Fsjal
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We can pray for them to go home, but you may want to ask Malaysia first.
Sultanate of Sulu demand the return of Sabah from Malaysia?
- Thread starter Reashot Xigwin
- Start date
We can pray for them to go home, but you may want to ask Malaysia first.
WuMaoCleverbot
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Fleeing Filipinos claim bloody crackdown
March 10, 2013
KOTA KINABALU: Fearful Filipinos, many with papers stating they are Malaysian, are reportedly fleeing the state in small boats to escape an alleged crackdown by police on suspected supporters of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu.
Claims of shooting and beatings at the hands of the police are being made by those who landed in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the Inquirer, a Philippines web news portal reported yesterday.
“They dragged all the males outside the house, kicked and hit them,” it quoted Amira Taradji recounting her family’s ordeal in Sandakan.
The Inquirer said that Taradji, 32, arrived in Patikul on Friday night with about 200 other refugees alleging that Malaysian policemen had ordered Filipino men to run as fast as they could and then opened fire on them.
She claimed that among those killed that way on Monday night during a “zoning operation” by police in a Filipino community in Sandakan was her brother, Jumadil.
Taradji, originally from Calinan in Davao City, is reportedly among some 400 people who have arrived in Sulu from Lahad Datu, Semporna, Tawau and Kunak since the start of a week as violence triggered by followers of Kiram who took over Kg Tanduo in Lahad Datu a month ago in what they called a “homecoming” expedition.
According to Philippines officials, there are now close to a thousand refugees from Sabah in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and hundreds more on smaller islands in Philippines waters. Many more are expected to make the sea crossing.
Taradji told the Inquirer that the constant raids by Malaysian security forces was harrowing and said Filipinos she encountered before leaving Sabah said they too had witnessed Filipino men being rounded up in Tawau and Kunak.
She alleged that some of the arrested men, who tried to dissuade the police from arresting them by waving immigration documents, were killed just the same for trying to evade the raiders.
“Even if you have valid immigration document, you will not be spared. If you are lucky to reach the jail, you will die of starvation because they will not feed you,” Taradji told the Inquirer, adding she has lived in Sandakan since she was a child.
She said that though she and here family are MyKad holders, they abandoned their home when the police raids started on Monday night claiming that the police were ruthless.
Taradji said she and her family sailed from Sandakan to nearby islands … “from one island to another—until we reached a small island where we took a kumpit for the Philippines.”
Another of those who made it back to the Philippines, Carla Manlaw, 47, said it was fear of the Malaysian policemen following stories of the abuse and killings that prompted her and other Filipinos to sail to Bongao in Tawi-Tawi, according to the Inquirer.
It said Manlaw and 99 others, including children and the elderly, arrived in Philippines waters aboard two motorboats after sailing for about two hours from Sandakan. They were intercepted and escorted by a Philippine Navy ship until they reached Bongao late Friday.
She said that while her employer in Sandakan had no problem with employing her, she was scared of the police and “what they will do to us.”
She told the Inquirer that when she heard that a vessel was returning to Bongao from Sandakan, she immediately grabbed her things and boarded it.
The news portal also quoted Jolo’s Mayor Hussin Amin as saying that the accounts of abuses by Malaysian police were so “alarming and disturbing” that the national government should look into them.
‘Credible stories’
He told the Inquirer that he had spoken with a lot of evacuees and the stories were the same: Malaysian soldiers and policemen were not making any distinction between illegal immigrants and those issued MyKad cards.
“Soldiers and policemen stormed their houses and even those with legitimate working papers like passports and IC papers were not spared.
“These documents were allegedly torn down before their eyes. Men were told to run and were shot if they did. Those who refused were beaten black and blue. Filipinos inside the jail were executed,” it quoted him as saying evacuees told him.
He said that refugees from Sabah all recounted the same ordeal and if what they say can be verified, then Malaysian authorities were not just targeting the Kirams in Lahad Datu.
The refugees stories seemed credible, he told the Inquirer, as the children and women were deeply traumatised when they observed Philippines police personnel scrutinising them and how “some even attempted to jump off to the sea, thinking they were still in Malaysia.”
The Inquirer quoted social welfare officials as saying they anticipated more than a thousand Filipinos from Sabah will be arriving in the next few days and fearing that the sheer number of the expected returnees would pose a bigger logistics problem than what the 2002 deportation of Filipinos from Sabah caused.
Some 64,000 Filipino illegal immigrants were deported from Sabah in 2002 and feeding or relocating them proved to be a nightmare for Philippines officials.
The problem for many returnees is how to earn a living in the Philippines. Most have just a bit of money for food and other needs for a few days and the future is bleak.
“We do not even know which way is Calinan now,” Taradji told the Inquirer, adding that the Philippines was now a foreign land to her and her family after living for the past 26 years in Sabah.
Manlaw said the same when she spoke with the Inquirer in Bongao.
“We have no future here, unlike in Sabah where we had clear jobs and livelihood,” she said.
Malaysian authorities however have urged everyone not to pay heed to rumours, stating that the Malaysian forces were only in the lookout for the Sulu militants.
Fleeing Filipinos claim bloody crackdown | Free Malaysia Today
March 10, 2013
KOTA KINABALU: Fearful Filipinos, many with papers stating they are Malaysian, are reportedly fleeing the state in small boats to escape an alleged crackdown by police on suspected supporters of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu.
Claims of shooting and beatings at the hands of the police are being made by those who landed in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the Inquirer, a Philippines web news portal reported yesterday.
“They dragged all the males outside the house, kicked and hit them,” it quoted Amira Taradji recounting her family’s ordeal in Sandakan.
The Inquirer said that Taradji, 32, arrived in Patikul on Friday night with about 200 other refugees alleging that Malaysian policemen had ordered Filipino men to run as fast as they could and then opened fire on them.
She claimed that among those killed that way on Monday night during a “zoning operation” by police in a Filipino community in Sandakan was her brother, Jumadil.
Taradji, originally from Calinan in Davao City, is reportedly among some 400 people who have arrived in Sulu from Lahad Datu, Semporna, Tawau and Kunak since the start of a week as violence triggered by followers of Kiram who took over Kg Tanduo in Lahad Datu a month ago in what they called a “homecoming” expedition.
According to Philippines officials, there are now close to a thousand refugees from Sabah in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and hundreds more on smaller islands in Philippines waters. Many more are expected to make the sea crossing.
Taradji told the Inquirer that the constant raids by Malaysian security forces was harrowing and said Filipinos she encountered before leaving Sabah said they too had witnessed Filipino men being rounded up in Tawau and Kunak.
She alleged that some of the arrested men, who tried to dissuade the police from arresting them by waving immigration documents, were killed just the same for trying to evade the raiders.
“Even if you have valid immigration document, you will not be spared. If you are lucky to reach the jail, you will die of starvation because they will not feed you,” Taradji told the Inquirer, adding she has lived in Sandakan since she was a child.
She said that though she and here family are MyKad holders, they abandoned their home when the police raids started on Monday night claiming that the police were ruthless.
Taradji said she and her family sailed from Sandakan to nearby islands … “from one island to another—until we reached a small island where we took a kumpit for the Philippines.”
Another of those who made it back to the Philippines, Carla Manlaw, 47, said it was fear of the Malaysian policemen following stories of the abuse and killings that prompted her and other Filipinos to sail to Bongao in Tawi-Tawi, according to the Inquirer.
It said Manlaw and 99 others, including children and the elderly, arrived in Philippines waters aboard two motorboats after sailing for about two hours from Sandakan. They were intercepted and escorted by a Philippine Navy ship until they reached Bongao late Friday.
She said that while her employer in Sandakan had no problem with employing her, she was scared of the police and “what they will do to us.”
She told the Inquirer that when she heard that a vessel was returning to Bongao from Sandakan, she immediately grabbed her things and boarded it.
The news portal also quoted Jolo’s Mayor Hussin Amin as saying that the accounts of abuses by Malaysian police were so “alarming and disturbing” that the national government should look into them.
‘Credible stories’
He told the Inquirer that he had spoken with a lot of evacuees and the stories were the same: Malaysian soldiers and policemen were not making any distinction between illegal immigrants and those issued MyKad cards.
“Soldiers and policemen stormed their houses and even those with legitimate working papers like passports and IC papers were not spared.
“These documents were allegedly torn down before their eyes. Men were told to run and were shot if they did. Those who refused were beaten black and blue. Filipinos inside the jail were executed,” it quoted him as saying evacuees told him.
He said that refugees from Sabah all recounted the same ordeal and if what they say can be verified, then Malaysian authorities were not just targeting the Kirams in Lahad Datu.
The refugees stories seemed credible, he told the Inquirer, as the children and women were deeply traumatised when they observed Philippines police personnel scrutinising them and how “some even attempted to jump off to the sea, thinking they were still in Malaysia.”
The Inquirer quoted social welfare officials as saying they anticipated more than a thousand Filipinos from Sabah will be arriving in the next few days and fearing that the sheer number of the expected returnees would pose a bigger logistics problem than what the 2002 deportation of Filipinos from Sabah caused.
Some 64,000 Filipino illegal immigrants were deported from Sabah in 2002 and feeding or relocating them proved to be a nightmare for Philippines officials.
The problem for many returnees is how to earn a living in the Philippines. Most have just a bit of money for food and other needs for a few days and the future is bleak.
“We do not even know which way is Calinan now,” Taradji told the Inquirer, adding that the Philippines was now a foreign land to her and her family after living for the past 26 years in Sabah.
Manlaw said the same when she spoke with the Inquirer in Bongao.
“We have no future here, unlike in Sabah where we had clear jobs and livelihood,” she said.
Malaysian authorities however have urged everyone not to pay heed to rumours, stating that the Malaysian forces were only in the lookout for the Sulu militants.
Fleeing Filipinos claim bloody crackdown | Free Malaysia Today
WuMaoCleverbot
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DFA statement on the reported violation of human rights of Filipinos in Sabah, March 10, 2013
Statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs:
On the reported violation of human rights of Filipinos in Sabah
[March 10, 2013]
The Department of Foreign Affairs views with grave concern the alleged rounding up of community members of Suluk/Tausug descent in Lahad Datu and other areas in Sabah and the alleged violations of human rights reported in the media by some Filipinos who arrived in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi from Sabah.
The Department is coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other relevant agencies to document these reports so that appropriate actions could be taken.
The Department urges the Malaysian government to take steps to clarify these alleged incidents.
The Department continues to call on the Malaysian Government to give our Philippine Embassy officials and the Philippine humanitarian/consular team dispatched to Lahad Datu and nearby areas full access to the Filipinos being held “in several locations in Sabah but outside the ‘Ops Daulat’ area,” as announced by the Malaysian Inspector General of the Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar on 08 March 2013, to enable them to fulfill their mission which is to provide humanitarian and consular assistance to Filipinos who have been affected by the incident.
We reiterate our call on the Malaysian Government to give humane treatment to the Filipinos under their custody.
The allegations are alarming and should be properly and immediately addressed by concerned authorities.
DFA statement on the reported violation of human rights of Filipinos in Sabah, March 10, 2013 | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines
Statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs:
On the reported violation of human rights of Filipinos in Sabah
[March 10, 2013]
The Department of Foreign Affairs views with grave concern the alleged rounding up of community members of Suluk/Tausug descent in Lahad Datu and other areas in Sabah and the alleged violations of human rights reported in the media by some Filipinos who arrived in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi from Sabah.
The Department is coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other relevant agencies to document these reports so that appropriate actions could be taken.
The Department urges the Malaysian government to take steps to clarify these alleged incidents.
The Department continues to call on the Malaysian Government to give our Philippine Embassy officials and the Philippine humanitarian/consular team dispatched to Lahad Datu and nearby areas full access to the Filipinos being held “in several locations in Sabah but outside the ‘Ops Daulat’ area,” as announced by the Malaysian Inspector General of the Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar on 08 March 2013, to enable them to fulfill their mission which is to provide humanitarian and consular assistance to Filipinos who have been affected by the incident.
We reiterate our call on the Malaysian Government to give humane treatment to the Filipinos under their custody.
The allegations are alarming and should be properly and immediately addressed by concerned authorities.
DFA statement on the reported violation of human rights of Filipinos in Sabah, March 10, 2013 | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines
Reashot Xigwin
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Malaysians Fleeing Sabah Enter Indonesia
Tunggadewa Mattangkilang | March 08, 2013
Malaysian soldiers stake out positions in Sabah state on Tuesday. (Reuters Photo)
Nunukan, East Kalimantan. Malaysian citizens have begun to trickle into Indonesian territory through Sebatik Island in East Kalimantan, following recent deadly clashes between Malaysian security forces and the Filipino followers of a self-proclaimed sultan in Lahad Datu, Sabah.
