The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group has condemned extremist jihadists in Iraq and Syria, and vowed to stop the spread of their “virus” into the Southeast Asian nation.
After decades of armed rebellion that claimed tens of thousands of lives, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a peace agreement in March that commits it and the national government to share power in the area.
The MILF portrayed its moderate leadership as vital to stopping the extremist ideology of the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, from infecting the southern Muslim regions of the mainly Catholic Philippines.
“The MILF condemns barbarism and savagery whether done by other groups including the ISIS or even by its [MILF’s] own members,” the MILF said on its Web site this week, referring to the IS by another of its former names, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). “Frankly, it is the power, moderating line, and influence of the MILF that hinders the birth of a truly strong radical group.”
The MILF also said a planned Muslim autonomous region that is the centerpiece of the peace deal would be a bulwark against IS ideology.
The MILF urged Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to approve a draft bill to create the region.
The peace deal had called for Aquino to submit the bill to Congress earlier this year, so the region would be in place by the time he leaves office in mid-2016. However, he rejected an earlier draft and had a revised version prepared.
“It is this... fear [of] not being able to realize it [passage of the bill] for whatever reason that the ISIS’ virus is much to be feared,” the MILF said.
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