April 26, 2002, Arab News, Manila, MILF strike deal to fight Mindanao bandits, by Mama Gubal,

April 26, 2002, Arab News, Manila, MILF strike deal to fight Mindanao bandits, by Mama Gubal,

MANILA/COTABATO CITY, 26 April — The government has forged a deal with the country's largest Moro armed group to isolate and contain armed bands in the southern Philippines, including a group linked to Al-Qaeda, spokesmen for both sides said yesterday.

The agreement announced by chief government spokesman Silvestre Afable, did not mention the Abu Sayyaf, the most likely target, by name.

But Press Secretary Afable told reporters the deal covered an area where the Abu Sayyaf has held an American couple and a Philippine nurse hostage for 11 months.

"Yes, of course, they are included. I can safely say that," MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu also told Reuters by phone.

Afable said the deal had been reached by Norberto Gonzales, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's special adviser, but he did not say when or where.

The MILF was represented by its military chief Al-Haj Murad, he said, adding that the deal was effective immediately.

Under the agreement, the MILF and government forces will cooperate in "the isolation and interdiction of all criminal groups... and kidnapping syndicates operating in Mindanao."

Afable said the area included the island of Basilan, the stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf.

The accord was the second major boost received by Manila in its campaign to stamp out the Abu Sayyaf. Almost 1,000 US troops are on Basilan and in nearby Zamboanga City to train local soldiers in counter terrorism and help them put down the group.

The government has signed a cease-fire agreement with the MILF, but the deal has often been threatened by repeated outbreaks of fighting between rebels and the military in the south.

The government has estimated the MILF strength at about 12,500. The Abu Sayyaf is believed to have only about 100 hard-core fighters but is also believed to have many supporters among the 300,000 mainly Muslim residents of Basilan.

Military officials have often said the MILF may be providing sanctuary to the Abu Sayyaf.

MILF disowns bomb suspects

Also yesterday, the MILF said none of the arrested suspects in the General Santos City bombing are members of the separatist Front.

It also disowned the 27 armed men who surrendered to the military on Wednesday in Sultan Sa Barongis, Maguindanao.

"They are not our members. Neither have they been connected with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)" spokesman Eid Kabalu said, in reference to Moliken Ambet and Bobby Sabilo, who were arrested by the police in General Santos City a day after the deadly Sunday blast that killed 15 people and injured more than 70 others. Ambet and Sabilo were identified by witnesses as the men they saw who placed a bomb at a motorcycle parked near the entrance gate of the Firmart Department Store.

Earlier, an army officer identified the two suspects as MILF members but later corrected it by saying they were of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under the faction of former ARMM Gov. Nur Misuari.

The two are now undergoing tactical interrogation by the police.

On the 27 surrenderees who claimed to be members of the MILF's 203rd Brigade under Commander Mastor, Kabalu said they were actually "recycled" returnees. He said many of them have already surrendered to the government before.

"In fact the group's firearms were reported to have been provided by a local politician in the area in cahoots with the military commander in the locality whose primary objective is to get early promotion," Kabalu charged.

The MILF had earlier branded some surrenderees as "scums of the earth" who only wanted to take advantage of the government's monetary offer for surrendered firearms.