 A PEACE advocate group expressed fears Wednesday that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would soon be tagged as a "terrorist" with the reports that their camps are the training grounds and refuge of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist training camps. In a statement to Sun.Star Wednesday, Iligan Peace and Development Advocates Inc. chairman Amer Manaya said there have been several alleged JI terrorist bombers who tagged MILF as one of those who helped them in their ghastly deeds. He cited even Fathur Rohman Al Ghozi, Muklis Yunos and the recent capture of Rohmat also known as Zaki who admitted to be among those who initiated the recent Valentines Day bombings. | "Do any of those liars have lips? I'm asking you, here..." |
Manaya said MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu is not convinced the MILF will ever earn the terrorist tag. | "Terrorists? Pshaw! They're really more of a shadowy paramilitary outfit that trains deep in the jungle, has lots of expensive munitions, uniforms, generous funding from unknown and hard-to-trace sources, and scads of spiritual advisers with very long beards. I don't know what you are trying to imply here, but be careful of what you say. They're also easily humiliated. And you won't like them when they're humiliated." |
He said Kabalu's premise was that US President George Bush has recognized the attempt of these separatist elements to resolve the Mindanao conflict through peaceful negotiation. "It appears that the response of Bush to the late MILF Chairman Hashim Salamat letter was a positive indicator that would rule out the possibility of a 'terrorist' tag on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front," he said. | Can you show us the letter, Amer? Not sure you read properly between the lines. |
But Manaya said assuming that Kabalu is indeed speaking the mind of the leadership of the secessionist front, there is "very little hope that one can expect the MILF is prepared to sit down soon and resume the peace negotiation with the government. Apparently, they have idly lived with the frame of mind that since they have conveyed their intention to talk peace, then the proposal to include them in the terrorist list is a remote possibility," he said. "Somehow along the way, the MILF hierarchy has forgotten that terrorist threats have become a major concern for the Americans," he added. | At least as long as Dubya's the sheriff in town. |
Manaya reiterated how Americans are convinced that the MILF camps have been veritable training grounds for Al Qaeda recruits. He said intentions to resume talks and even talks without achieving an enforceable peace pact are empty rhetoric. | "Peace is a process, y'see." |
"Patience too can be eroded when there are eloquent signs of deception. The delay in the resumption of peace talks since its suspension four years ago negates the intention of the MILF to achieve a permanent and stable peace pact with the government," he said. Manaya believes that each day, some of the remote territories held by the MILF might just be "churning out new trained terrorists." For him, for as long as the main MILF forces are adamant to sign a peace accord, "these fundamentalist elements in their ranks will continue to lend sanctuary to the radical Jemaah Islamiyah and their local clones." | "Er, not that they exist, mind you." |
"How can Eid Kabalu claim that there is no way the MILF be tagged as terrorists? On the other hand, we are convinced that given the time that had lapsed on the effort to craft a peace pact between the MILF and the Philippine government, it is not farfetched now that the US and its European allies are now just about to pin the terrorist tag on them," he said. "We have to brace ourselves up for the worst scenario once this thing happen. It will surely be a bloody confrontation, which we pray should not happen," he added."Oceans and oceans of infidel innocent blood. We're not looking forward to it in the least." |
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