Philippines and Burma have semblances, MILF says

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Friday warned that both the Philippines and Burma have semblances in sharing poor records in the protection of the human rights of their citizens.

"They are also in the state of martial law, one declared and the other undeclared but both using the same iron fist policy of the state against their own citizenry," said Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of the MILF Committee on Information,.

Musa issued this statement in reaction to the strongly-worded castigation of the military junta in Burma coming no less from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

He said that Arroyo has no moral clout to give lessons to the Burmese dictators, citing the hundreds of militants summarily executed during her time, aside from those picked up randomly by police and Police and security forces on mere suspicion that they are "terrorists."

"It is better for President Arroyo to keep silent and start cleaning up his own turf by weeding out those human rights violators'" Musa said.