RP-MILF peace deal could limit JI threat — EU

A peace deal between the Philippines and one of the region’s biggest Muslim insurgent groups could limit the capability of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) to launch attacks, the EU’s anti-terrorism coordinator said Monday.

Negotiators from the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine government were to begin the next round of talks in Kuala Lumpur Monday aimed at ending the group’s 28-year separatist rebellion.

Security experts say the MILF has been training JI militants at its camps in Mindanao.

But EU anti-terrorism coordinator Gijs de Vries said that while the JI remained a "very dangerous organization," its capabilities could be lessened by a peace accord between the Philippines and the MILF.

"I have expressed the hope that significant progress will be made in this peace process," De Vries said in a press briefing in Manila.

"It is not good for the Jemaah Islamiyah to still be having the possibility to train people in Mindanao. It is important that these facilities be choked off," he said.

"We must all work together to deny them the possibility of training that they still currently have. I express the hope that the peace process will contribute to that," De Vries said.

He said the European Union has placed great importance on strengthening cooperation in the region, stressing that the JI was a "major threat to the stability and security of the region."

The JI is Southeast Asia’s tentacle of the al-Qaeda network and has been blamed for deadly bombings in Indonesia in 2002 and last year.

Security experts say key JI operatives are known to operate out of Mindanao, where the MILF has been waging a rebellion.

The MILF has denied providing sanctuary to JI militants, but has admitted to coddling foreign militants in the past.

While authorities in the region have made strides in combating the group, the JI remains a "very capable, nimble network" under whose umbrella smaller Islamic militant groups can operate, De Vries said.

"JI officials have been traveling through the region to engage in their deadly trade. It is important that we do everything we can to stop them and bring them to justice," he added.

The Philippines is the last stop of De Vries’ Southeast Asian tour which included Indonesia, Thailand and Australia.

In Manila, he met with top security officials, diplomats and legislators. — AFP