THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front yesterday threatened to stop its efforts to rescue kidnapped Irish priest Michael Sinnott and gave the government until the weekend to withdraw its claim that the secessionist group is behind the abduction.
Sammy Al-Mansoor, the group’s military chief of staff, said they would stop helping to rescue Sinnott unless the government belied Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno’s accusation that they had something to do with the kidnapping.
“We look up to our partner in the peace process, the Arroyo administration, to effect such a riposte or correction [to the allegations] that placed [in a] bad light the very unit of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces tasked by the MILF Central Committee to rescue the priest,” Al-Mansoor said.
“Otherwise, we have to take the hard decision to call off our rescue efforts if, until the end of the week, no statement to that effect is issued.”
Sinnott, 79, was abducted by six gunmen on Oct. 11 as he was strolling in the garden of his residence in Pagadian City. His group, the Missionary Society of St. Columban, had feared for his life because of his weak heart and because he had not been carrying medication when he was kidnapped.
Puno had earlier accused Alloy Asree, head of the MILF’s 113th Base Command, of having had a direct hand in Sinnott’s abduction.
But the MILF leadership said Asree’s unit, which had jurisdiction over the Zamboanga Peninsula, was actually the group tasked to rescue Sinnot.
Al-Mansoor said Puno’s statement was a deliberate attempt “to give zero value to the MILF’s rescue efforts and to shame the group before the international community, especially the United Kingdom and Ireland.”
Irish Ambassador to the Philippines David O’Brien and Northern Ireland Ministers Gerry Kelley and Martin McGuinness had sought the group’s help in rescuing Sinnott, Al-Mansoor said.
Deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo thanked the MILF for trying to help rescue Sinnot, but said the committee tasked to free him was competent enough to handle the situation on its own.
“We recognize that the concerns of the MILF are valid, but that can be discussed later by the peace panels,” she said.
“Our priority now is securing Father Sinnott’s release, and we do not want to encounter problems on our operations on the ground.” Joyce Pangco Pañares
