Sulu Sultan ignores RP, Malaysia ultimatums

From the Daily Tribune (Mar 3): Sulu Sultan ignores RP, Malaysia ultimatums

As an ominous sign the Sabah conflict is far from over. Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram said the orders of both President Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for an unconditional surrender of his followers who have dug out in Lahad Datu were “not acceptable.”

“All they know to say is surrender, surrender. Why should we surrender in our own home? They (his followers now in Sabah) are not making trouble in their own home,” Kiram said in Filipino.

Kiram’s daughter, Jacel, said the President’s surrender order was “not acceptable.”

The aging and ailing sultan appeared briefly with action movie star Robin Padilla before dozens of journalists holed up in his home in Taguig City.

Jacel Kiram also belied Malacañang’s claim that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima was in “direct contact” with her family on the day a firefight erupted between Kiram’s followers and Malaysian forces.

She said someone who claimed to represent the justice secretary had contacted them, demanding a “categorical statement” from the sultan ordering his followers to come home without any conditions.
She said previous emissaries tried to impose their terms on them.

“We need negotiations not dictations,” she said.

“There was never any option given us except to surrender,” she added.

United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) candidate, re-electionist Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan also batted for the creation of a council of state leaders composed of Aquino, former presidents and other top leaders of the land.

In an interview, Honasan said following the bloody confrontation Friday between Kiram’s supporters and Malaysian authorities resulting to a still unconfirmed number of casualties, and the pronouncement of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari he would willingly lend his group’s support to Kiram, there is a strong possibility the tension would escalate to a much higher level.

“The situation is very, very much far from over,” said Honasan. “It could further escalate and that is what we should try to avoid.”

Honasan said the government might have mishandled the situation which led to the bloody confrontation.

“The government was telling Kiram and his followers to simply go home and that it had send a ship to ferry them home. But at the same time, the government was telling Kiram and his followers it is studying possible charges it would slap against them,” Honasan noted.

“You should not do that. At stake here are our integrity and sovereignty and most of all people’s lives,” Honasan stressed. “There was some serious communication problem and I’m sure it was not what the President meant.”

“And what we should consider here is its effect on the peace talks as this could again strain the relationship of the Philippines and Malaysia which was seriously strained during the infamous Jabidah Massacre,” the senator added.

“Thus. I suggest that sultan Kiram, from hereon, be involved in the Mindanao peace process and that the issue of Sabah be included in framework agreement,” he said.

Honasan said the problem could be traced to the government’s failure to convene the Joint Executive–Legislative Committee on Sabah which could have handled the issue much better.

“I have been a senator for 15 years but I cannot recall a single instance when the Joint Executive– Legislative Committee on Sabah was convened,” Honasan said.

“But because of what happened, I suggest that the creation of a council of state leaders to handle the resolution of this issue,” said Honasan.

Honasan, a former rebel who staged at least seven coup d’ etats against Aquino’s late mother, said the council could be composed of the president, the vice president and the senate president, since they all enjoy high trust ratings, and former presidents, including Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph “Erap” Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the children of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

“The president, vice president and the senate president are not candidates in this election so they could devote their time to finding solutions for the Sabah issue. They should let the candidates run their own campaign,” said Honasan.

“With regards to former Presidents Ramos and Arroyo and the children of former President Marcos, they have handled the Sabah issue before so they could be in the best position to give their insights on the problem,” the senator said.

“The council of state leaders could direct the process and serve as command center for the Sabah resolution. They should for the moment, avoid their personal differences and rise to the level of being state leaders. In that way, Malaysia could view our move as a serious step towards the resolution of the problem,” Honasan averred.

But when reminded Aquino himself appeared not to be concerned much on the Sabah issue as he was with Team Pnoy’s candidates in their out of town sortie I Pampanga Friday while Kiram’s followers were engaging Malaysian authorities in a shootout, Honasan said it was not tueir call to tell the president on how to manage his time and priorites.

However, Honasan added the creation of the council of state leaders could more more easier said than done considering his proposed composition.

“What could be contentious here is the proposed composition of the council. What I am afraid of is someone would start intriguing its composition linking the vice president, senate president and former President Estrada and accuse them even before the council could take off, of having an agenda to exploit the situation and only se the opportunity to benefit our candidates,” Honasan lamented.

“But as I have said, now is the time to rise to the level of being statesmen,” the senator stressed.

“In fact, the vice president has already offered to help ease the tension and I’m pretty sure he is doing that guided by the framework of our foreign policy and not for any election purposes,” he added. “We are all aware that helping the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is one of his advocacies and there are lots of OFWs in Sabah,” Honasan said.

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares charged the Aquino administration for mishandling the standoff in Sabah that resulted to unconfirmed number of casualties after a firefight broke out yesterday between the Malaysian military and “royal army” of the heirs of Sulu Sultanate.

“Our claim of Sabah is very strong especially since Malaysia paid rent to the Sultanate as early as during the British occupation. In fact it is as strong as our claim over Panatag shoals. It was a wrong move for the Aquino government to distance itself from the claim even portraying the claim as nuisance and threatening the Sultan’s men with arrest when they return,” he said.

