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| Southeast Asia |
| Abu Sayyaf helping JI enter Mindanao - MILF |
| 2006-06-05 |
| The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) yesterday said it was the Abu Sayyaf, not a Malaysian militant group, that helped Jemaah Islamiyah members enter the Philippines through Mindanao. Earlier, Malaysian police officials said at least seven JI suspects, including Bali bombing masterminds Dulmatin and Omar Patek, slipped into Mindanao with the help of a group called Darul Islam between 2003 and March 2006. But Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesperson, said it was actually the self-styled Islamist group Abu Sayyaf that facilitated the JI membersâ entry into the country. âThere is no other group aside from the Abu Sayyaf, which facilitated the entry of JI in Mindanao,â Kabalu said. He said the military was aware of the cooperation between the JI and the Abu Sayyaf. The JI is the Southeast Asian arm of Osama bin Ladenâs al-Qaida network of terror. It mainly operates in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Southern Thailand, which is also being rocked by a nationalist rebellion involving Malay Muslims. Brig. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, deputy commander of the militaryâs Southern Command, said that contrary to the report of the Malaysian police, the military has actually monitored the presence of about 30 JI members in the country. Dulmatin, whose real name is Joko Pitono, and Patek were last reported to be in Central Mindanao in late 2005 in the company of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani, although there were previous claims by local military commanders that they were also seen with MILF forces in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur. The MILF has consistently denied it was harboring terrorists and said it was even helping the government determine their location as part of its efforts to boost the peace process. The peace talks between Manila and the MILF, the remaining Muslim rebel group trying to secede from the Philippines, hit a snag because of the issue on ancestral domain. Ancestral domain would become the basis for a future Bangsamoro entity. Despite the failure of both panels to define the issue, the peace talks continue to move forward, according to government chief negotiator Silvestre Afable. â(But) while the panels have achieved significant progress in defining the concept, sharing the resources and establishing governance, they are held back from reaching full consensus on the ancestral domain agenda by the highly technical nature of discussions on the delineation and demarcation of territory,â he admitted. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 The MILF routinely allowed ASG and JI on the camps on the declared safe zones in Mindanao. Eid is again lying his worthless a$$ off in an attempt to manage the media. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-06-05 20:21 |