MNLF declares Abus ‘persona non grata’ in Sulu

SULU - A senior Moro National Liberation Front leader has denounced the Abu Sayyaf and declared members of the terrorist group “persona non grata” in the town of Kalingalan Caluang in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, security officials said Wednesday.

 
Military photos show MNLF commander Ali Julkipli during a peace covenant signing and the surrendered illegal weapons (below) in Kalingalan Caluang town in Sulu province.

Lt. Col. Eduard Olaso, commander of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 7, said MNLF commander Ali Julkipli also signed a peace covenant during Tuesday’s ceremony at the 4^th Marine Brigade headquarters. He said Col. Hernanie Songano presided over the ceremony attended by senior military officers and MNLF members, including municipal officials led by Mayor Nurshamier Halun. 

“The denouncement of MNLF against the presence of Abu Sayyaf group in their respective camps and communities is a clear manifestation that MNLF is one with the AFP in establishing and maintaining peace and order in the municipality of Kalingalan Caluang,” Olaso said. 

Halun praised the military’s peace efforts and even vowed to help authorities recover illegal weapons from the hands of civilians. Villager leaders Abdulla Suwaib Caluang and Sasad Madjuri also surrendered an old Garand rifle, a homemade shotgun and a grenade launcher to the military in support to Halun’s campaign. 

Army Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the 11^th Infantry Division in Sulu, lauded the efforts of the peace efforts of the MNLF. “The MNLF’s actions show their sincerity in building a good relationship with the AFP and the government. They really want to return to the folds of the law and build a stable peace in the province of Sulu. The Abu Sayyaf group is running out of space and soon they will have nowhere to hide,” he said. 

At least 17 Abu Sayyaf fighters, including a woman, surrendered recently to the military in Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. They also yielded assorted weapons, mostly old rifles. (Mindanao Examiner)

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