North Sebatik ward Zulkifli said Malaysian nationals who resided near the Melayu River started to enter Indonesia four days ago but did not stay long, returning to their homes as soon as the situation stabilized.
Indonesia and Malaysia both hold territorial claims on Sebatik Island, sharing an ill-defined border that splits the land into northern and southern halves.
“It’s true that some Malaysian citizens have started to enter Indonesian territory in Sebatik since the Malaysian security forces launched an attack against the Sulu sultanate forces,” Zulkifli said on Thursday. “However, there weren’t very many of them. They would enter Sebatik when the situation heated up and returned when it cooled down.”
He said security personnel along the border were increased early this week to anticipate an exodus of Malaysians into Indonesia through Sebatik, and security checks on individuals passing to and from Indonesia at Sebatik were also tightened.
“Security at the border [area] has been tightened. This is to anticipate the entrance of Malaysian nationals following calls from the Malaysian security forces for its citizens to leave the area and seek safety.”
Central Sebatik ward Harman said Indonesian nationals who were in Malaysia had been temporarily prevented from conducting routine activities by Malaysian authorities until conditions returned to normal. The restrictions have prevented some Indonesians from returning home and the heightened security at the border area has also started to take a toll on the prices of staple goods on Sebatik Island, most of which are supplied from Malaysia.
“The Malaysian security forces have limited the activities and this has affected the mobility of local residents, including the return of Indonesian nationals to the country. … Another impact of the conflict is the price increase on staples, which was also worsened by the weakening of the rupiah value against the ringgit,” Harman said.
Nunukan regional government spokesman Hasan Basri said the administration had prepared several locations to accommodate Indonesian migrant workers seeking refuge until the conflict ended in Lahad Datu, a district in Malaysia’s Sabah state.
“We have coordinated with 12 wards in the border areas with Malaysia to anticipate the entrance of Malaysian and Indonesian nationals, including migrant workers. Several places that could accommodate hundreds of people have been readied,” he said.
The unrest began in mid-February when anywhere from 100 to 300 Filipino militants landed in Sabah state in an attempt to lay claim to the land in the name of the heir to a former Islamic sultanate. The Malaysian armed forces have since engaged militarily, with upwards of 60 casualties reported in the fighting so far.
Malaysians Fleeing Sabah Enter Indonesia | The Jakarta Globe
Returning Indonesia Migrant Workers Tell of Sabah Fears
Tunggadewa Mattangkilang | March 09, 2013
Malaysian forces continued to battle Filipino militants in Tanduo villages in Sabah on Friday, with the death toll now at 60. (AFP Photo)
Nunukan, East Kalimantan. Officials in East Kalimantan are reporting an increase in the number of Indonesian migrant workers coming in from Malaysia’s Sabah state as a standoff between Malaysian security forces and an invading cult from the Philippines drags on.
An officer from the infantry battalion posted on the Indonesia-Malaysia border on Sebatik Island, off the coast of Sabah, said on Friday that since the standoff began last month, there were around 10 Indonesians heading back from Malaysia each day, up from the usual figure of one a day.
The officer said the flow of Indonesians heading the other way had dried up.
The military has increased its patrols in the border area in anticipation of a surge of people, Indonesians and Malaysians alike, seeking to evacuate from the conflict in the Lahad Datu area of Sabah, where Malaysian forces are battling militants who sailed over from the Philippines in February and claimed the area as their own.
Amran, the head of Central Sebatik subdistrict, where the main border crossing lies, said he had called on all residents to report any suspicious activity or the arrival of any suspicious people.
He said the measure was aimed not just at foiling a possible attempt by the militants to escape to Indonesia, but also to prevent smugglers from exploiting the general confusion to send drugs or other illegal goods across the border.
Most of the returning Indonesian migrant workers are employed in the oil palm plantations around Lahad Datu, border officials say.
Kusmiati, a plantation worker from South Sulawesi, told the Jakarta Globe at the Central Sebatik border crossing that she felt unsafe in Lahad Datu, even though her employer and Malaysian security forces had reassured the workers that they would be safe.
“The situation there is very scary and threatening. There’s no activity going on. Since the conflict began, we’ve just been holed up in our dormitories,” she said, adding that every night they could hear the rumble of gunfire coming from the nearby village of Tanduo, where the militants are making their stand.
“I’d rather go home and then come back once things are back to normal.”
Jamal, another plantation worker, said the Malaysian authorities appeared to be taking the workers’ security seriously by deploying soldiers to the dormitories and restricting access to the plantation areas.
Still, he said he felt safer going back to Indonesia and waiting until the standoff was over.
The nearly month-long standoff was sparked by an incursion by a group of followers of Jamalul Kiram III, the self-proclaimed heir to the former southern Philippine sultanate of Sulu, which had a historical claim to Sabah. Some 60 people have been killed as security forces battle the militants.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/returning-indonesia-migrant-workers-tell-of-sabah-fears/578478
Tunggadewa Mattangkilang | March 08, 2013
Malaysian soldiers stake out positions in Sabah state on Tuesday. (Reuters Photo)
Nunukan, East Kalimantan. Malaysian citizens have begun to trickle into Indonesian territory through Sebatik Island in East Kalimantan, following recent deadly clashes between Malaysian security forces and the Filipino followers of a self-proclaimed sultan in Lahad Datu, Sabah.
North Sebatik ward Zulkifli said Malaysian nationals who resided near the Melayu River started to enter Indonesia four days ago but did not stay long, returning to their homes as soon as the situation stabilized.
Indonesia and Malaysia both hold territorial claims on Sebatik Island, sharing an ill-defined border that splits the land into northern and southern halves.
“It’s true that some Malaysian citizens have started to enter Indonesian territory in Sebatik since the Malaysian security forces launched an attack against the Sulu sultanate forces,” Zulkifli said on Thursday. “However, there weren’t very many of them. They would enter Sebatik when the situation heated up and returned when it cooled down.”
He said security personnel along the border were increased early this week to anticipate an exodus of Malaysians into Indonesia through Sebatik, and security checks on individuals passing to and from Indonesia at Sebatik were also tightened.
“Security at the border [area] has been tightened. This is to anticipate the entrance of Malaysian nationals following calls from the Malaysian security forces for its citizens to leave the area and seek safety.”
Central Sebatik ward Harman said Indonesian nationals who were in Malaysia had been temporarily prevented from conducting routine activities by Malaysian authorities until conditions returned to normal. The restrictions have prevented some Indonesians from returning home and the heightened security at the border area has also started to take a toll on the prices of staple goods on Sebatik Island, most of which are supplied from Malaysia.
“The Malaysian security forces have limited the activities and this has affected the mobility of local residents, including the return of Indonesian nationals to the country. … Another impact of the conflict is the price increase on staples, which was also worsened by the weakening of the rupiah value against the ringgit,” Harman said.
Nunukan regional government spokesman Hasan Basri said the administration had prepared several locations to accommodate Indonesian migrant workers seeking refuge until the conflict ended in Lahad Datu, a district in Malaysia’s Sabah state.
“We have coordinated with 12 wards in the border areas with Malaysia to anticipate the entrance of Malaysian and Indonesian nationals, including migrant workers. Several places that could accommodate hundreds of people have been readied,” he said.
The unrest began in mid-February when anywhere from 100 to 300 Filipino militants landed in Sabah state in an attempt to lay claim to the land in the name of the heir to a former Islamic sultanate. The Malaysian armed forces have since engaged militarily, with upwards of 60 casualties reported in the fighting so far.
Malaysians Fleeing Sabah Enter Indonesia | The Jakarta Globe
Returning Indonesia Migrant Workers Tell of Sabah Fears
Tunggadewa Mattangkilang | March 09, 2013
Malaysian forces continued to battle Filipino militants in Tanduo villages in Sabah on Friday, with the death toll now at 60. (AFP Photo)
Nunukan, East Kalimantan. Officials in East Kalimantan are reporting an increase in the number of Indonesian migrant workers coming in from Malaysia’s Sabah state as a standoff between Malaysian security forces and an invading cult from the Philippines drags on.
An officer from the infantry battalion posted on the Indonesia-Malaysia border on Sebatik Island, off the coast of Sabah, said on Friday that since the standoff began last month, there were around 10 Indonesians heading back from Malaysia each day, up from the usual figure of one a day.
The officer said the flow of Indonesians heading the other way had dried up.
The military has increased its patrols in the border area in anticipation of a surge of people, Indonesians and Malaysians alike, seeking to evacuate from the conflict in the Lahad Datu area of Sabah, where Malaysian forces are battling militants who sailed over from the Philippines in February and claimed the area as their own.
Amran, the head of Central Sebatik subdistrict, where the main border crossing lies, said he had called on all residents to report any suspicious activity or the arrival of any suspicious people.
He said the measure was aimed not just at foiling a possible attempt by the militants to escape to Indonesia, but also to prevent smugglers from exploiting the general confusion to send drugs or other illegal goods across the border.
Most of the returning Indonesian migrant workers are employed in the oil palm plantations around Lahad Datu, border officials say.
Kusmiati, a plantation worker from South Sulawesi, told the Jakarta Globe at the Central Sebatik border crossing that she felt unsafe in Lahad Datu, even though her employer and Malaysian security forces had reassured the workers that they would be safe.
“The situation there is very scary and threatening. There’s no activity going on. Since the conflict began, we’ve just been holed up in our dormitories,” she said, adding that every night they could hear the rumble of gunfire coming from the nearby village of Tanduo, where the militants are making their stand.
“I’d rather go home and then come back once things are back to normal.”
Jamal, another plantation worker, said the Malaysian authorities appeared to be taking the workers’ security seriously by deploying soldiers to the dormitories and restricting access to the plantation areas.
Still, he said he felt safer going back to Indonesia and waiting until the standoff was over.
The nearly month-long standoff was sparked by an incursion by a group of followers of Jamalul Kiram III, the self-proclaimed heir to the former southern Philippine sultanate of Sulu, which had a historical claim to Sabah. Some 60 people have been killed as security forces battle the militants.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/returning-indonesia-migrant-workers-tell-of-sabah-fears/578478
scobydoo
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From Ken Teh (channel News Asia journalist) twitter.
All the information supplied by the Malaysian govt.
So what happened there was only based from Malaysian government's view and never cover both sides
Still from Ken Teh twitter. Tweet
@Ken_Teh ,
security forces accidentally shot and killed teenage boy
‏@Ken_Teh
Teenage boy killed after #Sabah forces reacted and opened fire to movement in nearby bushes thinking it was gunmen @channelNewsAsia
Never again ‏@tekhelet
@Ken_Teh @channelNewsAsia They should have used snipers for this mission. Looks like Malaysian military not well trained etc
All the information supplied by the Malaysian govt.
So what happened there was only based from Malaysian government's view and never cover both sides
Still from Ken Teh twitter. Tweet
@Ken_Teh ,
security forces accidentally shot and killed teenage boy
‏@Ken_Teh
Teenage boy killed after #Sabah forces reacted and opened fire to movement in nearby bushes thinking it was gunmen @channelNewsAsia
Never again ‏@tekhelet
@Ken_Teh @channelNewsAsia They should have used snipers for this mission. Looks like Malaysian military not well trained etc
Last edited by a moderator:
Zero_wing
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We pray not you you and your kind have no gods you have no soul so how can you?
Sasquatch
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Malaya
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'If you are Tausug, they will arrest you'
TAWI-TAWI, Philippines - As boatloads of Filipino evacuees from Sabah arrived in Bongao town in Tawi-Tawi, sad news from Sabah also reached the country's shores.
More Filipinos are stranded in the port area of Sandakan waiting for the Philippine Navy or any vessel that would take them back home, the evacuees said.
Atting Jahiron, her husband and 10 children were lucky to get a ride back to Tawi-Tawi on Friday, March 8. Jahiron told Rappler Filipinos in Sandakan live in fear, confirming reports of atrocities against Filipinos there.
"Food supply for the Filipinos is dwindling while they are always on the look out for Malaysian police that may arrest them," Jahiron said.
"I am also worried for those who have no fare. They have no options but to wait for ships that will be sent by the Philippines," she added.
Crackdown on Tausugs
Jahiron also confirmed previous reports that Tausugs have it worst. She said the Malaysian police is more strict in handling Tausugs.
"Police have manned more checkpoints wherein they are more lenient to Badjaos. This is discrimination," Jahiron said.
"If you are Tausug, there will be no questions asked. They will arrest you immediately," she added. In prison cells, she said Filipinos are rarely given food.
"And their families cannot consistently bring them food because they also have to evade arrest," Jahiron said.
The Tausugs are the dominant ethnic group of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, where the followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III came from. They sailed to Sabah on February 9 to stake their claim on the disputed territory.
'Run as fast as you can'
Amira Taradji told the Inquirer how Malaysian security forces killed her brother Jumadil. “They dragged all the males outside the house, kicked and hit them.”
She said Malaysian cops toyed with Filipinos. They ordered them to run away from the cops, who would go after them and gun them down.
She narrated how her brother was killed on Monday, March 4, during a "zoning operation" in Sandakan.
The Malaysian security forces are not only after illegal migrants, she said. “Even if you have valid immigration document, you will not be spared. If you are lucky to reach the jail, you will die of starvation because they will not feed you,” Taradji told the Inquirer.
Gov't must intervene
Moro human rights group Kawagib said the same human rights violations also happened in past deportations.
"Based on the narratives gathered from those who arrived from Sabah, many would like to go home but they cannot go past the checkpoints," the group said.
Kawagib said the people know that the Malaysian authorities would launch a massive crackdown.
"The government, through its diplomatic ties with Malaysia, must assert for the protection of the human rights of the Filipinos in Sabah," Kawagib said.
The group is also monitoring any moves by Philippine security forces to filter arriving refugees and apprehend suspected members of the Royal Security Force.
But an official from the Philippine Marines denied there are orders or plans to apprehend anyone arriving from Sabah.
'If you are Tausug, they will arrest you'
‘Even women, children targeted in Sabah’
By Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star) | Updated March 11, 2013
DAVAO CITY , Philippines – Tawi-Tawi has been overwhelmed by refugees who have fled Sabah amid horror stories of Malaysian forces targeting even pregnant women and children in a security crackdown.
Small boats have been docking in Tawi-Tawi, loaded with refugees fleeing the crackdown.
A worker who asked not to be named said even pregnant women and children who were long-time residents of Sabah have been hunted down and killed as the Malaysians fire mortars and embark on a house-to-house search to flush out supporters of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.
Residents have fled on any boat available, even on traditional wooden lepa, used by Badjaos in the Sabah town of Semporna, the worker said.
The increasing flood of refugees from Sabah is turning into a humanitarian crisis in Tawi-Tawi. The provincial government has appealed for help from the national government to provide food, medicine and other needs for the refugees.
Malacanang said the alleged human rights violations perpetrated by the Malaysian police and military on non-combatants caught in the crossfire in Sabah are “unacceptable.”
The worker, who is among the refugees, told The STAR that Malaysian forces were targeting members of the Tausug tribe. Members of the Sulu sultanate are mainly Tausugs.
“They have been rounding up Tausugs. Either they kill them or they imprison them,” the worker said.
Malaysian forces reportedly dragged the men out of their homes in Sabah, then kicked and beat them. Jumadil Taradji was told to make a run for it, and when he did so, he was shot dead, according to his sister Amira.
“This kind of treatment on our Filipino citizens or Filipino nationals is unacceptable,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told radio station dzRB.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) expressed “grave concern” over the reports of human rights violations.
“The department urges the Malaysian government to take steps to clarify these alleged incidents. The allegations are alarming and should be properly and immediately addressed by concerned authorities,” the DFA said.
It is still waiting for the Malaysian government to give Philippine embassy officials and Filipino humanitarian teams in Lahad Datu and nearby areas full access to the Filipinos being held in several locations in Sabah but outside the zone of armed conflict.
Valte said “notes verbale” were sent to the Malaysian government precisely to seek humane treatment for the sultan’s supporters.
She said reports of extrajudicial killings of Filipinos “will have to be validated,” adding that the treatment of Filipinos “certainly will be the subject of the discussion of the DFA and their Malaysian counterparts.”
Thousands of Filipinos have fled Sabah after clashes escalated following a three-week standoff between the followers of the sultanate and Malaysian forces.
Tawi-Tawi Vice Gov. Ruby Sahali called on the national government to help the evacuees. She pointed out that even Tawi-Tawi residents are running out of rice.
Over 1,000 evacuees have so far arrived, in separate batches, at the country’s nearest entry points from Sabah.
The latest batch of 512 evacuees reportedly arrived on Turtle Island, also called Taganak, on Saturday night. Sahali said there were more refugees than residents on the island and the food supply was good only until breakfast yesterday. Tawi-Tawi residents purchase rice and other food supplies in Sabah.
Taganak Mayor Mibaral Tang said the 512 included 254 men, 122 women including pregnant and lactating mothers, and 136 children.
Tang said some children were sick due to exposure to the elements during their sea travel.
The evacuees from Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Sempornah and Tawau in Sabah are also flooding into the Tawi-Tawi islands of Sibutu and Simunul.
‘Act now to prevent deaths’
Catholic bishops based in Mindanao said even if the government is against the means used by the Sulu sultanate in pressing proprietary claims over Sabah, the government must act now to prevent more deaths.
“More than merely telling Filipinos to get out of Sabah, government leaders should do more for the sake of life and peace,” they said in their appeal.
The appeal was signed by Bishops Guillermo Afable (Digos), Colin Bagaforo (Cotabato), Antonieto Cabajog (Surigao), Jose Cabantan (Malaybalay), Edwin de la Peña (Marawi), Elenito Galido (Iligan), Dinualdo Gutierrez (Marbel), Martin Jumoad (Isabela), Angelito Lampon, OMI (Jolo), Julius Tonel (Ipil), George Rimando (Davao), Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ (Cagayan de Oro), Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI (Cotabato), Archbishop Romulo Valles (Davao) and Msgr. Cris Manongas (Zamboanga).
The prelates said they are counting on government leaders from both sides to “demonstrate wisdom and statesmanship in preventing further bloodshed and resolving the basic issues that resulted in tragedy.”
“We pray for all the casualties, both Filipino and Malaysian, in the conflict. We pray for their grieving families,” the bishops said as they urged Aquino to support the appeal of the United Nations for an immediate end to the violence.
Earlier, more than 200 evacuees arrived in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi’s capital town, and in the town of Simunul, an hour’s boatride from the provincial center.
Sahali said they are expecting the exodus to continue in the next few days. She said the provincial government could only accommodate a little over a thousand evacuees, as she noted that some unscrupulous individuals have started taking advantage of the situation.
“These people claim to be from non-government organizations and other private groups. They go around Bongao to ask for donations from businessmen,” she said.
She clarified that her father, Gov. Sadikul Sahali, has never allowed anyone to ask for donations using his name or office.
“What we are using now for these evacuees comes from the provincial calamity fund. If the number of evacuees here goes beyond 5,000, we can no longer handle it,” she said. -- With Delon Porcalla, Helen Flores, Rainier Allan Ronda, John Unson
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/03/11/918191/even-women-children-targeted-sabah
TAWI-TAWI, Philippines - As boatloads of Filipino evacuees from Sabah arrived in Bongao town in Tawi-Tawi, sad news from Sabah also reached the country's shores.
More Filipinos are stranded in the port area of Sandakan waiting for the Philippine Navy or any vessel that would take them back home, the evacuees said.
Atting Jahiron, her husband and 10 children were lucky to get a ride back to Tawi-Tawi on Friday, March 8. Jahiron told Rappler Filipinos in Sandakan live in fear, confirming reports of atrocities against Filipinos there.
"Food supply for the Filipinos is dwindling while they are always on the look out for Malaysian police that may arrest them," Jahiron said.
"I am also worried for those who have no fare. They have no options but to wait for ships that will be sent by the Philippines," she added.
Crackdown on Tausugs
Jahiron also confirmed previous reports that Tausugs have it worst. She said the Malaysian police is more strict in handling Tausugs.
"Police have manned more checkpoints wherein they are more lenient to Badjaos. This is discrimination," Jahiron said.
"If you are Tausug, there will be no questions asked. They will arrest you immediately," she added. In prison cells, she said Filipinos are rarely given food.
"And their families cannot consistently bring them food because they also have to evade arrest," Jahiron said.
The Tausugs are the dominant ethnic group of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, where the followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III came from. They sailed to Sabah on February 9 to stake their claim on the disputed territory.
'Run as fast as you can'
Amira Taradji told the Inquirer how Malaysian security forces killed her brother Jumadil. “They dragged all the males outside the house, kicked and hit them.”
She said Malaysian cops toyed with Filipinos. They ordered them to run away from the cops, who would go after them and gun them down.
She narrated how her brother was killed on Monday, March 4, during a "zoning operation" in Sandakan.
The Malaysian security forces are not only after illegal migrants, she said. “Even if you have valid immigration document, you will not be spared. If you are lucky to reach the jail, you will die of starvation because they will not feed you,” Taradji told the Inquirer.
Gov't must intervene
Moro human rights group Kawagib said the same human rights violations also happened in past deportations.
"Based on the narratives gathered from those who arrived from Sabah, many would like to go home but they cannot go past the checkpoints," the group said.
Kawagib said the people know that the Malaysian authorities would launch a massive crackdown.
"The government, through its diplomatic ties with Malaysia, must assert for the protection of the human rights of the Filipinos in Sabah," Kawagib said.
The group is also monitoring any moves by Philippine security forces to filter arriving refugees and apprehend suspected members of the Royal Security Force.
But an official from the Philippine Marines denied there are orders or plans to apprehend anyone arriving from Sabah.
'If you are Tausug, they will arrest you'
‘Even women, children targeted in Sabah’
By Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star) | Updated March 11, 2013
DAVAO CITY , Philippines – Tawi-Tawi has been overwhelmed by refugees who have fled Sabah amid horror stories of Malaysian forces targeting even pregnant women and children in a security crackdown.
Small boats have been docking in Tawi-Tawi, loaded with refugees fleeing the crackdown.
A worker who asked not to be named said even pregnant women and children who were long-time residents of Sabah have been hunted down and killed as the Malaysians fire mortars and embark on a house-to-house search to flush out supporters of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.
Residents have fled on any boat available, even on traditional wooden lepa, used by Badjaos in the Sabah town of Semporna, the worker said.
The increasing flood of refugees from Sabah is turning into a humanitarian crisis in Tawi-Tawi. The provincial government has appealed for help from the national government to provide food, medicine and other needs for the refugees.
Malacanang said the alleged human rights violations perpetrated by the Malaysian police and military on non-combatants caught in the crossfire in Sabah are “unacceptable.”
The worker, who is among the refugees, told The STAR that Malaysian forces were targeting members of the Tausug tribe. Members of the Sulu sultanate are mainly Tausugs.
“They have been rounding up Tausugs. Either they kill them or they imprison them,” the worker said.
Malaysian forces reportedly dragged the men out of their homes in Sabah, then kicked and beat them. Jumadil Taradji was told to make a run for it, and when he did so, he was shot dead, according to his sister Amira.
“This kind of treatment on our Filipino citizens or Filipino nationals is unacceptable,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told radio station dzRB.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) expressed “grave concern” over the reports of human rights violations.
“The department urges the Malaysian government to take steps to clarify these alleged incidents. The allegations are alarming and should be properly and immediately addressed by concerned authorities,” the DFA said.
It is still waiting for the Malaysian government to give Philippine embassy officials and Filipino humanitarian teams in Lahad Datu and nearby areas full access to the Filipinos being held in several locations in Sabah but outside the zone of armed conflict.
Valte said “notes verbale” were sent to the Malaysian government precisely to seek humane treatment for the sultan’s supporters.
She said reports of extrajudicial killings of Filipinos “will have to be validated,” adding that the treatment of Filipinos “certainly will be the subject of the discussion of the DFA and their Malaysian counterparts.”
Thousands of Filipinos have fled Sabah after clashes escalated following a three-week standoff between the followers of the sultanate and Malaysian forces.
Tawi-Tawi Vice Gov. Ruby Sahali called on the national government to help the evacuees. She pointed out that even Tawi-Tawi residents are running out of rice.
Over 1,000 evacuees have so far arrived, in separate batches, at the country’s nearest entry points from Sabah.
The latest batch of 512 evacuees reportedly arrived on Turtle Island, also called Taganak, on Saturday night. Sahali said there were more refugees than residents on the island and the food supply was good only until breakfast yesterday. Tawi-Tawi residents purchase rice and other food supplies in Sabah.
Taganak Mayor Mibaral Tang said the 512 included 254 men, 122 women including pregnant and lactating mothers, and 136 children.
Tang said some children were sick due to exposure to the elements during their sea travel.
The evacuees from Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Sempornah and Tawau in Sabah are also flooding into the Tawi-Tawi islands of Sibutu and Simunul.
‘Act now to prevent deaths’
Catholic bishops based in Mindanao said even if the government is against the means used by the Sulu sultanate in pressing proprietary claims over Sabah, the government must act now to prevent more deaths.
“More than merely telling Filipinos to get out of Sabah, government leaders should do more for the sake of life and peace,” they said in their appeal.
The appeal was signed by Bishops Guillermo Afable (Digos), Colin Bagaforo (Cotabato), Antonieto Cabajog (Surigao), Jose Cabantan (Malaybalay), Edwin de la Peña (Marawi), Elenito Galido (Iligan), Dinualdo Gutierrez (Marbel), Martin Jumoad (Isabela), Angelito Lampon, OMI (Jolo), Julius Tonel (Ipil), George Rimando (Davao), Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ (Cagayan de Oro), Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI (Cotabato), Archbishop Romulo Valles (Davao) and Msgr. Cris Manongas (Zamboanga).
The prelates said they are counting on government leaders from both sides to “demonstrate wisdom and statesmanship in preventing further bloodshed and resolving the basic issues that resulted in tragedy.”
“We pray for all the casualties, both Filipino and Malaysian, in the conflict. We pray for their grieving families,” the bishops said as they urged Aquino to support the appeal of the United Nations for an immediate end to the violence.
Earlier, more than 200 evacuees arrived in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi’s capital town, and in the town of Simunul, an hour’s boatride from the provincial center.
Sahali said they are expecting the exodus to continue in the next few days. She said the provincial government could only accommodate a little over a thousand evacuees, as she noted that some unscrupulous individuals have started taking advantage of the situation.
“These people claim to be from non-government organizations and other private groups. They go around Bongao to ask for donations from businessmen,” she said.
She clarified that her father, Gov. Sadikul Sahali, has never allowed anyone to ask for donations using his name or office.
“What we are using now for these evacuees comes from the provincial calamity fund. If the number of evacuees here goes beyond 5,000, we can no longer handle it,” she said. -- With Delon Porcalla, Helen Flores, Rainier Allan Ronda, John Unson
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/03/11/918191/even-women-children-targeted-sabah
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Boy Killed as Philippines Probes 'Abuse'
A boy was killed and two Malaysian security-force members were injured during the latest fighting to beat back a Filipino clan pursuing a centuries-old land claim in Malaysia's Sabah state, police said Sunday.
With the violence spilling into a second week, the Philippine government said it is looking into allegations of abuse of Filipino workers in Sabah, where armed intruders landed by motorboat last month, leading to battles that have included airstrikes and armored attacks on them by Malaysian security forces.
Jamalul Kiram III, who has proclaimed himself head of the sultanate of Sulu and whose brother led the invasion, proposed a cease-fire last Thursday to open room for discussion about his claim to resource-rich Sabah. The Malaysian government dismissed it, reiterating Sunday that the intruders are national-security threats.
"We want the intruders dead or arrested," Malaysian Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said. "They will be tried according to Malaysian laws."
Police said the latest operations to root out the intruders—believed to be hiding in thick jungles and brush between two coastal villages in Malaysia's part of the island of Borneo—resulted in the death of a boy, believed to be between 12 and 15 years of age. Police said that they were seeking the boy's identity and that no more details were available.
Dozens of people were detained Sunday on suspicion of having aided the intruders, Semporna District Police Chief Francis Abdullah said. Also Sunday, the Malaysian coast guard sent five additional ships into the area to add support.
So far, eight Malaysian security forces and 53 intruders have died, police said. A total of 85 people suspected of "directly or indirectly" aiding the intruders have been arrested, police said.
Now, some Filipinos working and living in Sabah as well as some of the intruders have alleged abuse by Malaysian authorities, Philippine presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said Sunday on a government radio station. If the allegations were found to be true, it would be "unacceptable," she said.
Sabah Police Chief Hamza Taib, asked about the reports at a news conference, denied any wrongdoing by security forces.
Meanwhile, the invasion's leader couldn't be reached by Mr. Kiram, whose spokesman said he would be discouraged from surrendering.
The spokesman, Abraham Idjirani, said that when the self-styled sultan proposed the cease-fire, he told his followers to operate from "a defensive position." If "they are provoked or attacked, then they have the right to defend themselves," he added.
Mr. Idjirani said the Kiram family's goal is to end the conflict peacefully and begin a discussion about the claim dating from 1658. He blamed the casualties on "the insistence of the Malaysian government not to heed the position of the sultan of Sulu to have a dialogue."
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch, an international advocacy group, expressed concern about civilians and what it sees as an overly liberal use of a "special measures" act to detain people.
"It's critical that the Malaysian authorities ensure the protection of all civilians in the area and allow humanitarian access for the provision of emergency assistance to those affected by the violence," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the group's Asia division.
Boy Killed as Philippines Probes Claims of Abuse in Malaysia - WSJ.com
Sabah residents flee 'red zone'
Residents of Tanjung Labian leave their village, an area where Filipino gunmen are still locked down in a cat-and-mouse game with pursuing Malaysian forces in nearby Tanduo village in Sabah on Sunday. Malaysian police said on March 9 they had arrested 79 people in Sabah as skirmishes to end a month-long incursion by armed Filipino gunmen left one more dead. AFP/Mohd Rasfan
Palace condemns Malaysian police abuses
Groups urge gov’t to protest to KL
By TJ Burgonio, Christine O. Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Monday, March 11th, 2013
Malacañang on Sunday condemned the reported abuses suffered by Filipinos at the hands of Malaysian police in the crackdown on followers of the sultan of Sulu in Sabah.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is verifying the report published by the Inquirer Sunday based on the accounts given by Filipinos fleeing violence sparked by the intrusion of the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III into Sabah.
One refugee, Amira Taradji, spoke of how Malaysian police conducting sweeps of villages in search of the sultan’s followers rounded up Filipino men, made them run as fast as they could, and shot them.
One of the men killed in Sandakan was Taradji’s brother Jumadil.
Even Filipinos with immigration papers were being rounded up and thrown into jails, Taradji said.
