Philippine Muslim rebel leader Nur Misuari was allowed out of detention yesterday to file his candidacy for governor of his southern island stronghold.
Escorted by heavily armed police, Misuari took a commercial flight to Jolo, part of the Sulu Province, where US troops are assisting Filipino forces against Muslim militants linked to al-Qaeda.
"I am just filing my candidacy for governor of Sulu," Misuari said before boarding a plane in Manila.
"Victory is already a foregone conclusion," he said.
Misuari is chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a Muslim former separatist group that signed a peace pact with Manila in 1996.
Deal
Under the deal, Misuari won governorship of a Muslim autonomous area, but he later lost the government's support amid allegations of massive corruption in the regional government.
In 2001, he and his supporters attacked government targets on Jolo and Zamboanga city, killing more than 100 people.
MNLF gunmen then held hostage dozens of school children whom they used as human shields to stop a government assault.
The rebels later freed the hostages in exchange for safe passage back to Jolo, where they now remain as a major armed force.
Shortly after the rebellion, Misuari fled to Malaysia but was arrested and repatriated. He is under house arrest while being tried for rebellion.
Request
A Manila court granted his request to run for governor of Sulu in the May 14 polls on the basis that he has not yet been convicted.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo's adviser on the peace process, Jesus Dureza, welcomed Misuari's move to join mainstream politics.
"I positively view Nur's bid to serve through the democratic electoral process. I wish him well in his candidacy," Dureza told reporters.
Misuari and his escorts were to return to Manila later yesterday. It is not clear how he intends to campaign, but Misuari remains popular in Islamic circles in the south.
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