“There was obviously a serious lapse in handling the issue. The standoff might be avoided if Aquino recognized the legitimacy of Kiram’s claim of Sabah and helped them negotiate with the Malaysian government on how to resolve the standoff peacefully without abandoning our claim”, Colmenares added. “Aquino should have asserted our claim in the same way that we asserted our territorial integrity over Panatag Shoal,” said Colmeranes.

“This is a clear sign of selective patriotism largely influenced by the US who wants to use the Panatag tension as reason to deploy troops and weapons in the region,” the solon said.

Based on a report, a spokesman of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III claimed that 10 of their men were killed and four others were wounded in the firefight while DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said that at least two were killed and one wounded from the side of the Malaysian Police.

“The Philippines and the Sultanate, more than any entity, have solid historical and legal basis for claiming Sabah. Sabah is within the Philippine territory and Aquino should have had asserted along with our Muslim brothers and sisters our sovereignty,” Colmenares explained.

“The attack of the Malaysian military is an attack on Filipinos which requires accountability, and the Philippines must lodge a strong protest and the government must defend our territory. Aquino should
face this territorial dispute with patriotism,” said Colmenares.

UNA senatorial candidate Dick Gordon commiserated with the families of the Filipinos who have been killed and wounded in the conflict.

Gordon described the Philippine government’s handling of the situation in Sabah as “severely woeful, anti Filipino, and subservient to Malaysia,” and said that a bloody encounter could have been avoided and should never have happened.

He questioned the manner in which foreign affairs officials handled the situation and advised the President. According to him, the DFA should be at the forefront of the matter and must never compromise the President of the Philippines by allowing him to make comments on such issues.

“Should not our ambassador to Malaysia been the one at the frontline? Or our DFA officials?” Gordon asked.

He further questioned the lack of attention, priority and importance given to Sultan Kiram’s letters to President Aquino.

“And what about our intelligence officials? How is it that no one even knew that a large number of Filipinos was headed to Sabah?” Gordon continued.

“Whoever is advising the President on foreign policy matters has done terribly wrong by our people and has put us on a slippery slope with regard to this conflict,” he continued.

Honasan said that the Philippine government “should seriously consider the impact of the standoff on the peace process and our relationship with Malaysia because more lives might be put on jeopardy.”
Former senate president Ernesto Maceda said “further necessitates the Philippine government to take stronger steps to resolve the situation peacefully. To date the Philippine government has hesitated and vacillated on the issue, encouraging the Malaysian authorities to take armed action against the badly outnumbered Filipinos.”

Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, who is also running for senator under UNA, said that it is about time the administration says where they stand on the Sabah issue.

“Are they with us Filipinos or with the Malaysians? Will they just allow our brothers to be killed there and do nothing? Is this how the government show their love for our Muslim brothers? It’s is the government’s fault that it has come to this because they did not give any importance to Kiram’s concerns which they brought to the attention of the President last year,” Magsaysay said.

“I grieve with the families of Filipino casualties. Let’s make sure Philippine government aid is immediately extended to those in need and take needed measures to ensure the safety of other Filipinos in Sabah,” said UNA senatorial bet Nancy Binay.

UNA secretary general and campaign manager Toby Tiangco chided DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas II’s description of Kiram as “matigas ang ulo (hard headed)” adding that the irresponsible remark from the interior secretary is patently improper and reflected the failure of the Aquino government to resolve the issue diplomatically.

“Sec. Roxas’ reckless remarks reflect his arrogance. Being the one in-charge of peace and order, his high-handed dismissal of the legitimate issues raised by the Sultan is unacceptable. The mishandling of the Sabah incident clearly reflects the political failure of the administration and the utter lack of leadership displayed by Roxas and Malacañang,” Tiangco said.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said they are now securing the family of Kiram in Taguig City.
PNP chief director General Alan Purisima said that police operatives have been installed in Maharlika Village where the Kiram famiyl are staying.

The PNP are implementing security meaqsure since the situation has gained much public attention and there might be threats that occur.

It can be recalled that Kiram’s follower arrived in Sabah in Febryary and engaged Malaysian security forces in a standoff that last 17 days until the clash between the two groups took place over the weekend.

However, the standoff ended on Friday in a shootout, with the Sultan’s followers using mortar fire to kill two Malaysia policemen while sustaining 12 fatalities.

The PNP intelligence units are gathering data in the Muslim community whether the situation in Sabah has provoked outraged.

As this developed, the PNP chief has already beefed up security at the Malaysian Embassy as part of “preventive measures.”

“It is but normal to secure installations such as an embassy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Purisima said the situation in Mindanao remains calm although the PNP continues to monitor the situation in hot spots.

So far, he said he has not heard of any plan to retaliate for what happened Friday.

Based on records the standoff in Sabah that erupted in violence on Friday morning, with 12 followers of the sultan of Sulu and two police officers killed as Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak declared his patience had run out.

Reports showed that 12 members of the group, which was led by a brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, were killed in the clash that began at about 10 a.m. and lasted for 30 minutes.

A spokesperson for the sultan of Sulu, Abraham Idjirani, denounced the raid on Agbimuddin’s group as a “massacre.”

The National Capital Region Police Office is closely monitoring Muslim communities in Metro Manila to prevent the spillover of the Sabah fighting in the metropolis.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/item/11209-sulu-sultan-ignores-rp-malaysia-ultimatums.html