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| Southeast Asia |
| MILF bought $2-M worth of weapons from foreign dealer |
| 2003-03-02 |
| THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front bought $2-million worth of weapons from foreign arms dealers. This was disclosed by 6th Infantry Division chief Gen. Generoso Senga during a closed-door briefing with the members of the House Committee on National Defense at Camp Siongco, Awang, Cotabato City last Thursday. Opposition Rep. Rolex Suplico said Senga informed the committee that among the documents recovered by the military in the Buliok Complex was a receipt for the MILF's down payment of $1 million for a $2-million purchase of arms. Wonder who that receipt was from? The committee members received briefing kits that contained the details of the receipt and other voluminous documents recovered from the Buliok Complex. Suplico did not state the names of the arms dealers and their country of origin. The lawmaker said the purchase may have been made in 1999. "The conclusion is that the MILF has money in dollars and they are trying to touch base with foreign arms supplier to supply them with modern weapons," Suplico told The Times. So it would seem. We can guess where the bulk of their money comes from, even though they pick up a few bucks on the side with kidnappings and extortion... The opposition lawmaker saw the need for a thorough investigation to find out how the MILF acquired such a huge sum to buy modern firearms. "I would like to know whether the money was amassed by the MILF from kidnapping and other crimes," he stressed. Or "donated" by Islamic charities, perhaps? Suplico noted that the preliminary conclusion of the briefing was that the Pikit incident, in which 14 civilians died, was initiated by the MILF. The military have identified the rebel group and the Pentagon gang, responsible for kidnappings in the area, as the occupants of the camp, indicating the two have an alliance of some sort. Or that the two are the same, just like MILF and Abu Sayyaf... But the lawmaker said there is not enough reason to conclude that the MILF has absorbed the gang of kidnappers. He cautioned the Arroyo administration to think twice before entering an interim peace agreement with the MILF. "We have to distinguish a kidnap-for-ransom gang and a rebel group first," he said, "so we have to discover (first) whether the MILF and the Pentagon are one and the same." |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #2 âWe have to distinguish a kidnap-for-ransom gang and a rebel group first,â he said, âso we have to discover (first) whether the MILF and the Pentagon are one and the same.â There's a difference??? |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-03-02 20:13:21 |
| #1 wonder if the balance of $1mil was payed off? Washington just sent in the repo guys. |
| Posted by: john 2003-03-02 19:56:12 |