MILF leader meets Indonesian foreign minister

Kyodo News

The leader of an Islamic separatist organization in the southern Philippines met Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Thursday to learn about Indonesia&#x27;s peace-building efforts in the former restive, northernmost province of Aceh.The meeting between Retno and Al-Hajj Murad Ibrahim, leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, took place secretly with journalists only being informed later in the afternoon.&quot;He came here to learn from Indonesia&#x27;s experiences in building peace in Aceh,&quot; Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told a media briefing, referring to a peace deal reached in 2005 between Jakarta and the then separatist Free Aceh Movement that sought independence for three decades.During the meeting, according to Nasir, the foreign minister expressed support for ongoing efforts to create peace in the southern Philippines and voiced hope that all sides can contribute to peace-building there.The spokesman said that Retno also asked the MILF leader for assistance in securing the release of three Indonesians still held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf radical Islamic group in the southern Philippines.Since two years ago, a total of 32 Indonesian sailors have been kidnapped and taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf.Estimated to number at least 300 in strength, the Abu Sayyaf claims to promote an independent Islamic state comprising part of Mindanao Island and the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines.Besides kidnappings for ransom, it has engaged in bombings, assassinations and extortion for more than a decade, making it one of the Philippines&#x27; most serious security threats.The governments of the United States and the Philippines regard the Abu Sayyaf, which was formed in the 1990s, as a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaida and the latter&#x27;s Southeast Asian cell Jemaah Islamiyah.MILF is a splinter group of the Moro National Liberation Front.Indonesia, the world&#x27;s most-populous Muslim country, has been involved in efforts to mediate talks among rebel groups in the southern Philippines and the Philippine government since the 1990s.In 1996, the MNLF and the Philippine government signed the Jakarta Peace Agreement under the auspices of the Organization of Islamic Committee, Indonesia and Libya.Ibrahim and his MILF group see the creation of the semi-autonomous Bangsamoro region in Mindanao in the southern Philippines as the solution to decades of fighting by giving more control and leeway to local leaders in governing the area themselves.In the middle of last year, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to support a draft law to create the autonomous region as it goes through the legislative process in the Senate and House of Representatives.

The leader of an Islamic separatist organization in the southern Philippines met Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Thursday to learn about Indonesia's peace-building efforts in the former restive, northernmost province of Aceh.

The leader of an Islamic separatist organization in the southern Philippines met Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Thursday to learn about Indonesia's peace-building efforts in the former restive, northernmost province of Aceh.

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MILF leader meets Indonesian foreign minister

MILF leader meets Indonesian foreign minister

Kyodo News

Published Feb 01, 2018 08:36 PM PHT

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MILF

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Al-Hajj Murad Ibrahim

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