100 MNLF men didn't escape Zambo - military

From ABS-CBN (Sep 30): 100 MNLF men didn't escape Zambo - military

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday brushed off claims that about a hundred members of the Nur Misuari faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) safely made their way out of Zamboanga City.

AFP Spokesperson Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said their mission in Zamboanga Ccity was a success, owing to the superior number of government troops.

Zagala said the Misuari group no longer poses a threat to the city and that any attempt by the rebels to leave during the 20-day standoff was always met by force. 
 
"We defeated them. They are no longer a force that can wreak havoc in Zamboanga City. [MNLF Spokesperson] Attorney Emmanuel Fontanilla is not on the ground. I was there. I saw the deployment of thousands of troops. Maybe one or 2 can escape but hundreds cannot go through the monitoring we have," Zagala said in an ANC interview.

As clearing operations continue in Zamboanga City especially at vital installations in six barangays of conflict, Zagala said their task now is to remove an estimated 20 MNLF stragglers who may be trying to escape.

"Right now what's important is we remove these stragglers. Beside the stragglers, there is a lot of buried MNLF fighters there," he said.

Zagala said the government is trying to determine who sent the MNLF troops headed by five commanders to Zamboanga City.

He added they continue to trace the whereabouts of Habier Malik, one of the trusted commanders of Misuari, and verify reports of his possible death as well as those of two other rebel commanders Haider and Dasta.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/09/30/13/100-mnlf-men-didnt-escape-zambo-military

Video: 100 MNLF men left Zamboanga: Nur spokesman

From ABS-CBN/ANC (Sep 30): Video: 100 MNLF men left Zamboanga: Nur spokesman

[Video: Telephone interview with MNLF spokesperson, Attorney Emmanuel Fontanilla]

MANILA - Attorney Emmanuel Fontanilla, the spokesperson of the Misuari faction of the Moro National Liberation Front, claimed about a hundred MNLF members have already left Zamboanga City.

In an interview with DZMM, Fontanilla denounced the government's move to use military action, saying a third impartial party could have peacefully ended the conflict.

Fontanilla reiterated the government should have opted for a political solution.

"Kami po ay wala kaming balak na sakupin ang Zamboanga, kasi kung sasakupin namin di ganun kadami ang pinadala namin at nandun naman ang katotohanang lumalabas na ang MNLF ay pumunta dun para sa isang rally at isang caravan.

 Napakasakit lang ang naririnig palagi ng mamamayan ay ang mga punto ng pamahalaan. So kami'y nagpapasalamat talaga at binigyang pagkakataon at nakaalis yung mga kapatid doon sa area," he said.

"Aabutin po siguro ng mga isangdaan din ang nakaalis."

ANC, September 30, 2013

MILF: AFP soldiers attack in Basilan; 30 soldiers die, scores wounded

Posted to the MILF Website (Sep 29): AFP soldiers attack in Basilan; 30 soldiers die, scores wounded

Elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on a military operation against members of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Nur Misuari’s faction attacked early morning of September 28 a rebel stronghold in Barangay Ettub-Ettub, Sumisip, Basilan that left 30 soldiers killed and scores wounded.
  

In a news dispatch from our information officer in Basilan at 8:44pm of September 28, it said that the government soldiers were after members of MNLF-Misuari faction in the island of Basilan when they attacked barangay Ettub-Ettub, a bastion of Moro rebels in Sumisip which resulted to the death of the soldiers. The rebels engaged the aggressors in a fierce battle that also resulted to the death of Jasim Hasimin, a civilian who was caught in the crossfire.
The dead soldiers were still in Sitio Datag pending retrieval by the military.

After the heavy skirmishes the military pounded the area with heavy artillery until 3:00am forcing the civilians to flee. They are now sheltered in evacuation centers. According to a latest report, one rebel was wounded. Mobile phone signal was cut-off as of press time with no means of communicating with the evacuees by relatives.

The attacked in Basilan came after the military contained the Zamboanga siege by hundreds of MNLF-Misuari faction members that started on September 9 and ended on September 28. The military is still searching among the dead rebels, Habier Malik, the right-hand man of Misuari who was reportedly killed, wounded or escape on a speedboat towards unknown destination. The report on the condition of Malik or his whereabouts cannot be confirmed by the military.

