Manila, Philippines, 05 Safar 14338/04 November 2016 (MINA) — Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari said that he might bring the perpetrators of a mass kidnapping of tourists from Sipadan, Malaysia before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Abu Sayyaf Group has been tagged in the kidnapping of 19 foreigners and two Filipinos from a resort in Malaysia in 2000.
“Since Malaysia is the one who is involved in this kidnapping for ransom, probably, one day, I would drag their leaders into the International Criminal Court. I have all the evidence in my hand,” Philstar quoted Misuari as saying in a press briefing at Malacañang on Thursday afternoon.
Misuari, who stands accused of rebellion and of violating international humanitarian law over the 2013 Zamboanga City siege, added that the group responsible for the Sipadan kidnapping also hired his men.
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“My people are everywhere and besides they cannot escape because they are hiring my own people,” Misuari said.
The MNLF founder also said that the Sipadan kidnappers offered millions when they hired his men.
The leaders of the kidnapping group had attempted to meet with Misuari but the latter refused to do so.
“I said, ‘Stop it. I don’t have the heart to see these people after they make the conspiracy to destroy the honor and integrity of my people,'” Misuari said.
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Misuari has vowed his support for President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign for peace and order in the country.
“I promise that should he need our cooperation in his campaign for peace, you can count on us, Mr. President,” the Moro rebel leader said.
The Pasig City Regional Trial Court has suspended the proceedings and the enforcement of the warrants of arrest against Misuari in connection with the Zamboanga City siege.
The president met with Misuari in Malacañang to talk peace.
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The Duterte administration has pledged its support for the peace process with the MNLF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the southern Philippines. The government has separate peace agreements with both groups and has been working to get them to work on a common roadmap for peace.
The MILF and a faction of the MNLF have already agreed to work together, but Misuari’s group, which declared independence from the Philippines in 2013, had yet to make the same commitment. (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
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