International
Manila dithers over Misuari issue
By Amit Baruah
SINGAPORE, DEC. 11. Does the Philippines want Mr. Nur Misuari, chief of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), to return or not? While the official position is that the Arroyo Government is ready to take back Mr. Misuari from Malaysian custody, Manila's actions have surprised many.
After leading a revolt against the Philippine Government, Mr. Misuari, who was Governor of the Mindanao autonomous region, was arrested on November 24 in Sabah by Malaysian authorities. After repeatedly stating that Malaysia was ready to hand over Mr. Misuari to the Philippines (whose Government has even accused him of having links with the Abu Sayyaf group), Kuala Lumpur is now mulling over the possibility of handing him over to a third country.
The Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Mr. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has said that if the Philippines was not ready to take back Mr. Misuari then he may be sent to a third country. ``It is a possibility that we will discuss thoroughly. However, we won't force anyone to take him,'' Mr. Abdullah said. Since the Philippine President, Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has said they will take him back then they should quickly do so, he added.
In a related development, Mr. Misuari is said to have sought asylum in Malaysia, a demand that authorities in Kuala Lumpur have already rejected. But there is a possibility that he may be allowed to leave for a third country. Earlier, the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, said Kuala Lumpur would have to rethink the status of Mr. Misuari if the Philippines did not seek his deportation. ``If they don't accept him back for whatever reasons and Nur Misuari has not committed any crime in Malaysia, then we have to rethink his status,'' the Prime Minister said.
Dr. Mahathir blamed Mr. Misuari and not the Philippine Government for the current problem. ``It is Misuari who puts Malaysia in a spot, why can't he run somewhere else. It sours up our relations with our neighbours.'' In Manila, the Philippine President said on Monday that her administration was ready to receive Mr. Misuari. However, she clarified a Malaysian news report that Mr. Misuari had been cleared of links with last year's kidnapping in Sipadan. ``What the (Malaysian) police said is they don't have enough evidence.
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