Latest figure on the Zamboanga violence shows that 167 MNLF killed and 247 captured/surrendered. 18 killed and a hundred more wounded on AFP side. Five members of the Philippine National Police were also killed and 14 wounded. Death toll on civilians was 12 and 74 wounded. The number of hostages freed was 184 and 15 wounded.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/582-afp-soldiers-attack-in-basilan-30-soldiers-die-scores-wounded

Funds raised via RMN for reward on Malik

From the Daily Zamboanga Times (Sep 30): Funds raised via RMN for reward on Malik

Indignant Zamboangueños and listeners of Tatak RMN Zamboanga yesterday joined a fund raising campaign called “piso-piso” to come up with a reward for the capture of MNLF commander Ustadz Habier Malik.

 

DXRZ 900 Tatak RMN listeners voiced their anger on Malik who remains at large and nowhere to be found as government officials could not say on his real status as exchange of gunfire continued between the MNLF group and government troops.

 

The fund raising was initiated by one of RMN’s listeners who proposed that people should contribute any amount for reward to fasttrack the neutralization of Malik.

 

In just few seconds, another listener expressed support to the proposal and several other listeners and televiewers, including those working abroad, pledged to give some amount of money.

 

Some of the listeners and viewers made pledges, while others personally went to the RMN radio station at Pilar Street to give their contribution.

 

It turned out that many Zamboangueños are angry and eager to see Malik behind bars for his atrocities that have brought deaths, destruction of properties and displacement of more than 100,000 people.

 

The management of RMN-Zamboanga disclosed that they will turn over the collected money to the government as reward to anybody or group who will neutralize Malik.

 

http://zamboangatimes.ph/zamboangatimes/top-news/8650-funds-raised-via-rmn-for-reward-on-malik.html

Troops chase retreating MNLF rebs in Talon-Talon mangroves : Malik's identification card found

From the Daily Zamboanga Times (Sep 30): Troops chase retreating MNLF rebs in Talon-Talon mangroves : MALIK’S IDENTIFICATION CARD FOUND

The fight continued yesterday as government troops hunt down for defiant MNLF rebels led by Habier Malik who have refused to surrender and have retreated to the vast magroves in Talon-Talon.

 

Troops recovered six bodies of MNLF rebels after a heavy gunfight at the Talon-Talon mangroves.

 

Some 100 houses were gutted down by fire that broke out during a firefight yesterday at Puerto Princesa, Talon-Talon at dawn yesterday.

 

The blaze was believed to have started by fleeing MNLF rebels to divert the attention of the pursuing government forces.

 

As this developed,  the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced yesterday that an identification (ID) card belonging to Malik has been found in one of the slain Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters.

 

But AFP public affairs office deputy head Maj. Angelo Guzman said it is still being determined if the body is indeed that of the slain MNLF commander.

 

Guzman said there were “similarities” between the body and their records of Malik, one of the commanders of MNLF forces involved in the clashes for 20 days.

 

“ID belonging to Malik found in one killed MNLF fighter in Zamboanga (but) is not a guarantee that he is Malik, though they have similarities,” Guzman said.

 

But AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said Malik is just one of the five commanders of the MNLF forces who had briefly taken over parts of the city.

 

“We have to consider how many forces, there are five commanders, and Malik is just one of them,” Zagala said.

 

As for MNLF founding chair Nur Misuari, the AFP public affairs office chief said their information indicates he is still in Sulu but declined to elaborate.

 

He added that they are constantly monitoring Misuari.

 

Despite announcements that the Zamboanga City stand-off is over, the military is still keeping a tight lookout for (MNLF stragglers, according to Zagala.

 

But he said that these MNLF men are already defeated and are just focusing to escape.

“We believe they are already defeated). (There are) just a few members of them, stragglers, maybe hiding and evading arrest,” Zagala stressed.

 

He added that government forces are now checking the city for remnants of MNLF founding chair Nur Misuari’s followers aside from improvised explosives the remnants may have left behind.

 

Earlier, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said that the crisis is over.

 

He made the assessment after there was no firefight Friday night.

 

Gazmin also said that Malik was still uncaptured.

 

Meanwhile, the AFP announced that the death toll in the 20-day fighting has now reached the 208 mark.

 

AFP deputy public affairs office chief Major Angelo Guzman said that this update is as of 4 p.m. Saturday.

