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| Southeast Asia |
| Duterte to MILF chief: Surrender, face charges |
| 2003-03-09 |
| Mayor Rodrigo Duterte yesterday urged the leader of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front to surrender and face charges over last weekâs airport bomb attack that killed 21 people in this southern city. Duterte, appointed by President Gloria Arroyo as the âcrisis managerâ to solve the crime, said there were indications that MILF chief Hashim Salamat and his lieutenants ordered the attack. âI believe that Hashim Salamat is a decent man but I would insist that charges be filed and warrants issued against them,â Duterte said over local radio. âProve to us that you are not involved. Just surrender the bombers.â I think he's proven he's not what you'd call a "decent man," but I'm sure Duterte's being polite... MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu on Saturday said rebel leaders have gone into hiding, but denied the attack was the handiwork of the 12,500-strong guerrilla force. Are events with MILF finally coming to a head? Authorities said one of the victims in the explosion was the MILF bomber, who planted the explosives contained in a bag in a crowded waiting shed at the Davao International Airport. Duterte said two weeks prior to the bombing last Tuesday, he received intelligence reports of a MILF terrorist attack in the city. He said he tried to contact Salamat through the rebel chiefâs nephew, Datu Ibrahim Paglas, in nearby Cotabato but was told he was out of the country. In Pakistan? Or in Soddy Arabia? The mayor said he then went to Manila and urged âhigher upsâ including Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, Interior Secretary Jose Lina and national police chief Hermogenes Ebdane to cease talks with the MILF and impose martial law in the south. âTwo weeks ago I raised the alarm to [the Manila government] that there is a movement in Davao that cannot be controlled,â Duterte said. I don't think he was the only one who saw it coming, either... Military southern command chief Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya on Saturday said a joint police-military task force was ready to arrest the MILF leaders but warned of retaliatory attacks. âWe expect there will be additional terrorism but we will respond to it. We will stop the terrorists from further harming the people,â Abaya said. Dire Revenge® is to be expected... Apart from Salamat and Kabalu, those included in the charge sheet were MILF chief negotiator Ghadzali Jaafar and military chief Muhammad Murad. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |