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| Southeast Asia |
| 'RSM spokesman' owns up to Glorietta 2 blast |
| 2007-10-20 |
| A person who claimed to be the spokesman of the Rajah Sulayman Movement (RSM) on Saturday said the group was responsible for FridayÂ’s attack in Makati City that left nine people dead and scores of others injured. A person who claimed to be the spokesman of the Rajah Sulayman Movement (RSM) on Saturday said the group was responsible for FridayÂ’s attack in Makati City that left nine people dead and scores of others injured. In a text message to ABS-CBN News, the person who said he was RSM spokesman Ruben Omar Lavilla, alias Sheik Omar, demanded the release of founder Hilarion del Rosario Santos, alias Ahmed Santos. RSM is a terror organization whose members are allegedly composed of Christians who have converted to Islam and reportedly operates in Manila and northern Luzon. It was suspected of carrying out the Rizal bombing in 2000 and ValentineÂ’s Day bombings in 2004. The text message said RSM had sought the help of Assistant Secretary Severo Catura assigned to the Office of the Executive Secretary but its demand had fallen on deaf ears. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, meanwhile, said the government will verify if RSM was indeed responsible for the attack. Authorities are still verifying the authenticity of the sender and his claim. Lavilla, a former professor at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, is considered RSMÂ’s religious, political and strategic leader. Based on the record of the intelligence community, Lavilla allegedly trained RSMÂ’s recruits in the groupÂ’s hideout in Pangasinan and Tarlac province. In 2002, the military stormed RSMÂ’s training bases in both provinces. It was reported that before the raid, Lavilla received P10 million from Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani. The money was purportedly meant for RSMÂ’s "operational expenses." Since SantosÂ’s capture in 2005, Lavilla served as the groupÂ’s spokesman. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #2 Much more likely, they just lie, none WERE Christians in the first place. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-10-20 12:07 |
| #1 "allegedly composed of Christians who have converted to Islam..." More like alleged Christians who only converted to islam because they never really were Christians. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2007-10-20 11:35 |