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| Southeast Asia |
| Misuari denies ordering attack |
| 2005-02-23 |
| Nur Misuari, the jailed ex-chair of the Moro National Liberation Front, yesterday denied having ordered his followers in the MNLF to attack the 104th Army Brigade in Sulu province, according to Bayan Muna party-list Representative Satur Ocampo. Misuari, a former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, presented his side on the military claim that he was responsible for the renewed fighting between government troops and MNLF rebels led by Habier Malik during a three-hour, closed-door hearing at Fort Sto. Domingo in Laguna's Sta. Rosa town, where he is being held on rebellion charges. The hearing was conducted by the House special committee on peace, reconciliation and national unity, which Ocampo chairs. Ocampo said at a press briefing that Misuari "absolutely denied" military reports that he had ordered his field commanders by cell phone to attack government targets. "He is in solitary confinement," Ocampo pointed out. "He is also under watch by his security aides. How can he command MNLF leaders via cell phone? He said he has no means of communications inside his jail." Asked if they believed Misuari, the eight members of the special committee replied almost in unison: "Of course, yes." In an interview with the Inquirer in Manila after the hearing, Ocampo said Misuari denied that the MNLF had a tactical alliance with Abu Sayyaf bandits, who had claimed responsibility for the Valentine's Day bomb attacks in the cities of Makati, General Santos and Davao. The Armed Forces had linked the bomb attacks to the Sulu conflict, and said these were intended to ease the military pressure on the rebels. But Ocampo said: "Misuari said that kidnappings and bombings are anti-Islam, and that the MNLF will never resort to these. He said the MNLF and Abu Sayyaf are like oil and water -- hindi puwedeng maghalo (they can't mix)." By Ocampo's account, Misuari insisted that the renewed hostilities were triggered by the soldiers' massacre of a family, including a child, and urged the committee to hold fact-finding and public hearings in Sulu in order to get to the bottom of the issue. He said Misuari warned that the fighting would spread to nearby provinces if the government does not act now to end it. At about 12:30 p.m., during a break in the hearing, police allowed reporters inside a room to see Misuari, but only for a few minutes. Misuari, looking pale and thin in a black suit over a yellow shirt, posed for pictures with members of the committee, his wife Tarhata and their children -- Nurredha, 10; Khalid Nur, 7, and Nurhata, 4. Ocampo said that when Misuari was asked by the special committee whether he would be willing to appeal to his followers to call a ceasefire, the latter said he would only do so if requested by the government. "Misuari said he did not want to be misunderstood on this. He said a call for a ceasefire would not be effective because President Macapagal-Arroyo had ordered soldiers to finish off the Muslim rebels," the party-list representative said. In the press briefing, Ocampo quoted Misuari as saying that "the real solution to the conflict in Mindanao is not war but a cessation of it." Salvador Panelo, Misuari's lawyer, told reporters that the rebel leader made his position clear: "The MNLF did not start the ongoing war in Sulu. It was the military who [did]. So why would the MNLF call a ceasefire when it did not start the war?" House Speaker Jose de Venecia told the Inquirer in Manila that he would recommend a declaration of ceasefire to Ms Arroyo to enable the warring forces to talk peace. He said a ceasefire would be "the most desirable of the immediate options." De Venecia also said he would try to convince AFP Chief of Staff General Efren Abu and Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz to halt military offensives against the rebels. Ocampo said Misuari admitted that Malik was his religious adviser. But he said that Malik was not getting orders from him. Sulu Representative Hussin Amin said interviews with Malik showed that the MNLF rebels had had no communication with Misuari for over a year now. Amin said it was also worth noting that there was no cell site in the municipality of Panamao, Sulu, where the initial fighting started. "I think it is only now that satellite phones are being used in that area. There is no cell site there," he said. Ocampo said Misuari took the opportunity to air complaints against the Arroyo administration regarding his case as well as alleged violations of the 1996 peace agreement between the MNLF and the government. Misuari said he had been languishing in jail for three years without a trial. He also said then Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong had ordered a preliminary investigation of his case but that this was ignored and he was immediately charged with rebellion. "Misuari complained that he had been denied a speedy trial, and that he had been in solitary confinement without conjugal visits since the revival of the hostilities in Sulu [three weeks ago]," Ocampo said. On the broader issue of Muslim discontent, Misuari reportedly said the government had inserted several provisions in the peace agreement that were never discussed and approved. In an open letter dated Feb. 19 and addressed to his followers and the Muslim people, Misuari designated "brothers Lahammudin Ghullam and Arthur Laibing" to relay his "wishes for you to help prevent another outbreak of hostilities and war in our homeland." Ghullam was appointed in 2001 by Misuari as deputy chief of the Bangsamoro Armed Forces. Laibing heads the MNLF forces in the Zamboanga Peninsula. "Please cooperate with them in the best interest of our people and peace in that highly volatile and restive region," Misuari wrote, adding: "The most important thing is for the MNLF to maintain its role as the chief defender and champion of peace in our homeland Mindanao and its islands." He concluded the letter thus: "My love to all of you." There was no specific reference to the weeks-old fighting in Sulu. Neither did Misuari issue an order for MNLF forces to cease fire. A copy of Misuari's appeal for peace was given by Ghullam and company to De Venecia in a brief meeting at the House on Monday evening. Ghullam and his party were accompanied to De Venecia's office by businessman Crismel Verano, who was recently named member of the board of directors of the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. Misuari also sent De Venecia a handwritten letter endorsing Ghullam to "augment your effort to prevent the spread of the war in Jolo to the mainland of Mindanao." "You may authorize him and his companions to go around Mindanao to prevent the MNLF forces from getting embroiled in the war," Misuari told the Speaker in the letter also dated Feb. 19. "I'd like to reiterate my support [for] your effort to investigate the root causes of this sudden outbreak of hostilities between the AFP and the MNLF forces with a view to stopping the war and restoring the peace not only in Jolo but in Mindanao as well," he said. Quoting "the latest report," Misuari said "people in Mindanao are getting restive and are preparing to get [involved] in the war in Jolo." "Please do your best to preempt any further threat to peace in the region," he told De Venecia. Misuari gave the members of the special committee a copy of his letter to De Venecia after reading its contents during the hearing. De Venecia said he had received Misuari's letter from the latter's wife Tarhata and MNLF commanders. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |