September 3, 2000, The Philippine Star, 5,000 more have joined Abu — Nur, by John Unson,

September 3, 2000, The Philippine Star, 5,000 more have joined Abu — Nur, by John Unson,

An estimated 5,000 of Sulu’s residents have joined the Abu Sayyaf in the past weeks, Gov. Nur Misuari of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) claimed yesterday. 

This is because the Estrada administration is dragging its feet in implementing a 1996 peace pact with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), he said. Misuari is also MNLF chairman. 

Misuari revealed that one of the Abu Sayyaf’s top leaders, Mujib Susukan, had recently procured 300 firearms. 

Susukan, a close associate of Abu Sayyaf senior leader Ghalib Andang alias "Commander Robot," used part of his share of the ransom money reportedly paid for the release of several mostly foreign hostages to buy the firearms, Misuari said. 

Most of the Sulu residents who joined the extremists have their own firearms, the ARMM chief added. 

Misuari concluded the historic accord with the Ramos administration on Sept. 2, 1996, which promised Mindanao’s minority Muslims greater autonomy and a possibility to expand the ARMM. 

Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces and Marawi City currently comprise the ARMM. 

The military will need at least 50,000 troops to deal with the terrorist bandits, although their group is much smaller than the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Misuari said. 

"The ratio would be at least 10 soldiers for each Abu Sayyaf member – and that is just to contain them. Neutralizing them would be another story," Misuari told a press conference that capped yesterday’s activities commemorating the 1996 peace pact. 

Misuari was tapped as negotiator by the President early in the Abu Sayyaf hostage crisis but was shortly replaced by presidential adviser Robert Aventajado. 

He ordered MNLF guerillas to help the police and the military surround Andang’s jungle lair, Misuari said, but then balked when Malacañang removed him from the hostage negotiations. 

"Three thousand MNLF fighters were surrounding his hideout. That was enough pressure. But there were sudden changes and I was removed as government negotiator," Misuari said. 

Misuari believes that "money would not have changed hands" in securing the hostages’ release had he were retained as negotiator. 

"It should have been the government dictating on them, not them dictating their terms for the release of the victims," he said. 

MNLF sources told The STAR that Misuari was taken out because the government didn’t want him to "gain media mileage" if he succeeded in securing the hostages’ release. 

"If he had worked out the release of the hostages, he would’ve gained added respect and admiration from the Islamic community. And that would be quite disadvantageous to the government," said one source, who requested anonymity. 

Misuari complained a few months ago that the government was insincere in implementing the peace deal and was slow in releasing funds earmarked for his region. 

His criticisms, made before an international conference of Islamic states in Kuala Lumpur in June, irked President Estrada, who denied the accusations. 

An Abu Sayyaf stronghold, Sulu has a reputation for being the "Wild, Wild West" of the South because many residents own unlicensed guns. Police estimate that the province is awash with 500,000 "loose" firearms. 

A man claiming to be Misuari’s security aide, Nasser Misuari, was arrested by police in Zamboanga City the other day for allegedly possessing an unlicensed .45 caliber pistol. 

He was arrested at a police checkpoint, part of a nationwide government crackdown on illegal firearms.