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| Southeast Asia |
| Terror tag likely for MILF if peace talks fail |
| 2004-06-10 |
| United States Charge d’ Affaires Joseph Mussomeli today said his government is hopeful the peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would succeed so that they "will never come to the point where we do have to designate" the Moro guerrilla group as a foreign terrorist organization. "The MILF in fact has never been designated as a terrorist group, at least not yet and we are hopeful that the peace negotiations will be successful so that we will never come to the point where we do have to designate them as such," Mussomeli said in a press conference here at the Growth with Equity in Mindanao office, a program funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). A reporter sought to clarify Mussomeli’s statement if he meant that he expressed hope the government and the MILF reaches an agreement before the US will be compelled to tag the armed Moro group as an FTO. "That’s correct, we are and the Philippine government as well, to use the cliché, are giving the MILF the benefit of the doubt," was his reply to a reporter’s query if he meant the Philippine government and the MILF should reach an agreement before the US decides to tag the rebel group as an FTO. Later however the diplomat said, "I would be very reluctant to use the terrorist tag as an incentive for people to sit down and reach a peace accord. That’s not the way...that sort of pressure and undue influence will not be productive." Mussomeli was here for a two-day visit during which he spoke before the business community and the academe. He said they are giving the MILF the benefit of the doubt with regard to its supposed links to groups like the Jemaah Islamiyah. He said he believed MILF factions, not the leadership itself, are the ones having links with the JI. Asked by another reporter if the US government has strong basis in linking MILF "factions" to the JI and other alleged terrorist networks, Mussomeli said: “It’s really hard to say. My concern, on the personal level, I’m not speaking for the US government, is simply this...what we do know is that there are links between the JI and certain factions in the MILF." He said the situation has put the MILF hierarchy in a fix because it means "they are not telling the truth about the situation" or "they don’t have control over their own people." "Either one is not a very good situation. If there are factions within the MILF who have these links to JI, then its incumbent and the responsible thing for the MILF hierarchy to discipline them and to break those links," he said. Mussomeli said that if on the other hand the JI link is with the MILF hierarchy as well, the group would be interpreted as "not being forthright." "One way or the other, they need to make some hard decisions to tag what type of organization do they want to be. Are they here for the benefit of their people? Are they here for some global terrorist Islamic state or so, I don’t know. But its up for them to decide," he said. Pressed further by another reporter for evidence of MILF links with JI, Mussomeli cited the arrests of three alleged terrorists who reportedly admitted having links with the MILF. He said the Philippine military could provide greater details on this information. "This is not news, it’s been in all of your newspapers...the links are there and nobody can deny them. The only issue is whether it’s the factions of the MILF or with essential groups of the MILF," he said. He said the US is also hoping the MILF is genuinely interested in reaching a peace accord with the Philippine government and that the armed group "have the best interest of the people of the Philippines and of Mindanao in their current practices." He however said he was not sure how long his government would give the MILF the "benefit of a doubt" aside from expressing hope "that good faith is on both sides and that the peace accord will be reached." He said their real concern is the MILF’s link with JI and that there have been indications they were responsible for a series of bombings in the country. "Whether we reach a peace accord is independent of the terrorist tag. Although, we would hope that for the sake of the Philippines, an agreement is reached," he said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 I was saying this yesterday! Everytime I see that I think its a story about hot soccer moms!! Women are like wine - get better with age (but will eventually turn to vinegar!) |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2004-06-10 12:51:26 PM |
| #2 They should seriously consider getting themselves a new acronym. |
| Posted by: growler 2004-06-10 11:18:50 AM |
| #1 MILF. Heh heh. |
| Posted by: Chris W. 2004-06-10 11:16:44 AM |