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| Southeast Asia |
| Filippino military urges MILF to purge JI |
| 2004-09-13 |
| The Philippine military has asked the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to rid its ranks ofthe al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist elements even as it announced next month's arrival of an international team thatwill monitor the cease-fire agreement with the MILF. "We hope the MILF will keep its promise to clean its areas of terrorists," the Philippine Star daily Monday quoted military spokesman Daniel Lucero as saying. "We hope they will do it well so that central Mindanao (in the southern Philippines) will no longer be a haven for terrorists particularly those from JI." Intelligence reports persist that a number of operatives of the Southeast Asian regional terrorist network are being coddled by the MILF, particularly at the rebel lair in Mount Kararaw in the southern province of Lanao del Sur where local terrorists are reportedly being trained. But Lucero hinted that the MILF leadership headed by Al Haj Murad is not aware of the situation. He said it is possible that the terrorists are being coddled by MILF factions, which are opposed to the peace process. "The way we see it, the MILF is not a one organization. There are many factions here that are not supporting the peace process so it is now in the hands of the MILF to enforce what was agreed upon and signed agreement by both sides," he added. At the same time, Lucero said the main body of the International Monitoring Team may arrive in the country also next month. He said the team would be led by Malaysians but said the nationalities of the other team members were not yet known. The advance party of the team arrived in Manila Friday to checkon the administrative and logistical requirements of the main body. They will also visit five key cities in Mindanao where the team will set up satellite offices. The nine-man advance team of Malaysians -- eight military men and a policeman -- will fly to Mindanao after paying a call on Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz and military chief General Narciso Abaya and foreign affairs officials Monday. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 If the MILF cannot rid itself of the JI 'elements' as it has promised -- its pretty obvious that it would not be able to live up to its part in any 'peace agreement'. I think Arroyo (the Philippine president) knows this and doesn't care as long as there is the 'appearance of progress'. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-09-13 9:13:11 AM |