Gov’t, Kirams eye 'disengagement'

MANILA, Philippines - With reports of human rights violations increasing, the administration has started discussing the Sulu sultanate’s “disengagement” from Sabah to end the violence.

Secretary Manuel Roxas II of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) met for about an hour yesterday with the brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III at Camp Crame.

The discussions with Sultan Bantilan Esmail Kiram II touched mainly on establishing a mechanism for laying down arms by some 300 followers of the sultan still holed up in Sabah, particularly in the coastal town of Lahad Datu.

Esmail is reportedly favored by Malaysia as go-between in the impasse, which began on Feb. 12. He said his meeting with Roxas had the blessings of the sultan.

Roxas and Esmail declined to discuss their talks in detail but the DILG chief later clarified that a “disengagement” should not be considered surrender.

“We discussed, for example, the Malaysian leader mentioning publicly the laying down of arms as a condition to stop the firefight. What they want to know is the mechanism in laying down their arms,” said Roxas.

He said the word “surrender” is “maanghang sa tenga sa kapanahunang ito (painful to the ears at this time).”

Roxas said his dialogue with Esmail is a big step toward ending the violence in Sabah, where dozens have died since early this month in clashes between the sultanate’s armed followers and Malaysian forces.

The DILG chief said the safety of more than 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah, including Kiram’s followers, is still the government’s main concern.

Roxas said yesterday’s meeting at Camp Crame was a follow-up to the preliminary talks he had with Esmail’s representatives last week in Zamboanga City. 

He also clarified that, contrary to claims by some critics, talks with the Kirams have been ongoing at different levels since the crisis erupted in early February.

“Any kind of talk… talk is better than no talk,” Roxas added.

He said Malaysia favors having Esmail as intermediary in the negotiations to end the Sabah violence.

“That’s why the government made sure he comes to Manila to talk to his brother. There were even plans to bring him to Brunei or Kota Kinabalu where talks could be done, but before such plans materialized, there were other incidents that took place,” Roxas said.

“Sultan Esmail is very much aware of all the efforts undertaken by the government even before the firefight started last March 1, and he tried to revive the efforts because he knew what he is doing,” he noted.

Esmail was with at least a dozen other members of the Kiram family when he met with Roxas in his DILG office.

Roxas said that from the start, Esmail had been active in pursuing a peaceful end to the Sabah standoff. Roxas said Esmail has also been talking directly to Sabah authorities in an effort to help end the conflict.

Agbimuddin’s approval

Speaking to reporters later in Makati City, Esmail said any “disengagement” would have to be discussed first with another brother Agbimuddin, who was leading the sultan’s forces in Sabah.

“We are planning our strategies still. We will have to verify with (Agbimuddin) if he wants that (disengagement),” he said.

Kiram said it was Roxas who invited him for discussions on the issue. He also said his brother had given him his blessing to meet with Roxas.

“We cannot go there (Roxas meeting) without his go signal. I told him, we have a plan and he said okay,” he said.

He also appealed to the Malaysians to help the Philippine government resolve the standoff peacefully.

“I am appealing to my brother Malaysians… let us all together resolve this issue as we are all Muslims and hopefully will see the resolution of this conflict as soon as possible,” he said.

Princess Jacel Kiram, for her part, said the discussion between her uncle Esmail and Roxas is part of ongoing “exploratory talks” between the sultanate and the government.

“It is just an exploratory talk. It is still Sultan Jamalul Kiram III who will decide,” she said.

As Philippine officials and the Kiram family began talks on ending the Sabah violence, three Sabah-based groups with links to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) had reportedly linked up with the sultanate force to help it repel Malaysian attackers.

The groups were led by three former MNLF guerrillas who opted to settle in Sabah with their armed followers after the signing of the 1996 peace agreement between the government and the MNLF.

“They are now fighting the Malaysians in Tawaw, Lahad Datu and in Sandakan,” MNLF spokesman Emmanuel Fontanilla said, referring to the three commanders and their men.

