Malaysia urges Philippines to talk to moderate
Muslim leaders
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (AFP) -
Malaysia urged the Philippines on Tuesday to talk to moderate Muslim leaders in the south
rather than relying solely on force.
Philippine troops are in the
11th day of a major assault against Muslim Abu Sayyaf kidnappers in the island of Jolo.
Three Malaysians are among 17 people held.
Defence Minister Najib Tun
Razak said Manila should adopt a "comprehensive approach" in addressing security
problems.
He told reporters he was
unwilling to comment on the military operation but added: "This cannot be a purely
military solution. It has to be comprehensive.
"Any form of internal
conflict should be settled through peaceful means. If you take that approach, you have a
reasonable chance to discredit extremists," he said.
Najib said Manila should engage
with moderate leaders. They should be given backing in the form of economic assistance so
people would support them.
"If moderate leaders are
discredited then extremists will emerge as leaders of the people," he said.
"Violence begets violence."
Abu Sayyaf kidnappers seized 21
people from the Malaysian resort of Sipadan off Sabah on April 23 and three more from
nearby Pandanan island on September 10.
Manila made peace with the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1996 after a revolt which lasted some 20 years and
cost 50,000-60,000 lives. But the MNLF complains that it has broken promises to provide
economic aid for the impoverished south.
The Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) is still sporadically battling government forces but has disowned the actions
of the Abu Sayyaf.
"They are giving Islam a
bad name," an MILF spokesman said last week.
Muslim-majority Malaysia has in
the past expressed sympathy with the problems of Muslims in the southern Philippines. It
has not criticised the assault on the Abu Sayyaf.
But a leading Malaysian Muslim
movement accused Manila on Tuesday of carrying out genocide against its Muslim minority.
"We are gravely concerned
with the indiscriminate use of force by the armed forces of the Philippines in their
efforts to punish the Abu Sayyaf rebels for the latter's kidnapping spree," said the
Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM).
The 100,000-member movement,
citing the current attacks and previous assaults on the MNLF and MILF, said "the
pattern of war in Mindanao and Jolo is more of a genocide than anything else."
ABIM said civilians were
bearing the brunt of the attack on the kidnappers, whom it also condemned.
Najib said Malaysian troops, on
high alert for the kidnappers in case they try to flee to Sabah, had detained 133 illegal
immigrants and confiscated 23 boats off the state over the past two weeks.
He said the military had not
found weapons or detected any influx of people fleeing the fighting in Jolo.
"Those detained did not
have proper travel documents and have been handed over to the police. They do not pose a
security threat," he said.
National police chief Norian
Mai said Monday that a man had been arrested on suspicion of aiding the Pandanan
kidnapping.
"Our investigations are
still in progress but we are sure that insiders had provided information to the
abductors," he was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying.
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