 14, 2005 
"Valentine's Day" bus bombing in the Manila suburb of Makati 
that killed four people and wounded 87 others.  Additionally, 
RSM operative Jolo Sarda admitted that the 18 improvised 
explosive devices, 400 kilograms of sulfur chloride, and 200 
kilograms of potassium chloride recovered by the Philippine 
military on March 23, 2005 were intended for an operation to 
kill US citizens by detonating a car bomb in the Malate 
neighborhood of Metro Manila (refs C and D). 
 
DIRECT LINKS TO JI AND ASG AND FUNDING FROM AL-QAIDA 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
3.  (S/NF) RSM has direct links to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and 
the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).  The RSM bombers who perpetrated 
the Superferry 14 and Valentine's Day bombings trained under 
the tutelage of ASG and JI experts in Mindanao (ref E), and 
RSM carried out the Superferry attack under the direct orders 
of ASG leader Khadaffy Janjalani.  (Note: Reportedly, one of 
the wives of RSM founder Ahmed Santos is the sister of ASG 
leader Khadaffy Janjalani.  End note.)  Sheik Hamoud Mahmoud 
Al Lahem, an official in the NGO Islamic Studies Call and 
Guidance (ISCAG) and an associate of Mohammad Jammal Khalifa 
(the brother-in-law of Usama Bin Laden), has provided direct 
support to RSM, as has Saudi financier Muhammad al-Sughayir, 
a suspected al-Qaida associate (ref F).  A May 3, 2002 PNP 
raid on RSM established madrasahs in Luzon uncovered 
documents that provided substantial evidence linking RSM to 
the ASG and al-Qaida (ref G). 
 
EMBRACING JIHAD TO ISLAMIZE THE PHILIPPINES 
------------------------------------------- 
 
4.  (S) According to Philippine National Police (PNP) 
reports, RSM, which is named after a Muslim chieftain who 
fought Spanish conquistador Miquel de Legaspi, was founded by 
Ahmed Santos, a Philippine Christian who converted to Wahabi 
Islam while working in Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s.  Upon 
his return to the Philippines in 1993, Santos established the 
Fi Sabilillah Dawah Muslim Foundation to promote Islam among 
fellow Filipinos who converted while working in the Middle 
East (the so-called Balik Islam, or "Return to Islam" 
movement - ref H).  Using money from Arab sponsors, Santos 
built a mosque and Muslim community center in the northern 
Metro Manila neighborhood of Cubao, and hosted the "Discover 
Islam" radio and television program to spread his propaganda. 
 
 
5.  (S) Becoming increasingly more radicalized and influenced 
by Salafist thinking, Santos embraced a broader goal of 
Islamizing the entire Philippines, and created the Jihad Fi 
Luzon (JFL) movement based in the central Luzon provinces of 
Tarlac and Pangasinan.  JFL transformed itself into RSM in 
2001 as Santos began to espouse violence as a means of 
obtaining his objective.  Examples: 
 
--  (S) Santos established two training camps at madrasahs in 
Tarlac and Pangasinan to teach aspiring militants to handle 
small arms and explosives; 
 
-- (S/NF) In January 2001, Santos contacted Moro Islamic 
Liberation Front (MILF) elements in Mindanao to arrange 
training in bomb-making skills with JI and ASG operatives in 
order to carry out operations in Manila (ref I); 
 
-- (S) RSM began to use the Muslim community center in Cubao 
as a center for screening and enlisting potential recruits 
for training with the JI and ASG in Mindanao; 
 
-- (S) RSM established connections with the radical ISCAG, 
the Islamic World-Wide Mission (IWWM), the Islamic 
Information Center (IIC), and the Darul Hijra Foundation 
(DHF), all of which have links to al-Qaida. 
 
GRP AUTHORITIES SUPPORT DESIGNATION AND 1267 LISTING 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
6.  (S) GRP authorities have voiced alarm about RSM's growing 
strength.  Malacanang Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor 
expressed concern to Poloff about the movement's expanding 
presence in Manila and Luzon and its access to foreign 
financing.  The ability of RSM members to "blend in" due to 
their Christian origins is a major worry.  Separately, Police 
Chief Superintendent Ismael Rafanan, the Director of the 
PNP's Intelligence Group, noted the PNP has recommended the 
GRP formally declare RSM a terrorist group and arrest its 
leadership, who have thus far used a web of allies to avoid 
imprisonment.  National Intelligence Coordination Agency 
Director General Cesar Garcia separately said designating the 
RSM as a terrorist group would send a powerful signal to the 
organization's foreign financiers and create a "firewall" 
between the legitimate and illegitimate wings of Balik Islam. 
 All three officials indicated strong willingness to work 
with US counterparts on building a case for joint 1267 
designation, which could use unclassified court documents. 
Because RSM is Luzon-based, designation would likely not 
impact the GRP-MILF peace negotiations, they agreed. 
 
DESIGNATING NAMED INDIVIDUALS 
----------------------------- 
 
7.  (S) Designation of RSM should also include the following 
named individuals: 
 
Ahmed Santos, (AKA Ahmad Santos, AKA Abu Lakay, AKA Jetty 
Santos, AKA Ahmad Islam Santos, AKA Hilarion Del Rosario 
Santos), Chairman of the Rajah Solaiman Movement; 
 
Dawud Santos (AKA Tyrone Santos, AKA Dawoud Santos, AKA Dawud 
Muslim Del Rosario Santos) brother of Ahmed Santos and the 
Rajah Solaiman Movement's Chief of Military Affairs and 
Commander of the RSM's Special Action Group/Rajah Solaiman 
Revolutionary Movement; and, 
 
Mariano Ahmad Lamarda (AKA Mariano Lomarda Y Mutia, AKA Ahmad 
Dimplalado, AKA Ahmad Lomarda, AKA Nonoy Lomarda), leader of 
the Balik Islam Unity Congress and member of the Rajah 
Solaiman Movement. 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
MUSSOMELI