Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Arroyo help sought in solving sultan's slay
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, Sharif Ibrahim Ajibul Mohammad Pulalun, appealed Monday to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to help resolve the assassination of another sultan in Mindanao.
"We appeal to President Arroyo for help so the senseless killing of Sultan Datu Amir Bin Muhammad Baraguir shall be resolved soon. We cry for justice and need your help," Pulalon said.
Gunmen shot dead Baraquir, the Sultan of Maguindanao province, and wounded his brother in an attack January 11 outside his house in Sultan Kudarat town, police said.
Police said two gunmen on a motorcycle ambushed Baraguir and his companions who were in a van. Police said it is still investigating the motive of the attack and who were behind it.
Pulalon said the killing of Baraguir could trigger a dangerous precedence. "This is very dangerous because the killing of Sultan Baraguir could trigger more violence. The perpetrators of this senseless killing and the brains behind it must be put behind bars soon," he said.
Pulalon appealed to Baraguir's family and relatives to stay calm and let authorities resolve the killing.
"I appeal to them to stay calm and President Arroyo will surely help us get justice," the influential Sultan said.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) earlier said the attack could be connected to a family feud or had something to do with Baraguir's position as a member of the Royal Sultanate. Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said many others claim to be the real sultans.
"There is an ongoing rivalry between sultans, and there is a power struggle among them. Many are claiming to be the real sultans. Family feud could be another motive in the attack," Kabalu said.
On statements by a military official that a Muslim extremist group is responsible for Baraguir's slay, Kabalu challenged the officer to name this group.
The military official said in an interview that the victim had recently criticized the extremist group in his radio program. He did not, however, name the group.
Kabalu said the military official's statement was a sweeping accusation and urged him to identify the Muslim extremist group to avoid confusion.
Superintendent Akmad Mamalinta, Muslim autonomous region police chief, said they formed a group called "Task Force Sultan" to investigate Baraguir's slay.
He ruled out family feud as the motive behind the killing. "We are ruling out family feud as the motive of the killing," he said without further elaborating, but claimed the task force already has witnesses to the slaying. "The family of the slain Sultan Baraguir is cooperating with us."
Baraguir's family is still mourning the death of the sultan and has not issued any statement.
Baraguir, a descendant of Maguindao Sultan Shariff Muhamman Kabungsuan bin Ali Zainal Abidin, was enthroned in December as the 25th Sultan of Maguindanao, and named as Seri Paduka Sultan Sayyid Hadji Datu Amir Bin Muhammad Baraguir. Before he was killed, Baraquir vowed to pursue the right of Muslims to self determination. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex/With Sun.Star Davao)
(January 17, 2006 issue)
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