Why did the Jabidah Massacre occur - Sabah Notes - Interstate Conflicts - JC History Tuition Singapore

Why did the Jabidah massacre occur?

Topic of Study [For H2 History Students]:
Paper 2: Regional Conflicts and Co-operation
Source Based Case Study
Theme III Chapter 1: Inter-state tensions and co-operation [dispute over Sabah]

Learn more about the historical significance of the Jabidah Massacre on Corregidor Island in the Philippines [Video by Al Jazeera English].

Origins
In the late 1960s, the Marcos administration launched a clandestine operation to infiltrate and sabotage Sabah. In summary, the plan was to reclaim the disputed territory of Sabah from Malaysia.

Contesting claims
These developments can be traced to the territorial disputes between Malaysia and the Philippines. Sabah was endowed with abundant natural resources, producing billions of dollars worth of timber, platinum and gold.

The Philippine authorities asserted that the Sabah territory belonged to the Sultan of Sulu, who ruled from 1666 to 1946. After the Second World War, the British oversaw the decolonisation of Malaya and the creation of the Malaysian Federation that included Sabah (Borneo Territories).

However, the Philippine government insisted that the British ‘rented’ Sabah from the Sultan of Sulu and thus had no right to transfer land rights to Malaysia.

Though Britain included Sabah in the lands for the Malaysian Federation, the British had only been renting Sabah from the Sultan, and did not own it to give away, just as Spain did not own Sulu to sell it to America in 1898. The Sultan and most Moros felt as if someone were selling a horse that did not belong to them. How could the British give away the Sultan’s land, something he had owned 280 years?

An excerpt taken from “Nur Misuari: An Authorized Biography” by Tom Stern.

Given that the Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram II, was unable to pressure the British to reclaim Sabah from Malaysia, he turned to the Philippine government for help. The Sultan transferred his rights of the Sabah territory to Manila, in hopes that the latter would retake Sabah.

On 22 January 1962, Manila opposed a British note and insisted that it had rights to North Borneo. Diplomatic solutions were futile as seen by the outcome of the United Nations-supervised Referendum held on 13 September 1963. While a majority of the people in Sabah and Sarawak voted to join the Malaysian Federation, Manila and Jakarta opposed the results. Notably, this gave rise to the Konfrontasi.

Marcos’ Plan: Oplan Merdeka
In 1968, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos hatched a plan to reclaim Sabah from Malaysia. He authorised the training of recruits, who were mostly Tausug people. By conspiring with their kin in Sabah, Marcos was certain that a civil unrest would ensue.

When that happens, the Sabah people would either secede from Malaysia or Manila would assume full control of the disputed territory.

The secret mission was codenamed ‘Operation Merdeka’ (‘Freedom’). These Muslim recruits were promised to be paid and be a part of the Philippine Armed Forces (AFP). As they were trained in an abandoned hospital, the recruits did not receive the payment as promised.

Eventually, the recruits realised that they were sent to invade Sabah and had to take the lives of their Muslim brethren in Malaysia. Horrified by this revelation, they submitted a petition to Marcos, seeking to expose the ill-treatment and deception by their superiors. Yet, their petition did not reach Marcos.

On 18 March 1968, more than 28 Muslim trainees were killed on Corregidor Island by soldiers of the AFP, sparking the rise of Muslim separatism that destabilised the Philippines ever since.

However, when members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines massacred more than 28 Moro Muslim recruits on March 18, 1968, on the Philippine island of Corregidor (called the Jabidah massacre), the sentiments of the Muslims in the Philippines led to the mobilization of the Muslim population, subsequently leading to the formation of the MNLF, led by the University of the Philippines professor Nur Misuari, that was able to challenge the Philippine state in terms of arms.

An excerpt taken from “The Slippery Slope to Genocide: Reducing Identity Conflicts and Preventing Mass Murder” by Mark Anstey, Paul Meerts and William Zartman.

Join our JC History Tuition to learn more about Inter-state Tensions. The H2 and H1 History Tuition feature online discussion and writing practices to enhance your knowledge application skills. Get useful study notes and clarify your doubts on the subject with the tutor. You can also follow our Telegram Channel to get useful updates.

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Why did the Ten Day War Happen - Bosnian War Notes - Intrastate Conflicts - JC History Tuition Singapore

Why did the Ten Day War Happen?