 

He breaks this down to the following:

 

-AFP: 18 killed, 169 wounded in action

-PNP: 5 killed, 14 wounded

-Civilians: 12 killed, 72 wounded

-MNLF: 183 killed (100 now unidentified), captured/surrendered 292

 

Hostages rescued numbered 195 while high-powered firearms seized totaled to 116 and low-powered ones at 15.

 

http://zamboangatimes.ph/zamboangatimes/top-news/8655-troops-chase-retreating-mnlf-rebs-in-talon-talon-mangroves--maliks-identification-card-found.html

CPP: Aquino, AFP “mission accomplished”, show contempt of people

From the CPP Website (Sep 30): Aquino, AFP “mission accomplished”, show contempt of people

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns the Aquino regime and its armed forces for its “contemptuous declarations of ‘mission accomplished’ after nearly a month of all-out bombing of several baranggays of Zamboanga City, razing tens of thousands of homes to the ground, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents from their communities, causing them grave hardships and subjecting them to rights abuses.”

The CPP dismissed claims by Aquino’s officials over the weekend that the AFP’s “mission to rescue and ensure the safety of the hostages” has been accomplished.
“What ‘safety of hostages’ is the AFP talking about, when it dropped bombs, fired mortars and indiscriminately sprayed bullets even when hundreds of civilians were still inside their communities either as hostages held by the MNLF or ordinary residents caught in the crossfire. What ‘safety of hostages’ when the Aquino regime did not even seek the safe passage of civilians through negotiations.”

“The all-out siege against the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that has now lasted more than 20 days, is an unnecessary war which the Aquino regime chose to wage against the option of negotiating with the MNLF in order to secure the safety of the hostages and draw the armed MNLF forces out of the city and civilian communities.”

“Clearly, Aquino and the AFP have nothing but contempt of the people when it declared ‘mission accomplished’ when more than a hundred thousand people continue to languish daily in the evacuation centers and prevented from returning to their land,” said the CPP.

“What ‘mission’ is Aquino claiming to have accomplished? Killing more than 150 MNLF forces by fielding a vastly superior force and spending hundreds of millions of pesos in bombs, bullets and mortars, without having even attempted to negotiate with the MNLF for a peaceful resolution of the armed standoff?,” said the CPP.

“The people of Zamboanga and the Filipino people demand that Aquino and the AFP be made responsible for the violations of international humanitarian law, abuses of human rights and the vast destruction in private and public property in the course of waging the all-out armed siege against the MNLF,” added the CPP.

The CPP supports the people of Zamboanga in their demand for an impartial investigation into Aquino’s nearly one month war against the MNLF.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20130930_aquino-afp-mission-accomplished-show-contempt-of-people

City gov’t holds flag-raising to honor fallen soldiers at AFP’s WestMinCom

From the Zamboanga Today (Sep 29): City gov’t holds flag-raising to honor fallen soldiers at AFP’s WestMinCom

Government forces and the city’s Crisis Management Committee headed by Mayor Beng Climaco as well as some teachers and boy scouts gathered at Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) headquarters’ ground yesterday to honor soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the defense of Zamboanga City.

In honor of the fallen soldiers, Defense Chief Voltaire Gazmin, accompanied by Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista and other top military officials, led the flag raising ceremony.

Prayers for the fallen soldiers, including three junior officers, were recited by a Muslim chaplain of the military and a Christian religious leader, respectively. Then later the Philippine flag was raised to a half-mast.

Gazmin on the AFP’s twitter account said the crisis in Zamboanga City where government troops intensely fought members of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) loyal to Nur Misuari for 20 days is finally over.

“Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin declares Zamboanga standoff over... still searching for Commander Habier Malik...,” the AFP twitter said.

Gazmin told reporters that all hostages have already been accounted for and that their mission has been accomplished. But Gazmin said they will still continue the clearing operations in the city.

Media reported that government forces are now checking on “concerned areas” for remnants of Misuari’s followers and for improvised explosives the rebels may have left behind.

In Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte confirmed Gazmin’s statament posted in the AFP twitter.

According to Valte, the government’s goal from September 9 was to ensure the safety of hostages and make sure civilians are out of harm’s way, and this has already been accomplished.

Observers said although government forces have swept into the MNLF-held areas in Sta Barbara, Sta Catalina, Rio Hondo, Talon-Talon, Mariki, and other areas, but Malik’s whereabouts is unknown.

