MILF skirts straightforward answer on Usman

Abdul Basit Usman

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar refused to give a definitive answer on the whereabouts of terrorist bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman.

“If you want me to answer if Usman is with us or not, I have no categorical answer to that,” Jaafar said on Sunday to reporters from the The STAR.

Nor would he say if the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), an armed breakaway group from the MILF, aided Usman and Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan.

However Jaafar denied that the MILF coddled Usman and Marwan.

“They cannot do that,” Jaafar said when asked if the MILF protects terrorists.

In an address to the nation on February 5, President Aquino said that government forces would capture Usman, even without the help of the MILF. The President emphasized that those who stood in the way of Usman’s seizure would be “run over” by government forces.

“I listened to the message of the President.

I understand it as he is the President of the Republic of the Philippines,” Jafaar said, pointing out that he did not feel the President “was exerting pressure” on the MILF.

“All our actions with regard to Usman should be based on the peace process and our commitment to the Bangsamoro people, which means these have to be in accordance with our agreements with government,” Jafaar stressed..