Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Crame official tells Muslims to be vigilant during summit
WORRIED that the terrorist group Rajah Sulaiman Movement (RSM) might create chaos during the Asean summit, the head of the PNP Muslim affairs in the country yesterday urged Muslim leaders in Lapu-Lapu City to be wary of visitors during the international gathering in Cebu next month.
“Yung mga kapatid natin na darating dito, dikitan ninyo at kausapin ninyo kung bakit sila nandidito, (You must ask our brothers the reason why they are here),” said Senior Supt. Sahiron Dulah Salim.
Salim spoke before a crowd of 120 Maranaos at the Lapu-Lapu City sports complex yesterday. He is the national chief of the Salaam Police Center in Camp Crame, which deals with non-Muslim areas in behalf of Muslim communities.
He also warned Muslim leaders present yesterday about the Abu Sayyaf Group, which has been linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist group.
Around 17 heads of state from the Asean, Asia and Europe will come to Cebu next month for the summit. Aside from their staff and security, they will be bringing their families.
Security is beefed up for the international event, with hundreds of policemen from other regions sent to Cebu.
Salim called on his Muslim brothers to convince visitors “who mean harm” to return to where they come from, and then report them to authorities.
Salim is in Central Visayas to visit Muslim communities, urging them to help secure their areas from terrorists.
Concern over the safety of delegates and on the holding of a peaceful summit tops the agenda of authorities in the preparation.
In the process, several proposals have been raised, including holding festivals in the towns to lure away people from the city, implementing a curfew, and imposing a gun ban that will include police who are not on duty.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) had also issued a memorandum to strengthen security, especially in municipalities that have ports that could serve as entry points of criminals.
The ideas that cropped up led to debates on whether to adopt them.
The declaration of the four-day holiday on Dec. 11 to 14 is also part of the security concern. (OCP)