They said media reported that there has been word from Reverend Absalom Cerveza, the MNLF spokesman for the Misuari faction, that he received a text message from Malik who had vowed to fight “to the end” saying they are ready for whatever fate awaits them in Zamboanga City.

Quoting Cerveza as saying, the media also reported that Malik’s group is ready for whatever fate awaits them in Zamboanga City.

Cerveza fears more blood will be shed as he said the MNLF rebels in Zamboanga City are the “hardcore” fighters of the group who were willing to fight to the death with no payment.

Meanwhile, Mayor Climaco disclosed that government forces’ clearing operation is still being conducted in declared concern areas.

“We are still on phase 1 and it will take two weeks for phase 2,” she said.

The crisis began when members of the Misuari MNLF faction and his top commander Malik attacked six villages and held hostage dozens of civilians in the city last September 9.

Government forces on Friday had already rescued the last six civilians held hostage by the rebel group, according to AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said.

Zagala said they were told these were the last group of people held by the rebels and have already accounted for 195 hostages. He admitted they are still searching for Malik.

According to him, the AFP is now assessing the testimonies of the MNLF fighters who surrendered or were captured as well as the rescued hostages to locate the whereabouts of Malik.

About 200 people, including 166 rebels, have been killed and more than 100,000 residents of the city  were displaced.

The AFP said 246 rebels have been captured, 7 of whom are females, 6 are minors, while the rest are males.

The fighting between government troops and the MNLF have resulted to the deaths of 12 civilians. Seventy-two more were injured.

The conflict has also left homes in ruin and brought businesses at a standstill.

An estimated P195 million was lost in fires that hit nearly 10,000 buildings, houses, other structures in Zamboanga.
























http://www.zamboangatoday.ph/zamboangatoday/index.php/top-stories/15281-city-govt-holds-flag-raising-to-honor-fallen-soldiers-at-afps-westmincom.html

BIFF attacks Datu Piang town; residents flee

From the Philippine Star (Sep 30): BIFF attacks Datu Piang town; residents flee

Soldiers foiled Sunday night another attempt by the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) to take over an Army outpost in Datu Piang town, forcing some 300 villagers to evacuate to safe areas.

Datu Piang’s municipal peace and order council has confirmed that the attack forced dozens of Moro families from the surroundings of the Army installation in Barangay Magaslong, which BIFF bandits had repeatedly attacked in recent months.

The hostilities erupted when the bandits, armed with assault rifles and shoulder-fire 40 MM grenades, attacked past 9 Sunday from two directions the outpost of the Alpha Company of the 45th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Magaslong, about four kilometers southwest of the town center of Datu Piang.

The soldiers manning the outpost traded shots with the bandits until past 3 p.m. Monday.

The firefight waned only after the bandits ran out of ammunition, forcing them to retreat to southwest of Datu Piang bringing with them six wounded companions.

Police investigators and Army intelligence agents have confirmed seeing heavy stains of blood along the bandits’ escape route.

Local officials said the BIFF’s attempt to take over the Army outpost in Barangay Magaslong was an apparent retaliation for its losses in last week’s incursion in North Cotabato’s Midsayap town.

Some 300 bandits laid siege on five farming enclaves in Midsayap, held more than 20 civilians hostages, beheaded farmer Ricarte Dionio and executed another before they scampered away as government forces launched a counter-offensive.

BIFF spokesman Abu Misry Mama said their forces were behind the attacks in Midsayap last October 23 and the harassment of soldiers in Barangay Magaslong Sunday night.

The BIFF’s attack Sunday night forced villagers in the adjoining Barangays Magaslong, Madtalbayog, Glasi, and Gumbay to evacuate to the compound of a mosque and a nearby campus of a Catholic school in the town proper of Datu Piang.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/09/30/1239876/biff-attacks-datu-piang-town-residents-flee

Militiaman wounded in leftist rebel attack at outpost in S. Philippines

From the Global Times (Sep 30): Militiaman wounded in leftist rebel attack at outpost in S. Philippines

One militiaman was wounded in a foiled attempt by leftist rebels to overrun a militia outpost in southern Philippines on Sunday, authorities said on Monday.

The attack happened as 30 New People's Army guerrillas fired at the 2nd Platoon, 9th Civilian Armed Auxiliary (CAA) Company detachment in Linda village, Nabunturan town, in Mindanao's Compostela Valley province around 5:20 a.m., Captain Raul Villegas, spokesperson for the army's 10th Infantry Division, said.

Rolly Aguilar, a militiaman, was hit in the arm and brought to a local hospital for treatment as soldiers and militiamen pursued and engaged the attackers, Senior Superintendent Camilo Cascolan, Compostela Valley police chief, said.

The rebels were reportedly planning to storm the outpost to seize weapons and kidnap the detachment commander, a regular soldier.

The Philippine army oversees the 50,000-strong CAA militia ( formerly Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit), a paramilitary spread in platoon-sized units throughout the country.

Composed of local male residents, the Cafgus perform military duties and assist the army and police in their counterinsurgency operations against leftist rebels and in the southern island of Mindanao, Muslim separatists.

On Friday, a soldier was also killed as the same band of NPA rebels attacked an army patrol in nearby Mawab township.

The 4,000-strong NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, is fighting a leftist insurgency in 60 Philippine provinces since 1969.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/815043.shtml#.UkkyQ5fD8kM

PNP, AFP: Suspected body of Malik to undergo forensic examination

From GMA News (Sep 30): PNP, AFP: Suspected body of Malik to undergo forensic examination

Authorities have yet to confirm the whereabouts of Moro National Liberation Front Commander Habier Malik after identification cards belonging to him were found on one of the slain followers of MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari in Zamboanga City over the weekend.

In a phone interview with GMA News Online Monday morning, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr. said police and military officials have yet to determine Malik's whereabouts.

He said authorities are still double-checking if the body where the IDs where found is indeed that of Malik, a known ally of Misuari.

"Vina-validate pa namin ang body... Specifically ang PNP, sila ang nagha-handle ng post-forensic examination," he said.

For his part, PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac said the body is still being investigated at the PNP crime laboratory.

"Wala pang confirmation," he said in a separate phone interview with GMA News Online.

Earlier, AFP information chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said Malik is one of the five commanders of the MNLF forces that had briefly taken control over parts of the city for nearly three weeks.

"We have to consider how many forces. There are five commanders, and Malik is just one of them," Zagala said in an interview on dzBB radio.

As for Misuari, Zagala said their information indicates he is still in Sulu, but declined to elaborate.

He also said they are monitoring Misuari's movements.

Misuari's followers had engaged government forces in armed confrontations starting Sept. 9, when they took civilians as hostages. More than 100 people have been killed in the fighting, which paralyzed the city's businesses and schools.

On Saturday, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the crisis is over, but clearing operations would continue to ensure that no more MNLF rebels would be left in the city.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/328726/news/regions/pnp-afp-suspected-body-of-malik-to-undergo-forensic-examination

Did Malik escape to Sulu?

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 30): Did Malik escape to Sulu?



WANTED A wall poster of Habier Abdul Malik is at the main entrance of the central police station in Zamboanga City. EDWIN BACASMAS
ZAMBOANGA CITY—Where is Habier Malik?

The commander of the Moro rebels who attacked this city 20 days ago remained unaccounted for on Sunday as fighting continued between security forces and remnants of his insurgent band two days after the military declared its mission here accomplished.

There were reports on Saturday that Malik, a trusted lieutenant of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari, had been wounded, but the information could not be independently verified.

On Saturday night, the Inquirer received information that Malik had slipped through the military blockade and was already in Kanmindos village in Luuk town, Sulu province, with head and leg wounds.

But former Rep. Munir Arbison said it was impossible that Malik was in Luuk. Arbison’s brother Allayon is the mayor of Luuk.

Arbison dismissed the report of Malik’s presence in Luuk as “malicious and could have something to do with politics.”

He explained that Malik was his and his family’s enemy who supported their opponents and staged an attack in the town during May’s midterm elections.

“Never will we help an enemy who killed many of our followers,” Arbison said.

The military said on Saturday that it was looking for Malik “among the dead.”

Malik’s identification card had been found on the body of a slain rebel, but military spokeman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said it was too early to confirm his death, as forensic examinations were being carried out.

The military announced on Saturday that police were taking over from troops to clear coastal villages here that were seized and occupied by rebels from the MNLF faction led by Misuari.

But just minutes after the military said the threat to Zamboanga City was over, soldiers killed three MNLF fighters in a clash that also left six soldiers wounded.

“What happened was not organized resistance. These are stragglers trying to escape capture,” Zagala explained on Sunday, adding that only a handful of rebels remained.

The latest clash put the toll at 189 MNLF fighters killed, with 292 captured or surrendering, while 23 soldiers and policemen and 12 civilians had also been slain

A total of 195 civilian hostages escaped or had been rescued, with no more believed to still be in the hands of the rebels, Zagala said.

As fighting went on in some coastal areas of the city on Sunday, fire broke out on Puerto Princesa Drive in Talon-Talon village, angering people who had heard about the clearing operations.

Some residents were so angry they believed the fire had been deliberately set.

“Tell the government to stop this drama. All of us here are suffering and hurt,” village guard Abnasser Ladja told the Inquirer.

Ladja’s two-story house was razed in the fire. His family had provided food for the Special Action Force and Marine troops during the fighting.

“Is this how the government is repaying us?” Ladja asked.

Another fire broke out in Rio Hondo on Sunday afternoon and like Ladja in Talon-Talon, Jasil Isniradji wondered if the government was out to raze the entire coast.

On Sept. 10, Isniradji’s relatives were told to leave their home in Santa Barbara village and fire broke out there.

The family went to leave with Isniradji in Rio Hondo, but on Sept. 17 the whole family was ordered out of the village and fire broke out there.

The whole family moved to Talon-Talon and fire broke out there on Sunday, leaving the Isniradjis nowhere else to go.

“We don’t know why they are doing this to us,” Isniradji said.

Ladja said the government should explain what it meant by “clearing operations.”

“Is this what they mean by it, burning our villages? Have they no pity?” Ladja said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Sunday said 10,160 houses had been destroyed or damaged in fires in five coastal villages here since fighting between government troops and Misuari’s followers began on Sept. 9.

Worst hit is Santa Catalina, where the rebels burned 3,591 houses to slow down the military advance, the council said.

The fighting displaced 118,819 people, who are now sheltered in 35 evacuation centers in the city.

In Malacañang, Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, said the crushing defeat of the MNLF in Zamboanga City had degraded Misuari’s ability to launch similar attacks in other parts of the country.

In the coming days, Carandang said, the Department of Justice would bring rebellion and other criminal charges against Misuari, Malik and their followers who have been captured in Zamboanga City

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/497685/did-malik-escape-to-sulu

Cigarettes and the terrorist link

From the New Straits Times (Sep 30): Cigarettes and the terrorist link

THE next time you light up a contraband cigarette, you may be funding organised crime syndicates or, worse, terrorist organisations.

Investigators have revealed to the New Straits Times that regional terrorist organisation such as Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah could be getting funding from local organised crime gangs.

The Home Ministry and crime prevention groups have begun drawing links to these organisations and the thriving illicit cigarette business that last year alone cost the government in excess of RM2 billion in lost taxes.

"There is a chance that these terrorist organisations, including global terror groups such as al-Qaeda, are using local organised crime gangs to help them finance their operations.

"It's also possible that they are using Malaysia as a base to fund their activities," said Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Crime analyst Kamal Affendi Hashim said illicit tobacco trafficking was the most attractive option for cartels to fund their illegal activities.

"Looking at the billions lost by the government in revenue and the number of smuggled contraband cigarettes, one has to conclude that this is beyond the capacity of a single individual.

"The bigger organisations are involved simply because they need more money to fund their operations.

"You need an international network," Kamal Affendi said, suggesting that cross-cells collaboration may be at work.

Kamal Affendi added that some gangs would "expose" a less profitable vice activity on purpose to law enforcement officers to keep them "busy" while they focus on the main activity, which is cigarette smuggling.

"It's a parallel activity. It's a case of sacrificing the weaker baby so that attention is diverted from the main activity.

"The members have the necessary network, connections and the know-how to move large shipments right under the noses of the authorities. Despite the enforcement coming down hard on the individuals involved, cartels couldn't be bothered as the penalty is almost laughable, compared with the amount of money they can make from this."

He said that crime syndicates and terrorist organisations were increasingly looking at this revenue stream to fund their activities because of the "low risk-huge profits" nature of the business.

Another criminologist cited the Lahad Datu intrusion as an example of how poor enforcement to arrest illicit cigarette smuggling had allowed the market in the east coast of Sabah to thrive.

"In that part of the country, illicit cigarettes have cornered more than 90 per cent of the market.

"The minute the Eastern Sabah Security Command was set up and sea patrols increased, you can hardly find any contraband cigarettes coming in from the Philippines."

Illicit cigarettes (white and kretek) are those on which import duties have not been paid.

"This means that they are available in the market at a considerably lower price. A pack of regular cigarettes costs RM10.50, while contraband packs cost anywhere from RM2.20 to RM4.

"Cigarettes are less 'ominous' by their very nature, as opposed to opium or cocaine, for example. You smoke cigarettes out in the open and they don't come under the same scrutiny as controlled substances would, which makes them easier to move around," said an investigator who specialises in the operations of these syndicates.

The business is so lucrative that organised crime gangs are collaborating to form cartels to manipulate, control and monopolise the sales of illicit tobacco.

Their networking is far-reaching and extends beyond physical, cultural and ideological boundaries, said another insider.

Universiti Sains Malaysia's Professor Dr P. Sundramoorthy said there were tell-tale signs that local gangs were behind the illicit tobacco business.

"It is not surprising as these criminals have been taking advantage of the free trade zones and duty free zones to conduct their business," said the criminologist.

             

General Operations Force personnel checking seized contraband cigarettes in Rantau Panjang, Kelantan, recently. The contraband cigarette business is so lucrative that organised crime gangs are forming cartels. Pic by Syamsi Suhaimi

http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/cigarettes-and-the-terrorist-link-font-color-red-exclusive-font-1.365536?cache=03%2F7.201664%3Fkey%3DKuala+Lumpur%2F7.502513%2F7.502513%2F7.502513

Obama visit seen to boost PH-US defense partnership

From the Manila Times (Sep 29): Obama visit seen to boost PH-US defense partnership

Malacañang on Sunday said that it is expecting that the upcoming visit of United States (US) President Barack Obama to the Philippines will be “fruitful.”

Obama is slated for a two-day visit in Manila on October 11 and 12, the first for a US President since his predecessor George W. Bush held a whirlwind nine-hour visit here in October 2003. He will meet President Benigno Aquino 3rd to discuss the wide-ranging relationship between the United States and the Philippines.

”We’re hoping that this visit will be very fruitful in strengthening our relations [with the] United States,” Strategic Communications Secretary Ramon Carandang said.

He cited that the discussions between the two leaders would cover not just the strategic partnership in the field of defense but also the economic and trade ties between the two nations.

”They will talk about the defense issues, they will talk about economic and trade issues,” Carandang noted.

The Palace official, however, did not give further details on the schedule and agenda of the bilateral talks.

Obama’s visit comes as both countries negotiate an agreement that will allow increased rotational presence of American troops in the Philippines, and give them wider access to the country’s military bases amid tension between the Philippines and China over territory in the West Philippine Sea.

According to Carandang, the territorial dispute with China may be taken up as part of talks to enhance the country’s maritime security.

”I think hindi mo maiiwasan na mapag-uusapan ‘yan kasi bahagi ‘yan ng konteksto ng ating mga kilos [you can’t avoid talking about the territorial dispute because it is part of the context of the move] to enhance our maritime security,” he said.

However, Carandang said that the negotiations for the rotational presence of US troops in the country are not being rushed.

”I don’t think we can say that they are being rushed. These discussions have been going on for several months—if I’m not mistaken, over a year now. And we are making slow but steady progress on the rotational presence,” he said.

”Whether or not we will sign something during the Obama visit is not something I can answer at this point.

What I can assure our countrymen is that [the] discussions with the US will lead to enhanced security for the Philippines and that’s why we’re entering into these discussions,” he added.

http://www.imanilatimes.net/obama-visit-seen-to-boost-ph-us-defense-partnership/40586/

US launched fund under US-PH PFG

From the Manila Times (Sep 30): US launched fund under US-PH PFG

The United States government on Monday launched the Philippine-American (Phil-Am) Fund, a five-year P984-million ($24 million) grant-making facility that aims to help Filipino organizations in implementing innovative solutions that will address the country’s development challenges.

The facility was created under the auspices of the Partnership For Growth, which aims to achieve for the Philippines a broad-based, sustainable and inclusive growth. The country has been chosen by the Obama administration because of President Benigno Aquino’s anti-corruption and good governance drive.

According to the fact sheet posted on the State Department’s website, the Partnership For Growth “aims to address the most significant constraints to growth and to stimulate enhanced, inclusive economic expansion.”

“I am very pleased to be a part of this exciting and innovative project that will help advance our shared vision of broad-based and inclusive growth under the Partnership for Growth Initiative. Under the PFG, our governments are committed to work together to achieve inclusive economic growth in the Philippines,” US Ambassador to Manila Harry Thomas Jr. said in a statement.

The fund will support civil society efforts that complement the targeted technical assistance the US government is providing through other projects under the PFG.
The grants will cover five areas: promotion of new businesses and entrepreneurship, governance, combating trafficking in persons, adult literacy through innovative uses of technology, and biodiversity conservation.

“We are working in partnership with the Philippine government, the private sector and civil society organizations to help put the Philippines on an accelerated growth path that benefits the majority of its population. The Phil-Am Fund will help us reach this goal,” Gloria Steele, the Philippine mission director of the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) said.

The fund was launched through the said agency.

The fund is open to all non-state institutions, which include qualified Philippine private, for-profit, non-profit organizations and nongovernment organizations including universities, research institutions, professional associations, faith-based and community organizations and other relevant groups.

The Phil-Am Fund is one of the projects under the Partnership for Growth, a White House initiative. PFG is a whole-of-government effort emerging from the US Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development, which focuses on fostering economic growth in countries committed to good governance.

http://www.imanilatimes.net/us-launched-fund-under-us-ph-pfg/40790/

New group tagged behind Lanao clash

From the Manila Times (Sep 29): New group tagged behind Lanao clash

A new rebel group is believed to be involved on Friday’s clash between government troops and militants, which left five people dead in Lanao del Sur.

Col. Glen Macasero, commanding officer of the Marawi City-based 103rd Infantry Brigade, maintained that the incident had nothing to do with the government’s engagements with both the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Calling themselves the Ghuraba (strangers), the armed men on Friday’s encounter was allegedly composed of Muslim youths based in Lanao del Sur said to be advocating the Khilafa Islamiya ideology.

The group claimed responsibility for the attack, lamenting that it lost five of its members in the cited encounter.

“Farewell to my four dearest brothers who were chosen for Shahadah, yesterday [Friday], after slaughtering whatever they could amongst kuffars [disbelievers] with their mere handguns . . . Wallahi, I would have wished nothing more than . . . being with you, to go and meet Allah on such a blessed day. Farewell, my dearest brothers . . . We shall meet in Jannat-ul Firdaws [Paradise], Insha Allah,” Zulbijaadeyn Alghareeb, a professed member of the group, said in his Facebook account on Saturday.

The armed group was on board a multi-cab and a pickup as they drove past the checkpoint of the 51st Army Battalion and shot a soldier manning the checkpoint at about 6:45 a.m. on Friday.

The other soldiers returned fire immediately, according to Macasero.

“This checkpoint is fixed and sometimes not manned by soldiers. Maybe the gunmen thought that way and was surprised when they saw there were soldiers [positioned behind] the checkpoint,” Macasero said.

He added that soldiers pursued the armed men who fled towards the mountains of Ganassi town. The troops recovered an M16 rifle, an M14 rifle, a carbine and a .45 caliber pistol.

Local sources privy to the Ghuraba operations said the two-vehicle convoy of the armed group was sent to reinforce the guerilla forces of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

“Ghuraba already has some members engaged with BIFF guerillas currently operating in North Cotabato and Maguindanao,” one of the sources told reporters.

Another source, however, said that the group’s attack was a “spill-over” of the Zamboanga crisis. The source noted that the group was composed of militants responding to the “mistreatment” of captured MNLF fighters as seen in videos and reports that they obtained and circulated over social media websites.

The government last month speculated about the emergence of a broader Khilafa Islamiya Movement (KIM) which it blamed for the recent bombings in several parts of Mindanao.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin earlier said that the KIM is an umbrella organization of rogue MILF and BIFF forces.

MILF First Vice Chairman Ghazali Jaafar also previously stressed that some Bangsamoro leaders who were dissatisfied with the peace efforts in Mindanao created the new “threat group.”

The BIFF, however, dismissed as speculation the existence of the KIM.

BIFF spokesperson Abu Misry Mama earlier stressed that the KIM speculation is just a government ploy to “sow fear” in Mindanao.

http://www.imanilatimes.net/new-group-tagged-behind-lanao-clash/40621/