‘MILF could have captured Marwan’

From the Philippine Star (Feb 8): ‘MILF could have captured Marwan’

Intel official says Muslim group knew where terrorists hid

THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and some members of the Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, including Zulkipli Bin Hir alias Marwan who was killed by police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao lived alongside each other and were in “peaceful coexistence” for two years in Mindanao, a source from the intelligence community said on Sunday.

“Before, he [Marwan] was not coddled in a way that he was inside the MILF camp but they are within the vicinity pero hindi pinapakialaman or hindi sila hinahabol [they were untouched], supposedly because under the [Bangsamoro] agreement they were not supposed to coddle terrorists. Pero ang nangyayari, for example one barangay away nandun sina Marwan [and Filipino bomb maker Basit Usman] nandun din yung MILF, kung gusto nila kunin kaya nila [But what happened was that Marwan stayed in one barangay, and the MILF was also there. Had the MILF wanted to go after Marwan, they could have easily done so],” the source said.

But MILF vice chairman Ghadzali Jaafar denied the claim, saying the MILF followed all the provisions of the peace agreement with the government.

“Generally kami sincerely seriously sinusunod namin ang lahat ng provisions ng agreement na nilagdaan namin with the government, therefore we will comply, gagawin namin ang aming mga responsibilities, obligations based on the provisions of the agreement we signed,” Jaafar said.

He claimed that the area where Marwan and Usman stayed was far from the MILF camp. However, when pressed how far the terrorists’ location was from the MILF camp, Jaafar admitted that he had no idea.

The source said the MILF was aware of the presence of the terrorists in the area but did nothing either to get them or inform the government about it.

When the peace negotiations between the separatist group and the government started, the MILF told Marwan and other terrorists to stay away from the MILF enclave.

“For example dun sa may Butig, sa Lanao del Sur, yung malaking kampo nila dun, nandun dati [Marwan and Usman] pinalabas nila pero outside the barangay hindi na nila pinapakialaman, parang peaceful coexistence [In Butig, Lanao del Sur, Marwan and Usman used to stay in a big MILF camp there but they were driven out. So they stayed outside the barangay where they peacefully coexisted with the MILF],” the source said.

According to him, Marwan transferred from Pikit, North Cotabato to Mamasapano because the place where 44 members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) were killed by joint members of the MILF and its breakaway group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) was considered the “powerbase” of Usman.

The source said Marwan and Usman used to train MILF fighters, particularly those belonging to its Special Operation Group (SOG). However, the training stopped when the MILF started talking peace with the government.

Another source said it is impossible for the MILF not to have known about the presence of the terrorists in its areas.

“Kung sabihin na hindi alam ng MILF napaka-imposible yan. Alam ng MILF yan, alam ng BIFF, magkakamag-anak yan. Tayo [military] hindi tayo makakilos dahil meron tayong pinangingilangan syempre yung peace process [If the MILF claims that it did not know about the presence of the terrorists, that is impossible. The MILF knew, so did the BIFF [Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. They are relatives. We in the military we cannot move because of the peace process],” the source added.

“Yung MILF very loose ang control nila sa baba nila, dahil kamag-anak ng MILF yung Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom group hindi makapasok yung Marines at SAF dahil makaenkwentro ang MILF. It is impossible na hindi nila alam kung nasan yung mga yan [terrorists], alam nila yan, that is a blatant lie on the part of the MILF. We are for peace but they must show their sincerity in the peace process,” he added.

Col. Restituto Padilla, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) however said the military has no direct information that the MILF coddled the terrorists.

http://www.manilatimes.net/milf-could-have-captured-marwan/161609/