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| Southeast Asia |
| MILF in the middle of a recruiting drive |
| 2005-12-23 |
| Increasing disillusionment with goverment peace treaties has helped raise the ranks of the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front in western Mindanao, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said Friday. Kabalu denied that there was a recruitment drive to beef up MILF troops, adding that the new recruits voluntarily approached Moro field commanders to join the MILF. "What happened here in western Mindanao, in the former territory of the (Moro National Liberation Front), is that a lot of people approached us because they are losing hope in the GRP-MNLF peace agreement. That is not being discussed any more so they are looking for a solution," Kabalu told DZMM. He added: "They are approaching us because they believe that the MILF is continuing their fight." He said the MILF regularly consults community leaders in former rebel strongholds in Tawi-Tawi and Basilan. Kabalu said the MILF was conducting an "information drive" to raise awareness of the peace talks, which the military could have mistaken for recruitment. He added that recruitment of new fighters is not prohibited in the cease-fire agreement between the government and the MILF. Southern Command chief, Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, earlier accused the MILF of secretly training recruits to carry out suicide attacks. The training, he said, puts in doubt the MILF sincerity in the peace talks. Adan said intelligence reports suggested that as many as 4,000 were recruited and trained by rebel forces in at least eight provinces and towns across Mindanao. The training included indoctrination with suicide-attack missions, commando and guerrilla tactics and warfare, and weapons and marksmanship and explosives, he said. Western intelligence had previously linked the MILF to the Jemaah Islamiyah group and the al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden. Townspeople in Tungawan near Zamboanga City told the military that they saw armed MILF rebels training recruits in the hinterlands. Zamboanga City officials also said the MILF was recruiting young men in the Muslim enclave of Taluksangay. An unidentified van driver in Zamboanga City also told police that he drove a big group of MILF recruits from Basilan, Jolo, and Tawi-Tawi last week to the province of Zamboanga Sibugay. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 Where do I sign up!?!? OH, it's THAT MILF... |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2005-12-23 09:57 |
| #3 Maybe Dean, Kabalu AKA "Lipless eddie", and Bagdad Bob were triplets seperated at birth. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-12-23 08:48 |
| #2 I think we've been in agreement here on Rantburg for several years now that Kabalu's propensity for elaborate and often implausible deception with a straight face is rivaled only by that of the former Iraqi information minister. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-12-23 08:40 |
| #1 I find it interesting/ridiculous that Kabalu is blaming the MNLF peace agreement for the JI being there. The MILF is working peace accords with the GRP. This is just more finger pointing and double talk from Kabalu. For the last four years, at least, the MILF, MNLF, and ASG have worked together with the JI in running training camps in Mindanao. The camps are in declared MNLF areas so the military can not go in there. They are protecting the key leaders in those areas and providing logistical support from there as well. The GRP hold some responsibility here for this getting out of control. They have a very passive approach to the issue of the Muzzies. As long as it stays out of Manila, most in power donât care what happens âDown thereâ and prefer to stick their heads in the sand and hide from the issues, or take payoffs allowing this to fester. The opinion is that as long as there is a problem down there the US and Ozzies will continue to pour in money to help fight them. Their fear is as soon as or if they win all the money will dry up. Thus no incentive, at least in their minds, to allow the fighting to end. As long as all this stayed in the PI we should really have no desire to get involved, unfortunately the training is being exported to other countries. The Ozzies are now having to deal with what is being produced from these camps. It wonât be long before we end up tracing the next large AQ attack back through these camps. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-12-23 08:37 |