US mulls tagging some MILF rebels as terrorists

The United States is considering tagging some members of the Philippines’ mainstream Muslim separatist rebel group, currently in peace negotiations, as terrorists for allegedly working with known terror groups, the US ambassador said Wednesday.

Francis Ricciardone said Washington supports peace talks to end three decades of armed struggle for self-rule by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but wonders why some members are "cooperating with world-class murderers."

"If we are able to push forward the identification of those people and, in some way, make it harder for them to travel internationally and to move money back and forth, then I think we’d like to do that," Ricciardone said.

"We have serious questions about the MILF," he told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines. "Evidently, some elements of the MILF are, at a minimum, tolerating — we think doing more than tolerating — cooperating with world-class murderers.

"We’re talking about people who are involved in the Bali bombings and who are proud of it," he said, adding that they "are trying to train people in techniques for detonating bombs in crowded places," and teaching the Philippines’ brutal Abu Sayyaf group "more sophisticated ways of murdering."

Ricciardone said US and Philippine officials are trying to identify supporters of Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani "and bring these people to justice."

He said the United States has suspended a road project in southern Cotabato city pending assurances that it won’t facilitate militants using the city as a gateway to the nearby Liguasan Marsh and Mt. Kararao, where Jemaah Islamiyah militants are reported to be operating training camps.

The MILF has been fighting for more than three decades to establish a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines, but has resumed peace talks with the government. Last month, both sides reported progress in tackling substantive issues in talks hosted by Malaysia.

Military officials have said they believe some MILF commanders have established ties on a personal level with Islamic militants from Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf, possibly without approval of the MILF leadership. — AP, Pia Lee-Brago