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| Southeast Asia |
| JI maintains underground cross-border ties |
| 2004-09-16 |
| The Jemaah Islamiyah terror network maintains underground, cross-border links in the Philippines even though local Muslim separatists had declared they will no longer shelter them, President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman said Tuesday. "The (JI) threat lurks in the deep underground and there are clandestine connections across our borders but we are closely watching the situation in partnership with vigilant communities and allies in the region," spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement without giving details. Bunye was referring to past warnings of JI members being sheltered in some camps of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), now negotiating peace with Manila. But he declared the JI terror group would "find no hospitable nooks anywhere in the Philippines." The comments came after the MILF said it was inviting members of a Malaysian-led ceasefire monitoring mission to visit their camps in the southern island of Mindanao to check the alleged presence of JI militants. This will also live up to the MILF's commitment as part of the peace process with the government to help Manila flush out armed extremists operating in areas it controls in Mindanao. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |