| Give me one month to
get rid of Sayyaf-- Nur MANILA, (ABS-CBN) - The outspoken kingpin of the Autonomous Region
for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and chief of the once dominant Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) is blowing his horn again.
Governor Nur Misuari said he can get "rid" of the
Abu Sayyaf in one month.
But Misuari said he needs a full mandate from the President to
handle the situation without any interference by the President's underlings.
"Give me a maximum of one month and we can get rid of
them," Misuari said in yesterday's Senate hearing of the ARMM budget.
"I could talk with them if given the mandate, I know the
problem (in Mindanao) more than anyone else," he added.
Misuari made the assertions as he derided "some
people" of bungling an early effort to deal with the bandit group when he was
initially named as government negotiator.
He claimed he almost persuaded Commander Ghalib
"Robot" Andang, Raddulan Sahiron and Mujib Susukan to free the first set of
hostages involving the Basilan teachers and students, when he was unceremoniously pulled
out from negotiations.
At the height of his negotiation effort, Misuari said
"some people called President Estrada" and complained that he was
"ineffective and has not produced any result."
"I thought I am the best negotiator because I am the most
experienced" in these kind of negotiations, Misuari said.
"I don't know why they have to (replace) me when I was
about to resolve the problem," he said.
He said the Sipadan hostage taking would not have happened if
he was not pulled out from the Basilan negotiating team.
Misuari declined to name names and later attempts for him to
spill the beans proved futile. He surmised that he was replaced because he was against the
ransom policy for the release of the hostages.
Cultural matrix
Misuari said the Abu Sayyaf problem and the secessionist
movement of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front cannot be solved by people who do not
understand "the cultural matrix, the terrain and the history" of Mindanao.
He said "it is not yet to late for the government"
to finally resolve the two issues if the government will be sincere in granting genuine
autonomy for Mindanao.
In fact, Misuari said he could negotiate, if not hunt down the
Abu Sayyaf to the last man.
Except for Abu Sabaya, which he described as "very very
extreme," Misuari said he could persuade the top leaders of Abu Sayyaf to surrender.
Without the proper mandate from the President, Misuari said he
won't lift a finger in dealing with the Abu Sayyaf and the MILF.
"My move could be misunderstood," he said.
He stressed that he will "never make any decisions
without the imprimatur of the President," he added.
He also said the military should likewise cooperate with him
and his men and allow them free access to the areas where the Abu Sayyaf leaders could
possibly be hiding.
Misuari said he could also persuade MILF chair Hashim Salamat
to surrender to the government. "I could talk with Hashim Salamat. I can also talk to
Hadji Murad. Salamat has promised me he will join me and not fight anymore once genuine
autonomy is achieved in Mindanao."
He also said a federal form of government is acceptable to the
Muslim people in their bid for genuine autonomy.
More operations vs. Sayyaf rebels
Meanwhile, local folks of Sulu are now reportedly giving leads
to the military as to the whereabouts of the Abu Sayyaf members.
Press Secretary Ricardo Puno said the move is one clear
indication that nobody is protecting the bandits in their hometowns. Puno added that
government troops are now already in the thick of their operations against the groups of
the Ghalib Andang and Abu Sabaya.
"But in the remote possibility that there may be some
movements towards other islands, there are already operations also in the nature of
preparatory and preventive (measures) over there in Basilan and Tawi-Tawi," Puno
said.
Puno said, arrest of these leaders is getting clearer
considering that Robot has no more human shields to be used while the Sabaya faction is
now in a very low morale.
"The operations are still primarily concentrated into
Talipao and Patikul closer...As you know, in the other area, Robot have no more human
shields, so it's a question of searching them out," Puno added.
Puno said that residents of Jolo have already started
providing information to the government troops prompting them to further intensify their
operations.
He said government troops are also being careful with its
operations to avoid accusations of human rights violations, like what had happened in the
past.
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