- News>
- World
Philippine rebels ask Islamic group to help jailed gov.
A Muslim Filipino separatist group asked an international Islamic organization to allow a jailed Philippine Muslim governor to answer rebellion charges against him at a meeting in Indonesia, a rebel spokesman said Saturday.
A Muslim Filipino separatist group asked an international Islamic
organization to allow a jailed Philippine Muslim governor to answer rebellion
charges against him at a meeting in Indonesia, a rebel spokesman said Saturday.
Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the Philippine Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said
MILF chairman Salamat Hashim made the request in a letter Dec. 2 to Abdelouhed
Belkziz, secretary-general of the Jiddah-based 56-member Organization of the
Islamic Conference.
Nur Misuari -leader of a faction of the separatist Moro National Liberation Front which signed a peace accord with the government in 1996 - was arrested in Malaysian waters on Nov. 24. He was charged with rebellion for allegedly leading an attack on a Philippine army base. More than 100 were killed in the fighting. Days after the arrest, Misuari's supporters took 118 hostages as they fought soldiers in a regional government complex in the southern city of Zamboanga. All hostages were freed in exchange for safe passage to a rebel camp, but fighting killed at least 27 people.
"We are asking the secretary general to intercede for and in behalf of the arrested governor for him to attend the OIC Committee of the Eight meeting on Dec. 12 ... for him to explain his side in the interest of fairness and justice," Kabalu said.
The Indonesia-led committee, which brokered the 1996 accord, includes Saudi Arabia, Libya, Senegal, Somalia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Brunei. Kabalu said any military operation against Misuari's followers could spill over to MILF-controlled areas and "the situation could deteriorate." The MILF and the government signed a cease-fire agreement earlier this year when they resumed talks on ending the Muslim insurgency.
Kabalu said the "root cause" of conflict between the government and Misuari has been dispute over how to implement the 1996 accord in which the MNLF dropped its bid for independence in exchange for limited autonomy.
Misuari, backed by Manila, was elected governor of a Muslim regional autonomous government in the southern Philippines. He frequently complained about the lack of economic support from the central government.
The attack against the Jolo camp came a week before an election to choose his successor and the new regional assembly. He said the polls violated the peace accord.
Misuari, who led the MNLF since the early 1970s, was ousted as chairman this year and replaced by a 15-member council of its top leaders, who claimed he had mismanaged both the MNLF and the regional government.
The MILF, led by former Misuari deputy Salamat, broke away from the MNLF in 1978 and surfaced as a new faction a few years later following a leadership dispute with Misuari but continued to wage a separate war against the national government.
Bureau Report
Nur Misuari -leader of a faction of the separatist Moro National Liberation Front which signed a peace accord with the government in 1996 - was arrested in Malaysian waters on Nov. 24. He was charged with rebellion for allegedly leading an attack on a Philippine army base. More than 100 were killed in the fighting. Days after the arrest, Misuari's supporters took 118 hostages as they fought soldiers in a regional government complex in the southern city of Zamboanga. All hostages were freed in exchange for safe passage to a rebel camp, but fighting killed at least 27 people.
"We are asking the secretary general to intercede for and in behalf of the arrested governor for him to attend the OIC Committee of the Eight meeting on Dec. 12 ... for him to explain his side in the interest of fairness and justice," Kabalu said.
The Indonesia-led committee, which brokered the 1996 accord, includes Saudi Arabia, Libya, Senegal, Somalia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Brunei. Kabalu said any military operation against Misuari's followers could spill over to MILF-controlled areas and "the situation could deteriorate." The MILF and the government signed a cease-fire agreement earlier this year when they resumed talks on ending the Muslim insurgency.
Kabalu said the "root cause" of conflict between the government and Misuari has been dispute over how to implement the 1996 accord in which the MNLF dropped its bid for independence in exchange for limited autonomy.
Misuari, backed by Manila, was elected governor of a Muslim regional autonomous government in the southern Philippines. He frequently complained about the lack of economic support from the central government.
The attack against the Jolo camp came a week before an election to choose his successor and the new regional assembly. He said the polls violated the peace accord.
Misuari, who led the MNLF since the early 1970s, was ousted as chairman this year and replaced by a 15-member council of its top leaders, who claimed he had mismanaged both the MNLF and the regional government.
The MILF, led by former Misuari deputy Salamat, broke away from the MNLF in 1978 and surfaced as a new faction a few years later following a leadership dispute with Misuari but continued to wage a separate war against the national government.
Bureau Report