‘Sulu army’ digs in, snubs appeals of PH, Malaysia

From the Manila Standard Today (Feb 16): ‘Sulu army’ digs in, snubs appeals of PH, Malaysia

Some 200 Filipinos, some of them armed, refused to leave the Sabah town of Lahad Datu, a coastal town in northern Borneo, despite appeals from the Philippine and Malaysian governments as the standoff there entered its second day.

The Aquino administration called on the Filipinos, who claim to be members of the Royal Sulu Sultanate Army, to return to the Philippines immediately.

“We urge these concerned individuals to return to their homes and families,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said in statement Friday.

Del Rosario, who confirmed in his statement that some of the Filipinos who went to Lahad Datu were armed, received a call from Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman to discuss the ongoing negotiations.

Del Rosario sought an assurance that the rights of the Filipinos who are permanent residents in Sabah and who may be among the group are respected.

He also said the intrusion was not sanctioned by the Philippine government.
“Philippine military and police authorities are exchanging information and closely consulting with their Malaysian counterparts in efforts towards an immediate resolution to this incident,” Del Rosario said.

“At the same time, increased patrols and tighter security measures have been put in place in waters off Tawi-Tawi and adjoining islands,” he added.

President Benigno Aquino III has already ordered the country’s police attaché to Malaysia to go to Sabah to get a clearer picture of the situation there.

The group was demanding to be recognized as the Royal Sulu Sultanate Army and said they had a right to remain in Sabah, Malaysia’s national police chief Ismail Omar told the media in Kuala Lumpur.

“The Philippine Embassy in Malaysia has already dispatched our police attaché to the particular area to see what is happening and we continue to monitor the situation,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

Valte declined to comment further, saying the government wants first a “full and better handle on the facts.”

The area was once controlled by the former Islamic sultanate of Sulu and has had a history of incursions by armed Filipino groups.

Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said security forces were in control and negotiating with the group, some of whom were armed.

“We have told them that they need to leave the country,” Ismail told the Malaysian newspaper The Star.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted by Malaysian media as saying that police were already negotiating with the gunmen “to get the group to leave peacefully to prevent bloodshed.”

Sabah was leased by the Sulu Sultanate to the British since the 19th century. In 1963, it became part of the Federation of Malaysia despite protests from the Philippines.

In 1967, an attempt to land Filipino commandos on Sabah under “Operation Merdeka” was aborted after all commandos but one were killed.

The lone survivor of the carnage, Jibin Arula, revealed what was eventually known as the Jabidah massacre.

The dean of the UP Institute of Islamic Studies, Julkipili Wadi, said the latest incursion into Sabah could have big geopolitical implications, as it could mark renewed efforts by the sultanate to press its claim to Sabah.

Wadi said, however, that the claim of the sultanate is muddled by conflicting claims within the sultanate itself. “It’s disputed. There are more than 10 claimants to the sultanate, according to the genealogies that I have seen,” said Wadi.

He said “there are many layers of issues that have arisen through the decades,” citing the interests of the Philippines, which recently signed a preliminary pact, called the framework agreement, with the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front that was brokered by Malaysia.

Aside from territorial concerns, Malaysia has also expressed an interest in natural gas exploration in the Liguasan Marsh, which is part of the territory defined in the framework agreement.

“The problem is Malaysia doesn’t know who to talk with because of the conflicting claims within the Sultanate of Sulu,” Wadi said. “They need a collective position, then they can make an arrangement, like rotating the sultanate.”

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