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| Southeast Asia | |||
| Filipino Regime Targets Oil-rich Mindanao | |||
| 2003-03-11 | |||
| Once again Islam Online enlightens us to the truth about the motives of the Filipino Regime; it's all about the oil! The Filipino government is trying to have control of resources of the southern Muslim island of Mindanao and is considering listing the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as a âterrorist organizationâ for that purpose, according to a report Tuesday, March 11. News sources complementing the report, by local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) linked to the Bangsamoro people, added that the government is also using the Abu Sayyaf kidnap group to cover for attacks against Muslim groups in several areas of Mindanao, including MILF-held territories. See, you don't get news like this anywhere else. Well, except for North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Paleostein, but you get the idea. The 12,000-strong movement, fully armed and trained in specific warfare with government forces, has been the target of accusations by both Manila and Singapore, linking it to the Jemaah Islamiya (JI) and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda groups. Both groups are allegedly terrorist organizations sowing chaos around the world while the MILF is being tagged as the group that offered both the JI and Al-Qaeda military training in Mindanao. The report indicated that the Filipino government will not relinquish possession of the Muslim regions to the MILF due to its economic potential. Mindanao, the MILF says, has oil reserves and other resources that would be sufficient to rebuild the region and give the Muslims a chance to live a better life after years of struggle and killings. And we've all seen how wonderful life in oil producing Muslim nations is. Right? Hello?
Saudi has been assisting the MILF quite a bit, behind the scenes of course, they being so modest and all. Meanwhile, President Gloria Arroyoâs government is said to have seriously considered putting the MILF on its list of terror organizations after it suspected the Islamic group was involved in last weekâs Davao City airport bombing, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said on Monday, March 10, 2003 as reported by the Philippines Star newspaper in Manila. Reyes admitted that a terrorist tag could jeopardize peace initiatives involving the MILF. He added that the government has yet to declare the group a terrorist organization. "We have not done that yet and we are studying it. This is because we know that definitely it will have repercussions on the peace talks." He said. Very productive, those peace talks. Don't want to stop those.
"You keep killing people and someone might think you are the bad guys. You don't want that now, do you?" The Philippines does not have an anti-terrorism law and moves to enact such legislation have been stalled by the definition of terrorism itself. "While everybody is debating the precise definition of terrorism, the common thread is that the target is civilians. So, I am asking them to stop attacking and harassing civilians," Arroyo said. That's telling them! Last week, suspected MILF fighters allegedly killed 21 people and wounded more than 150 in a bomb blast at the Davao International Airport. Reyes said that despite the MILFâs alleged role in the airport attack, the government did not want to shut the door to a settlement to the long-running Muslim insurgency. The government has already filed multiple murder charges against Salamat and other top leaders after investigations revealed that a group member allegedly triggered the bomb explosion at the waiting lounge outside the Davao airport terminal last Tuesday. MILF military chief Al Haj Murad, political chief Ghadzali Jaafar and spokesman Eid Kabalu were among those charged. The MILF had denied any role in the airport terrorist attack. It had earlier said the murder charges dimmed the prospect of resuming peace talks with Arroyoâs administration. The talks have been suspended for two years. NGO sources in the region say they suspect the government is using the Abu Sayyaf to carry out bombings and create an atmosphere of eternal conflict in the region. Abu Sayyaf is a government tool, you heard it here first. The government and the MILF signed a shaky ceasefire pact in Kuala Lumpur in 2001 but it was shattered last month after the military launched a major offensive at an MILF camp in the town of Pikit in North Cotabato province, allegedly used as a shelter for terrorists, kidnappers and bandit groups. One in the same, but who cares. The MILF rejected the government claim that it had harbored criminal groups and insisted that the real objective of the offensive was to oust the MILF from the area and capture its top leaders. Some 200 people, mostly MILF fighters, died in the offensive which led to a declaration of an all-out war by Salamat. More than 100,000 people have been displaced during the Pikit invasion by the military.
Being totally un-biased, I'm sure he will be a big help. Predominantly-Muslim Malaysia has been acting only as a facilitator in the negotiations so far. Facilitator of a lot of things. Aside from Malaysia, Libya is also involved in talks to lure the MILF to the peace table. They'll be a big help. In a related development, Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople has called for a meeting with Manila-based ambassadors of the OIC member nations on Thursday, March 13, diplomats said. The objective of the meeting was not immediately available. But a panel of envoys from OIC has put off a visit to the southern Philippines due to an escalation of violence there, diplomats said Tuesday. Must be worried about the army attacking all those good Muslims. The OIC team was scheduled to visit the troubled region on March 18-21 to look into the implementation of a 1996 peace agreement between the government and the MNLF. The centerpiece of the pact was the creation of a Muslim autonomous region in the southern island of Mindanao called Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Give them an inch.......well, you know. | |||
| Posted by:Steve |