Philippines' MILF linked to JI, says ICG study<\/p>\n
Jerry Norton, Reuters, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The main Moro rebel group in the Philippines has close ties to
\nthe al Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) group, despite denials,
\na study released on Tuesday says.<\/p>\n
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels have been fighting
\nfor an Islamic state on Mindanao island in predominantly Roman
\nCatholic Philippines for the past three decades, but its leaders
\ndeny allegations they shelter foreign Islamic militants.<\/p>\n
They have even offered to join forces with the government to
\ncapture JI members as part of a peace process brokered by
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
But the respected International Crisis Group (ICG) says in a
\nlengthy study that \"all evidence points to ongoing operational
\nand training links\" between the two groups.<\/p>\n
\"What is unclear is whether top leaders are aware of the
\nactivity and unwilling to admit it,\" the study says.<\/p>\n
JI is believed to be the Southeast Asian arm of Osama bin
\nLaden's al-Qaeda network and is suspected of being behind several
\nattacks, including nightclub bomb blasts on Indonesia's Bali
\nisland in 2002 that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.<\/p>\n
Police and intelligence officials say JI, which wants to
\nestablish an Islamic state across much of Southeast Asia, has
\nplanned or carried out other attacks in the region.<\/p>\n
Members have been arrested in the Philippines, Thailand,
\nSingapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"It is clear that JI members have worked out arrangements with
\nindividual MILF commanders,\" said Singapore-based ICG Southeast
\nAsia project director Sidney Jones in a statement accompanying
\nthe report.<\/p>\n
Those can involve training, logistical support or joint
\noperations, said Jones, a noted expert on terrorism and Jamaah
\nIslamiyah, who lived in Indonesia for decades before her
\nexpulsion after some officials criticized some ICG reports.<\/p>\n
Training camps for JI operatives have run under MILF
\nprotection in Mindanao, feeding their graduates back into JI work
\nin their home countries or sometimes in the Philippines itself,
\nsays the report of the ICG, which is headquartered in Brussels.<\/p>\n
An MILF spokesman was not immediately available to comment on
\nthe ICG report.<\/p>\n
\"As well as replenishing JI ranks in Indonesia depleted by
\npost-Bali arrests, some of these graduates have carried out
\nterror attacks in the Philippines,\" it said.<\/p>\n
Before he was captured in Malaysia, an Indonesian graduate of
\nthe camps, Zulkifli, oversaw bombings in Davao in March and April
\nof last year \"which killed 38 and remain a major obstacle in the
\npeace talks,\" the report says.<\/p>\n
\"If the government moves directly against suspected terrorists
\noperating out of MILF-controlled territory, it risks an
\nescalation of violence and a breakdown of talks,\" ICG's Asia
\nprogram director Bob Templer said.<\/p>\n
An alternative would be to try to implement an agreement by
\nboth sides to cooperate against criminals in MILF areas, while
\nthe government steps up efforts for a workable autonomy package,
\nthe ICG says.<\/p>\n
A truce has largely halted fighting between the Philippine
\narmy and MILF rebels for the past year, while neighboring
\nMalaysia tries to arrange peace talks.<\/p>",
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