MUSLIM lawyers belonging to the sultanate of Sulu are preparing charges against Malaysia for usurpation of authority and illegal development of natural wealth in Sabah. The sultanate will be asking a $25 billion “fine” from the
Malaysian government before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani on Thursday said that the filing of charges will be the sultanate’s answer to Malaysia’s “illegal” filing of terrorism charges against eight Filipinos in the strife-torn island.
The “fine” being demanded from Kuala L umpur, he explained, represents payment for “exploiting the natural wealth of Sabah.”
He said that this would be the third time that the sultanate will file charges against the Malaysian government and its officials. The first was in 1992 before the United Nations (UN) and the second was in 2004 before ICJ.
He said the two separate charges were still pending before the UN and ICJ because the ownership of Sabah has not yet been resolved.
Illegal
Idjirani maintained that the charges against the eight Filipinos were illegal because Malaysia has no right to prosecute them allegedly for committing terrorism pending the determination of the sovereignty of Sabah based on the 1963 Manila agreement signed by the heads of Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
The accord states that “the inclusion of Sabah in the Federation of Malaysia will not prejudice the interest of parties concerned until the issue of the Sabah claim is finally resolved by the United Nations.”
“Walang basehan ang [There is no basis for] Malaysia to file charges against those eight Filipinos dahil hindi sila ang nagmamay-ari ng [because it did not own] Sabah,” Idjirani told reporters in a press conference in Taguig City.
He also condemned Malaysia for the move, which he described as an act of “terrorism.”
“We condemn the terroristic act of Malaysia dahil sila ay hindi nagmamay-ari ng [because they don’t own] Sabah. They are just occupant so they have no right to file charges against Filipinos,” he pointed out.
He likewise said that it is hard for the sultanate of Sulu to confirm whether the eight Filipinos were indeed members of the Sulu “royal army” that occupied Lahad Datu.
“We would like the Malaysian government to let the Filipino people and the world know kung saan na [where they] apprehend[ed] ang walong [the eight] Pinoy because they might be civilians,” he added.
Third party
Sen. Miriam Santiago, an expert in international law, maintained that there should be a third party to make an objective and impartial observation on the case of the Filipinos facing criminal charges in Malaysia.
Santiago said that since the Philippines is not bound by the findings of Malaysian authorities, the best way to resolve the issue is to allow someone whom both parties trust to conduct a fact-finding investigation.
“It’s very difficult to prove that they were intent on creating panic. Terrorists are armed with state of the art technological firepower. That’s why I keep on harping that there should first be a fact-finding commission but apparently Malaysia doesn’t want to engage this so it wants a one-sided view of the matter,” she added.
Eight Filipinos were charged with terrorism and waging war against the King on Wednesday. If found guilty, they could be sentenced to death.
President Benigno Aquino 3rd has ordered Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. to lead a team that will extend legal assistance to the group.
But Santiago said that the Philippines must first show that Malaysia itself is unable or unwilling to protect the human rights of these FIiipinos in order for the Philippine government to extend diplomatic protection without violating the laws of Malaysia.
“We are hoping that they will allow us to provide lawyers and give the lawyers time to study the Malaysian legal system but at this point we don’t know. So we now have to request Malaysia to confirm for us what is the legal status of Filipinos arrested for that misadventure,” she explained.
Aquino’s fault
Meanwhile, Sultan Jamalul Kiram 3rd said that he will blame President Benigno Aquino 3rd if the reported assassination plot against him and his supporters was carried out.
“If something happens to any member of the Sultanate and its supporters in the Philippines due to assassination, liquidation and other terroristic act, then there is no one to blame but you Mr. President,” Kiram said in a statement.
He added that it was dismaying that instead of checking the alleged kill plot, Malacañang outrightly dismissed it as “hearsay.”
“Wala na kaming maasahan para sa seguridad ng Sultanato sa Pilipinas at mukhang malaya na nakakagalaw ang Malaysian death squad dito sa Manila [We are helpless with regard to our safety because the Malaysian death squad can move freely in Manila],” he added.
Idjirani said President Aquino should have at least ordered an investigation into the reported arrival in the country of the supposed hit squad allegedly sent by the Malaysian military to liquidate the sultanate officials.
“They have not made any investigation and yet they already have a conclusion that this assassination plot is not true. We do not want such irresponsible statement from a supposedly respectable spokesman of Malacañang,” Idjirani said, referring to Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda.
Lacierda has dismissed as “hogwash” and “ridiculous” the sultanate’s claim that a Malaysian colonel named Sunny Ng and four commandos had entered the Philippines to liquidate the Kirams.
Not involved
Also on Thursday, a top official of the United States (US) Embassy in Manila said the US government will not get involved in the Sabah problem.
“This is a matter between the government of the Philippines and the government of Malaysia. We pray for peace and we hope that anyone who has been displaced can be taken care of but then again this is not a matter for the United States,” US Ambassador to the Philippine Harry Thomas told reporters during the Security and Defense Kapihan sa Embahada.
Thomas made the clarification in reaction to an earlier statement by the sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani that the US government has an obligation to protect the sultan of Sulu under the Kiram-Carter agreement.
The said agreement was signed on March 22, 1915 by Sultan Jadji Jamalul Kiram and Frank W. Carpenter, governor of the then Department of Mindanao and Sulu.
Ijirani claimed that under the agreement, the Americans “assured the sultan of Sulu of its full protection should a problem arise in Sabah between the Sultan of Sulu and other foreign countries.”
Thomas said that nobody can stop the sultanate from invoking the agreement and seek assistance from the US but he maintained that the issue is for the Philippine and Malaysian governments to resolve.
He also dismissed insinuations that even if the standoff ends it could still lead to bigger problem in Asia and might become a security problem to the US.
“No, we’re not looking to respond in any manner to that invocation of the treaty. We do not see this as a security matter that affects the United States or our Mutual Defense Treaty that we have with the Philippines,” the ambassador said.
Two more killed
Malaysian security forces killed two followers of the Sultanate of Sulu and captured a female member in separate clashes in Sabah’s Lahad Datu town.
Malaysian authorities said one of its soldiers was also wounded in the fighting that erupted Wednesday in the village of Tanjung Batu where security forces are pursuing the sultan’s men.
The identities of those slain in the fighting since hostilities began this month remain unknown, although Malaysia initially said that one of those killed was General Musa Abdulla, of the Royal Sulu Army.
Malaysia has put Sultan Jamalul and his brother on its wanted list and branded them as terrorists.
It is also investigating reports that somebody was financing Sultan Jamalul to destabilize Sabah ahead of elections this year.
Meanwhile, relatives of members of the sultanate of Sulu who were killed in clashes with Malaysian security forces would have to prove their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples before they can claim the bodies in Sabah and bring them home to the Philippines.
Malaysia’s online news The Star reported that authorities wanted to bury the bodies in a temporary grave while awaiting relatives to claim the deteriorating cadavers.
Malaysia said more than 300 people who were suspected of supporting or aiding the group of Raja Muda Agbimuddin have been arrested and detained under a strict antiterrorism law, and that the operation against about 50 remaining army of the Sultanate of Sulu is going on.
http://www.manilatimes.net/
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