Just after evening prayers, the cloistered silence of the hilltop Carmelite convent in Marawi City was shattered by shouts and shrieks. Thirteen armed men barged in and took ten Filipino nuns hostage. Less than 24 hours later, another group of men grabbed Brian Lawrence, an American Protestant missionary living at the Mindanao State University near the Carmelite convent.
And so once again, Philippine President Corazon ("Cory") Aquino, fresh from swatting down a mosquito revolution of Marcos supporters in Manila three weeks ago, was confronted with another potentially dangerous crisis. The motives behind last week's snatchings were muddled in the curious combination...
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