RP suspects rebels' hand in Ipil<\/p>\n
MANILA (AFP): The Philippine defense chief yesterday said a
\nMoro rebel group engaged in a truce with the government was
\nlosing commanders to fundamentalism, and some of them may have
\njoined the bloody sacking of a town this month.<\/p>\n
Defense Secretary Renato de Villa said some field commanders
\nof the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were being drawn to
\na Moslem rebel group behind the April 4 raid on the southern town
\nof Ipil which left 66 dead.<\/p>\n
\"We suspect there are active MNLF leaders and members who were
\ninvolved\" in the sacking of Ipil despite an ongoing cease-fire
\nbetween Manila and the MNLF, he told foreign correspondents.<\/p>\n
The MNLF, led by the exiled Nur Misuari, has been conducting
\npeace talks with the Manila government over the past two years
\nafter a failed separatist rebellion in the south in the early
\n1970s.<\/p>\n
He added that the raiders, who numbered about 200, came from
\nvarious outlaw Moslem groups, many of them splinter groups of the
\nMNLF.<\/p>\n
They included the Abu Sayyaf, a Moslem fundamentalist
\nterrorist group that has launched several attacks against
\nChristians.<\/p>\n
De Villa said the Abu Sayyaf and their new recruits wanted to
\nset up a \"fundamentalist Islamic state\" in the south, which is
\ndominated by Christians but has a large and disenchanted Moslem
\nminority.<\/p>\n
The issue of alleged MNLF participation in the Ipil raid was
\nto be raised by the government panel at a meeting with the group
\nand cease-fire observers yesterday in the southern city of
\nZamboanga.<\/p>\n
Earlier, chief government negotiator Manuel Yan said in a
\nradio interview that the government panel sought the meeting with
\nthe MNLF after President Fidel Ramos ordered a review of the
\npeace talks due to military allegations that MNLF commanders had
\ntaken part in the Ipil raid.<\/p>\n
The Abu Sayyaf and other armed Moslem groups that broke away
\nfrom the MNLF however, are not covered by the cease-fire, and it
\nopposes the peace talks.<\/p>\n
De Villa warned that \"if significant numbers of the MNLF\" join
\nthe Abu Sayyaf, the position of the MNLF and its commander as the
\n\"sole recognized representative\" of Moslem Filipinos in the
\nOrganization of Islamic Conference (OIC) \"will be jeopardized.\"<\/p>\n
He added that this would affect the peace process, which is
\nbeing overseen by the OIC.<\/p>\n
Misuari has denied that any of his forces were involved in the
\nIpil raid and has promised to punish guerrilla leaders found to
\nhave taken part, but the allegations have cast a cloud over the
\npeace talks.<\/p>\n
Yan added that if it were proven that the MNLF was involved,
\nit would be up to the joint cease-fire committee, which includes
\nOIC representatives and Indonesian military observers, to decide
\nwhat to do.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rp-suspects-rebels-hand-in-ipil-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}