Historical context: Slovenian Independence
In the wake of Josip Broz Tito‘s death on 4 May 1980 as well as the decline of Communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, the political stability of Yugoslavia was at risk. In addition, the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution and its provisions posed a strong impetus for the decentralisation of power to the republics.

As the former satellites under communist rule in Eastern Europe fell apart, Yugoslavia was increasingly influenced by democratic forces. On 8 April 1990, Slovenia held its first multiparty elections since World War Two. The Democratic Opposition of Slovenia (DEMOS) won the majority, forming the government of Slovenia.

On 25 June 1991, Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia, triggering the start of the Ten-Day War.

In the 1980s, Slovenians demanded the same things Americans asked for in the 1770s: free speech, right to assembly, democracy, and more control over the taxing and spending. They made two mistakes on their way to independence. First, in November 1989, Slovenia prohibited Serbs and Montenegrins from coming to Ljubljana to protest against Slovenia’s constitutional changes. This hypocritically contradicted their demand for free speech and free assembly. […]

Their second mistake was firing a gun. In 1991, Slovenia’s declaration of independence led to a ten-day civil war with Yugoslavia. […] Here’s the Ten-Day War summary: you’re carrying a grenade launcher and you’re fighting a seven-year-old Slovenian boy with a water pistol: “Bang! Bang! You’re dead!” the boy screams. You fall to the ground, pretending to be dead, and the boy declares victory.

An excerpt taken from “The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us” by Francis Tapon.

The military confrontation and the eventual cessation of hostilities
The Yugoslav government rejected Slovenia’s unilateral declaration of independence as seen by its deployment of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) a day later. The JNA surrounded Slovenia, cutting the latter from the outside world. In retaliation, the Slovenian police and Territorial Defense set up barricades by using large transport vehicles. Yet, such efforts were futile as the JNA drove armoured vehicles.

Fortunately, the conflict came to an end with the signing of the Brioni Agreement on 7 July 1991. The European Community (EC) oversaw the peace process that involved representatives of Slovenia, Yugoslavia and Croatia.

Notably, the Agreement called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of JNA forces from Slovenia. Negotiations on the future of Yugoslavia were to commence on 1 August 1991 and that the Yugoslav people were to determine their future.

The Brioni Agreement was significant in that it guaranteed the continued engagement of the EC in the Yugoslav situation through the legal establishment of the European Community Monitor Mission (ECMM). Furthermore, although it effectively suspended Slovenia’s bid for independence for three months, the Brioni Agreement paved the way for Slovenia’s full independence from Yugoslavia by extending a set of EC-issued prerequisites. After the Brioni Agreement was signed, the JNA withdrew its forces from Slovenia but repositioned them in Croatia, where violence continued until 1995.

An excerpt taken from “War in the Balkans: An Encyclopedic History from the Fall of the Ottoman Empire to the Breakup of Yugoslavia” by Richard C. Hall.

A short-lived peace in Croatia and the Start of the Bosnian War
Even after the Brioni Agreement was signed, the international community’s efforts to forestall a Yugoslav war were inadequate. For instance, the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 713 on 25 September 1991 was to impose an arms embargo on all former Yugoslav territories. Yet, the Serb forces used the military equipment of the JNA and the Croat and Bosniak forces gathered their military supplies via Croatia.

In late September 1991, the JNA advanced its forces into the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Mostar, drawing strong protests by the local government. In response, the Bosniaks and Croats clashed with the JNA. By then, the Bosnian War had begun.


Join our JC History Tuition to learn more about the Bosnian War under the theme of Conflict and Cooperation. The H2 and H1 History Tuition feature online discussion and writing practices to enhance your knowledge application skills. Get useful study notes and clarify your doubts on the subject with the tutor. You can also follow our Telegram Channel to get useful updates.

We have other JC tuition classes, such as JC Math Tuition and JC Chemistry Tuition. For Secondary Tuition, we provide Secondary English Tuition, Secondary Math tuition, Secondary Chemistry Tuition, Social Studies Tuition, Geography, History Tuition and Secondary Economics Tuition. For Primary Tuition, we have Primary English, Math and Science Tuition. Call 9658 5789 to find out more.

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