MILF defection not true – Jaafar

From MindaNews (Apr 10): MILF defection not true – Jaafar

Political affairs chief Ghadzali Jaafar of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) denied reports that four of their commanders, including 4,000 of their men, had already joined another Moro group in Southwestern Mindanao.

In an interview, Jaafar alleged the reports were circulated to destroy their organization. “This is highly politically-motivated to sow confusion among our ranks and to the public,” he said.

The reports came out, he added, two weeks after the successful signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in Malacañang.

The deal, he explained, was a product of 17 years of arduous negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF.

Jaafar, however, clarified the MILF central leadership has no plans of “confronting” the source of such reports.

The reports, he said, cited a certain Ustadz Pindi of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who is based in Glan, Sarangani.

“We know what he (Pindi) is up to. But we have no plans, at this time, to confront him,” he stressed.

Jaafar said they already checked their forces on the ground and found out “that none among our men had defected to other groups or to that of the MNLF. Our group is intact.”

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2014/04/10/milf-defection-not-true-jaafar/