Leave Sabah, Aquino Tells Filipino Rebels |
| Tuesday, 26 February 2013 19:18 |
 Members of a Malaysian special police unit stand guard in an area where Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was expected for a visit, near Lahad Datu, February 19, 2013. The region is close to Kampung Tanduo where a group of armed Filipinos, whom declared themselves followers of a descendant of the Sultan of Sulu, landed in Kampung Tanduao, in the Lahad Datu district on February 12. Malaysia was preparing to deport around 100 Filipinos who made their way into the country last week to reclaim land.KUALA LUMPUR: Philippine President Benigno Aquino III stepped in today and appealed to a Filipino rebel group leader claiming ownership of Sabah to quit peacefully the Malaysian state in which he has been hiding or face sanctions for his actions.
Aquino was reported to have spoken on Philippine national television early this morning, telling Sultan Jamalul Kiram III that his group should pull out from the coastal village of Tanduo, near Lahad Datu, before the situation gets out of control.
Source : The Malaysian Digest“This is a situation that cannot persist. If you are truly the leader of your people, you should be one with us in ordering your followers to return home peacefully. “The right thing to do now would be to order your followers to return home as soon as possible,” he was quoted as saying by the Philippine Star. The Philippine daily reported Aquino telling Jamalul he was risking not only the lives of his men but also the lives of “hundreds of thousands” of other Filipinos working in Malaysia.  Philippine President Benigno Aquino III (L) salutes while walking past military honor troops during ceremonies to mark the 27th anniversary of the People Power Revolution in Quezon City, February 25, 2013.The Philippine president was also reported to have reminded Jamalul that those Filipinos suffering the consequences of his actions were also Muslims, and told the rebel leader his grievances could be resolved through dialogue.“The avenue of peaceful and open dialogue is still available to us. Let us therefore sit down as brothers to address your grievances in a peaceful, calm manner according to our laws and according to correct processes when your people arrive home,” Aquino was reported saying. He warned Jamalul and his men they could face sanctions for breaching their country’s constitution and national policy. He also reportedly told Jamalul and his men they would be investigated, along with possible collaborators, suggesting that the incident may have been an act to undermine the Philippine government. “The choices and consequences are yours. If you choose not to co-operate, the full force of the laws of the state will be used to achieve justice for all who have been put in harm’s way,” Aquino was quoted as saying. The group, suspected of being a faction of a Philippine Muslim rebel group, claims to belong to the “royal army” of the Sulu sultanate and are believed to number about 180 people, with 30 gunmen among its ranks according to news wire The Associated Press. They had intruded into Malaysia on February 9 and have been reported to have held national security forces at bay amid an enforced blockade that had cut off their food supplies. Dissent appears to be growing within the group, with several followers of group leader Azzimudie Kiram indicating a desire to return to the Philippines, Malaysia’s The Star Online reported yesterday. The group had previously said they would not leave Sabah as they are “subjects of the sultanate of Sulu.” The bizarre drama had threatened to stir tension between the Southeast Asian neighbors whose ties have been periodically frayed by security and migration problems caused by a porous sea border. News wire Reuters had reported that Malaysia pays a token sum to the sultanate of Sulu each year for the “rental” of Sabah — an arrangement that stretches back to British colonial times. In 2000, a group of militants from the southern Philippines kidnapped 21 tourists from the Sabah diving resort of Sipadan. In 1985, 11 people were killed when gunmen, believed to be from the southern Philippines, entered Lahad Datu, shooting at random before robbing the local branch of Standard Chartered Bank. |
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