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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Gov’t offers bounty for capture of Muslim guerrilla
MANILA (Updated 11:15 a.m.) -- The Philippine government, brushing aside an appeal for a ceasefire with a Muslim rebel group, offered a bounty Wednesday for the capture of a guerrilla commander who officials said has joined forces with al-Qaida-linked militants.
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The government said it cannot abide by the call of the Organization of the Islamic Conference for a truce with Moro National Liberation Front forces led by Habier Malik, who last week fired mortar rounds on two marine camps and houses on southern Jolo island.
The attack has provoked fierce clashes that have killed at least 21 people - including three marines, 17 rebels and a child, and displaced thousands. Philippine troops captured Malik's two camps but failed to get him.
Military chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon offered a P1 million (US$21,000; euro15,000) bounty for information leading to Malik's capture.
"Let us be very clear. This is not an operation against the MNLF. This is an operation against Habier Malik so that he will be made to answer for his criminal liabilities, including the death of a child," he told reporters.
Malik, who has about 300-500 armed followers, has now joined the notorious Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, the target of a separate massive US-backed offensive, Esperon said. Malik has in the past provided refuge for top Indonesian terror suspects Umar Patek and Dulmatin, who are hiding with about 400 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas on Jolo, Esperon said.
"We should be very careful about this because definitely there is a group that would try to exploit the situation, at least the Abu Sayyaf," he said.
The MNLF was the largest Muslim separatist group in the southern Philippines until it agreed to accept increased autonomy under a 1996 peace agreement.
However, it failed to deliver on promises to improve the economy in the impoverished region. A breakaway group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, had continued fighting until it signed a truce in 2003, while MNLF leader Nur Misuari has been in jail since 2001, when his followers launched a deadly attack.
The 57-member OIC has been trying to salvage the 1996 agreement, but the government has not yet decided whether Misuari would be allowed to attend a tripartite meeting set for July to review the peace pact.
In February, Malik held a Philippine general and 19 companions hostage for two days in his camp until they agreed to hold the meeting with the OIC. (AP)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (April 18, 2007 issue)
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