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| Southeast Asia |
| MILF role in hosting JI eyed |
| 2004-03-09 |
| Security officials said Monday they were investigating if Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels provided training for six Indonesian militants who were reportedly arrested in Malaysia. The Indonesians were arrested two months ago in Sabah for allegedly training in a Jemaâah Islamiyah camp run by the MILF on Mindanao, a senior Malaysian official said Saturday. The Indonesians were being held under Malaysiaâs security laws allowing indefinite detention without trial, the Malaysian official said. If true, the allegation could endanger peace talks between the government and the MILF, the main Muslim rebel group, which has denied links to the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaâah Islamiyah, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said. âWeâre looking at this very seriously because this will have implications on the peace process,â Gonzales said. âThey [MILF rebels] have even promised to help us run after lawless elements.â The Philippines is working with Malaysia to get more details on the Indonesian suspects and what they have told Malaysian investigators, Gonzales said. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied his group allowed Jemaâah Islamiyah militants to train in rebel strongholds, and said the government was to blame if terrorists were in Mindanao. âThey may be here, but not at the pleasure of the MILF,â Kabalu said. âThey sneak through the southern backdoor, and whose job is it to secure these borders?â Gonzales said it was difficult to ascertain the extent of Jemaâah Islamiyahâs presence in the country, but added: âIt would be frightening to assume that theyâre no longer around and suddenly find out otherwise.â A diplomat from a predominantly Muslim country, meanwhile, urged the Philippines to curb the activities of terrorist groups that conduct recruitment operations in Islamic schools as madrasah. The foreign dipomat said Malaysia and Indonesia have been addressing the problems of terrorism by dismantling madrasah that are being used by the al-Qaeda- linked terrorist group Jemaâah Islamiyah (JI). âIn my country, we saw our mistake in ignoring the Madrasah too late. Young Muslims have been trained to hate the government and wage jihad [holy war],â said the diplomat, who requested anonymity. He added: âThe same can happen here, say 10 to 20 years from now. The students will become full-fledged terrorists who will sow terror in the Philippines.â The Islamic diplomat said the terrorists can no longer train new recruits in Indonesia and Malaysia, prompting them to recruit in Madrasah in the Philippines. There are now 3,000 Madaris (plural for Madrasah) in Mindanao which offer subjects on Arabic language and Islam. The Department of Education has been trying to integrate Madrasah teachings into the mainstream curriculum. However, even the local education officials in Mindanao are afraid to go inside the Madaris. He said problems of terrorism should be uprooted by stopping the terrorists from training new recruits. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Malaysia and Indonesia have been addressing the problems of terrorism by dismantling madrasah that are being used by the al-Qaeda- linked terrorist group Jemaâah Islamiyah (JI). The terrorists can no longer train new recruits in Indonesia and Malaysia. This is real progress in the war against terrorism. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-3-9 7:47:33 AM |