Malaysian security forces continue operation as Sulu gunmen show no signs to back down

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 9): Malaysian security forces continue operation as Sulu gunmen show no signs to back down

LAHAD DATU, Malaysia -- Five days after launching an all-out assault, the Malaysian security forces have yet to secure a decisive victory to flush out the Sulu gunmen. The gunmen have so far shown few signs to back down from the claim over their ancestral land of Sabah in North Borneo.

Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar said one gunman was killed by security forces in a shootout early Saturday, bringing the death toll of intruders to 53. Eight Malaysian police have also been killed in the firefight. Seventy-nine were detained for alleged links to the militants. The authorities also confirmed that no security personnel or civilians were kidnapped by the gunmen.

The operation will end only when none of the intruders are left in Sabah, said Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

The security forces put on overwhelming firepower on Tuesday, including air strike, mortar attack and some 2,000 security personnel on the tiny seaside Tanduo village where the gunmen holed up since last month, in a hope to end the standoff which so far claimed the lives of eight police.

However, the operation has yet to be brought to a decisive result except for driving the Royal Army of Sulu Sultanate into hiding in small groups. The full-scale attack turned into a search and mop-up operation with sporadic gun fights between the security forces and the intruders.

Many locals have been displaced or fled their homes. Malaysian government is cautious on updating the latest developments of the situation.

Reporters were asked to stay in a media center some 20 kms from the conflict zone for the most of time, waiting for official press conferences.

As the operation drags on, rumors are circulating on the social network, including one saying hundreds of militants had landed in Sabah. Police denied the rumors and asked the people to stay calm.

The Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III Thursday announced a unilateral ceasefire and called for negotiations, but stressed that he and his followers would not give up the claim over Sabah, once controlled by the Sulu Sultanate and was ceded to the British North Borneo Company in the late 19th century.

Kiram insisted the deal was a lease rather than a cession. Kiram's suggestion was soon rejected by Malaysian Prime Minster Najib Razak. During a visit to the "ground zero" on the same day, Najib stressed that the intruders must lay down their arms and surrender unconditionally.

Responding to a ceasefire call by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to avoid more bloodshed, Najib said his government had shown enough patience during the three-week negotiation that aimed to end the standoff peacefully.

The casualties of security forces left Najib, who will face a tough general election within weeks, with no choice but tough actions. The determination of Malaysia to defend its sovereignty over Sabah should not be underestimated, he said.

Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III has also urged Kiram 's followers to leave Sabah, but he is already facing internal pressure to rethink the strategy to shelve the dispute over Sabah, which became a state of Malaysia in 1963, for the sake of regional cooperation and peace process in southern Philippines facilitated by Malaysia. Aquino said there was conspiracy behind the incident.

Even if the security forces kill or capture Agbimuddin Kiram, Sultan's brother who led the group of some 200 into Sabah, the others may easily sneak into the local communities of Filipino immigrants and hide.

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur and Manila are talking about a possible extradition of the Sultan to Malaysia, but that would involve complicated legal obstacles and bring in more controversies both internally and internationally.

Kiram and his followers were those being marginalized during the peace talks between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said Danny Wong, director of global planning and strategy center at the University of Malaya.

The aim of the intrusion might either be wrecking the peace deal or trying to become part of it, Wong told Xinhua. "However, until the moment they speak out what they want, we will never know what the true purpose is."

A prolonged standoff will also be a blow to the Sabah economy, heavily depends on tourism. The United States and Hong Kong has already issued travel warning. A hotelier in the capital city of Kota Kinabalu said so far foreign tourists are still pouring in, but the trend will easily reverse if the Sulus staged a ugly guerilla war.

The Malaysian and Philippine governments should try to make the ongoing peace process in southern Philippines more inclusive by inviting more stakeholders, Wong said. "It is easier said than done, as each group will bring its own demands," he said, adding "but you still need to try."

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