Fontanilla said the former MNLF leaders were forced to join the fighting because they could no longer stand the repression and brutality of Malaysian security forces.

About a hundred Filipinos have been rounded up by Malaysian security forces since the start of Malaysia’s offensive early this month.

Fontanilla said the events unfolding in Sabah should be investigated by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR).

Before the Feb. 12 standoff, MNLF leaders and their followers enjoyed free access in Sabah.

“After living in Sabah peacefully, they are now being targeted by the Malaysian police even if they are not a party to the conflict. So they have no option left but to fight back,” Fontanilla said.

Meanwhile, in Legazpi City, Sen. Francis Escudero appealed yesterday to all the candidates in the coming elections to refrain from giving their personal opinions that can undermine government efforts to resolve the Sabah issue.

“Personally, I don’t want to judge what President Aquino has done on the Sabah issue but I want to suggest that we must do everything we can to support President Aquino on this issue,” Escudero said at a press conference.

Escudero said that under the Constitution, the President has the sole discretion on foreign policy.

He said it would not be good for the country’s image before the international community if Filipinos are not behind the President on the Sabah issue.

“I will observe this rule which has been designated to me (and) to all the candidates, especially the senatorial candidates, not to interfere on this issue,” he said.

He said politicians or candidates should be more concerned about helping the country weather the crisis than improving their standing in surveys.

“So politics should not interfere on this issue, especially during campaign sorties,” he said.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., for his part, expressed yesterday disbelief that the Aquino administration is keen on pursuing charges against “conspirators” in the Sabah issue.

“The men of the sultan have already declared a unilateral ceasefire. Their lives are now at stake. Our government should be most vigorous in protecting their lives, Filipino lives, not busy finding ways of charging them with unlawful acts,” Marcos said.

“Why are we not helping our Filipino Muslim brothers in the ongoing Sabah violence where the lives of the sultan’s men, all Filipino citizens, are threatened with annihilation by Malaysian armed forces?” Marcos asked.

Marcos noted that the Americans came to the aid of convicted American rapists in the Philippines, and that the Philippine government would always plead with foreign governments for the lives of convicted Filipino drug mules.

“Nevermind first the debate on claims of ancestral home, historical ownership, Philippine sovereignty over Sabah, etc. Let us first establish that we, as a sovereign state, will help protect the lives of our countrymen abroad, no matter what,” Marcos posted in his Facebook account.

Marcos pointed out that the first duty of the government to Filipino citizens in foreign lands is to protect them.

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), meanwhile, voiced its support for the Sulu sultanate and urged President Aquino to send a peacekeeping contingent to Lahad Datu in Sabah.

“The Philippine government has been genuinely contributing to peace among strife-torn countries by sending peace keeping forces. In the same vein, the VACC strongly suggests to President Aquino that he send a peacekeeping contingent to Sabah to help maintain peace where massive attacks are being waged by the Malaysian government against the followers of the Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III in Lahad Datu,” said Dante Jimenez, VACC president and founding chairman.

“Casualties from the violence in Sabah have reportedly reached 61, mostly Filipinos. All indications show that the killings will continue as Malaysia continues to defy the United Nations’ call for peace. The Philippine government has been sending peacekeeping forces to countries torn by war. Why not send a similar peacekeeping contingent to Sabah?” Jimenez added.

“Our Muslim brothers in Mindanao are being mercilessly routed by Malaysian forces. The Malaysians are not listening to proposals by the sultan for a unilateral ceasefire. They are ignoring the United Nations’ call for sobriety,” he said.

“They are committing genocide against our Muslim brothers at Lahad Datu.  A peacekeeping contingent may prevent further escalation of violence of Filipino Muslims in Sabah,” he added.

Jimenez said the VACC is ready to extend legal assistance to the Kiram family in bringing the case of mass killings and murders against Malaysia to the International Criminal Court of Justice and the International Human Rights Commission. With Mike Frialde, Christina Mendez, Jaime Laude, Evelyn Macairan, Celso Amo