Saturday, June 02, 2007 MILF offers help to capture JI man
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has offered to help capture a suspected Indonesian terrorist hiding in the vast Liguasan March, a rebel spokesperson said on Friday.
MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said the front is still verifying reports that Benhir Abdul Maruwan, who is said to be in the most wanted list of the US government, is hiding in the sprawling wetland straddling the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.
"We are ready to help the government capture him. We have alerted our comrades to check on the information," Kabalu told the Catholic-owned Notre Dame Broadcasting Corp.
He added that the Moro rebels and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, through the Adhoc Joint Action Group, are also validating the reported presence of Maruwan in Liguasan Marsh.
Reports said that rogue members of the MILF are giving protection to Maruwan, who is allegedly involved in the 2002 Bali, Indonesia attacks that killed around 200 mostly foreign tourists and in the fresh spate of explosions in the cities of Tacurong and Cotabato in Central Mindanao region.
Maruwan reportedly keeps direct contact with supposed Jemaah Islamiyah operatives Omar Patek and Dulmatin, also both suspects in the Bali bomb attacks in 2002.
The military earlier claimed that Maruwan was with Dulmatin when the latter sneaked into the country and sought refuge in remote parts of Mindanao.
While Kabalu described the reported presence of Maruwan in Liguasan Marsh as "wild," he said the MILF leadership is giving it a serious look.
The government and the Moro rebels signed a joint communiqué in May 2002 that gives the latter authority to interdict suspected criminals hiding in Moro rebels’ strongholds.
Under the agreement signed in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, the MILF shall block the entry of criminals into MILF areas and that the MILF may request the assistance of the military or the police in the conduct of operations against such criminals inside MILF areas.
In going after lawless elements, the agreement added that the military or the police shall convey to the MILF an order of battle containing the names and identities of criminal elements, as defined in the implementing guidelines on the security aspect of the government-MILF on peace of 2001, who are suspected hiding in MILF areas.
The MILF is so far the largest Islamic armed group in Mindanao talking peace with the government.
However, peace negotiations, brokered by Malaysia, are snagged by the ticklish ancestral domain issue that includes territory and governance. (BSS)
