Misuari flees via Malaysia

Fugitive former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari may have abandoned his loyalist forces in Sulu and may be trying to reach Saudi Arabia via Malaysia, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said yesterday.

AFP chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva made the revelation during a Senate hearing on the military’s budget for next year as the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) backed the government and reaffirmed it no longer recognized Misuari as leader of the MNLF.

Villanueva, however, cautioned that reports of Misuari’s flight to Sabah, Malaysia could be a ploy to divert the four military battalions that have been sent to pursue and neutralize him and his followers.

"We are going along with the Philippines," said Malaysian chargé d’affaires Hamza Zaynal, adding the OIC recognized the MNLF Committee of Fifteen that ousted the Tausug warlord from the chairmanship in April.

Misuari’s ouster as MNLF chairman and President Arroyo’s support of a rival candidate for the governorship of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are among the reasons why Misuari supposedly instigated the surprise attack on Sulu’s capitol in Jolo on Nov. 19.

AFP Southern Command (Southcom) chief Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu said he was not surprised by Misuari’s reported flight.

"It’s not unusual. He always abandons his men in the thick of the fight," Cimatu said, referring to the height of the MNLF rebellion in the 1970s when Misuari hid in Libya and Saudi Arabia while his men were getting killed in Mindanao.

"He is in a very safe place. He is away from harm," top Misuari aide Abdurahman Amin confirmed in an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel.

"We have captured six camps of the renegades. The air strikes and ground assaults are continuing. The operations will continue until we get Misuari," added Cimatu, who pledged the operations against Abu Sayyaf extremists would also continue.

"We have enough troops patrolling Basilan to get the Abu Sayyaf. We have deployed additional forces in both islands," Cimatu said.

The military had claimed that Misuari had forged an alliance with the Abu Sayyaf and that some 600 Abu Sayyaf bandits under Mujib Susukan, Radulan Sahiron and Ghalib Andang were involved in the attacks in Sulu.

The Southcom chief said the death toll from the renewed hostilities has reached 160, most of them Misuari’s followers who were killed during the government’s counter-offensive.

Villanueva also would not comment on reports that Misuari had been wounded in the military airstrikes on his followers’ key positions.

But Malaysian Brig. Gen. Muhamad Yassin Yahya, commander of Malaysian forces in Sabah, denied that "Misuari nor anybody else" had slipped into the North Borneo province of Sabah.

"We know of the fighting in southern Philippines and we are in a state of heightened alert to ensure there is no spillover of the fighting into Sabah," Yahya said.

But Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak said the ministry would check into the reports.

"It’s not confirmed but we’ll instruct our security forces to monitor the situation and check whether Nur Misuari had actually fled to Malaysia or not," Razak said.

Nonetheless, Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona left for an unscheduled visit to Malaysia early yesterday ostensibly to condole with the family of Malaysian king, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, who died Wednesday.

Presidential adviser on the peace process Eduardo Ermita has also said the government is confident Malaysia would turn over Misuari who was charged with rebellion by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Ermita also said there were suggestions to tap former President Fidel Ramos to persuade Misuari to surrender and face the rebellion charges filed against him.

The PNP filed the rebellion charges against Misuari before the sala of Judge Abdul Wahid Alpha of Jolo’s ninth judicial region, which issued a warrant for Misuari’s arrest.

Aside from Misuari, the court also ordered the arrest of MNLF integree Lt. Papa Jalaide, a certain Pandi Sabi Uris, Buddin Salapuddin, Wahid Sali, Abrahan Joel, Sahiron and Andang.

OIC withdraws its recognition of MNLF

At the same time, the OIC, which brokered and monitors the 1996 peace agreement between the government and the MNLF, affirmed that it no longer recognizes Misuari as leader of the MNLF.

The OIC’s Committee of Eight was instrumental in the forging of the peace pact which was signed by Misuari and the Ramos administration in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sept. 2, 1996.

The Committee of Eight is composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Bangladesh, Somalia and Senegal but only the first four countries are included in the joint monitoring committee because Somalia and Senegal do not have embassies in the country.

According to the joint monitoring committee, the OIC now recognizes the MNLF Committee of Fifteen that ousted Misuari in April for his failure to implement development projects in Mindanao.

The foreign office briefed the monitoring committee on Misuari’s actions in a closed-door meeting yesterday but declined to discuss details. Ermita said the envoys did not express concern over the ongoing military operation but were interested to know where Misuari was.

"At least they know (Misuari and his followers) were the ones who attacked the military installations in Jolo and they suffered a setback and we told them about the casualties," Ermita said.

"Misuari will be made to account for all his actions," Ermita added.

As governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao since 1996, Misuari had access to some P43 billion in budget support over the past five years but his MNLF comrades felt he failed to deliver the progress he promised during their 30-year armed rebellion.

After the MNLF Committee of Fifteen ousted him, the President decided to support another candidate for ARMM governor in the elections set for Monday, leading Misuari to accuse the government of violating the 1996 peace agreement.

Meanwhile, residents of Sulu are bracing for bigger attacks after a highly-reliable source in the Abu Sayyaf said Misuari is planning to stage "bigger things on Nov. 25."

The threat of a bigger attack apparently led Malacañang to cancel the campaign sortie President Arroyo had planned to hold immediately after returning from the US, where she is now on a working visit. - With reports from Roel Pareño, Edith Regalado, Jose Rodel Clapano, Perseus Echeminada