Some who tried to avoid arrest by showing their papers were shot, she said.
Seventy-nine people, including Tausug and Orang Suluk (people who originated from Sulu), were rounded up on Friday in police sweeps of villages to flush out supporters of Jamalul’s attempt to retake Sabah from Malaysia.
Thirty-three more, including four women, were arrested Sunday morning on suspicion of abetting the intruders, including providing them with security information.
The Semporna police chief, Firdaus Francis Abdullah, said the suspects, all foreigners, were detained at Bakau.
He did not say if the foreigners were Filipinos, but Bakau has many Filipino residents.
Firdaus said four of those arrested were believed to be intruders.
Malaysian police chief Ismail Omar reported that a teenage boy was shot dead and a man was wounded by security forces in the bushes in the battle zone Sunday.
Unacceptable
Omar did not say whether the man and the boy were followers of the Sulu sultan.
Sixty-one people have been killed in fighting since the intrusion led to violence on March 1, including 53 Filipinos and eight Malaysian policemen.
Speaking on state-run dzRB radio on Sunday, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said abuses against Filipinos in Sabah was “unacceptable” to the government.
Valte said Philippine diplomats would talk to the Malaysians about the reported abuses.
She said President Aquino spoke with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on March 2 and received assurance that the rights of the 800,000 Filipinos in Malaysia would be protected.
The DFA began verifying the Inquirer report on Sunday.
In a statement issued Sunday, the DFA said the Malaysian government should clarify the reported abuses.
“If this is true, we will tell them that this should not happen because the safety of all Filipinos in … Sabah is important,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said in interview on dzRB.
Hernandez said the government would appeal to Malaysia to treat Filipinos in Sabah humanely.
He said Malaysia had not responded to a Philippine request for updated information about Filipino casualties in the fighting between Malaysian security forces and followers of Jamalul led by the sultan’s brother Agbimuddin.
The Philippines has asked Malaysia to be given access to 10 sultanate followers who were captured during a police raid on Agbimuddin’s group in Tanduao village in Lahad Datu town on March 1, but the Malaysians have not responded, Hernandez said.
Malaysia also has not responded to the Philippines’ request for permission for a mercy ship to go to Sabah to pick up Filipinos who want to return home, Hernandez said.
Protest it
Omar declined to comment on the reported police abuses, saying he did not want to dignify the refugees’ claims.
Omar said the police was handling the operation against Jamalul’s followers with professionalism.
Civic and militant groups called for a “humanitarian ceasefire” and urged the government to protest the abuses.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan on Sunday pressed the government to protest the brutal crackdown on Filipinos in Sabah or its silence might be understood as a tacit approval of the Malaysian government’s mail-fisted response to the intrusion.
“The crackdown on Filipino civilians must stop. The abuses must end. The Aquino government should vigorously condemn the atrocities. Aquino himself should speak out against these atrocities. The Department of Foreign Affairs should file a formal protest against Malaysia,” Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes Jr. said.
The reported ordeal of Filipinos in Sabah has prompted at least 93 civil society groups in the Philippines and Malaysia to call for a “humanitarian ceasefire” to ensure the safety of noncombatants in the eastern Malaysian state.
The appeal is addressed to President Aquino, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Jamalul.
The groups also called for the setting up of “safe zones” where humanitarian organizations could help people fleeing from the violence in the territory.
Flight from Sabah
Filipinos have been fleeing the violence in Sabah since Monday last week.
Taradji’s group of about 400 refugees crossed the Sulu Sea in a boat from Sandakan and arrived in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, on Friday.
Three hundred more arrived in Jolo in another boat from Sandakan on Saturday with stories of Malaysian police abuses committed against Tausug residents of Sabah.
The fresh stories tended to confirm Taradji’s report of police brutality.
A female refugee said Tausug suspected of supporting Agbimuddin’s group were not allowed to buy food to prevent help from reaching the intruders, who were believed moving between the villages of Tanduao and Tanjung Batu in pairs or small units.
Stranded refugees
Sources in Lahad Datu said Malaysian police had been arresting immigrants since the killing of two policemen by Agbimuddin’s group on March 1.
The Philippine Navy on Sunday reported that 400 refugees had been stranded on Taganak Island (Turtle Island) since Saturday night, waiting to be rescued.
Navy Capt. Rene Yongque, commander of Naval Task Force 62, said the refugees, all from Sandakan, reached Philippine waters in wooden boat past 7 p.m. Saturday.
Yongque said the Navy’s vessel Sultan Kudarat had been dispatched to rescue the refugees.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development said it would help the refugees get to Bongao.—With reports from Julie Alipala, Karlos Manlupig, Allan Nawal and Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao; and The Star/Asia News Network
Palace condemns Malaysian police abuses | Inquirer Global Nation
A boy was killed and two Malaysian security-force members were injured during the latest fighting to beat back a Filipino clan pursuing a centuries-old land claim in Malaysia's Sabah state, police said Sunday.
With the violence spilling into a second week, the Philippine government said it is looking into allegations of abuse of Filipino workers in Sabah, where armed intruders landed by motorboat last month, leading to battles that have included airstrikes and armored attacks on them by Malaysian security forces.
Jamalul Kiram III, who has proclaimed himself head of the sultanate of Sulu and whose brother led the invasion, proposed a cease-fire last Thursday to open room for discussion about his claim to resource-rich Sabah. The Malaysian government dismissed it, reiterating Sunday that the intruders are national-security threats.
"We want the intruders dead or arrested," Malaysian Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said. "They will be tried according to Malaysian laws."
Police said the latest operations to root out the intruders—believed to be hiding in thick jungles and brush between two coastal villages in Malaysia's part of the island of Borneo—resulted in the death of a boy, believed to be between 12 and 15 years of age. Police said that they were seeking the boy's identity and that no more details were available.
Dozens of people were detained Sunday on suspicion of having aided the intruders, Semporna District Police Chief Francis Abdullah said. Also Sunday, the Malaysian coast guard sent five additional ships into the area to add support.
So far, eight Malaysian security forces and 53 intruders have died, police said. A total of 85 people suspected of "directly or indirectly" aiding the intruders have been arrested, police said.
Now, some Filipinos working and living in Sabah as well as some of the intruders have alleged abuse by Malaysian authorities, Philippine presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said Sunday on a government radio station. If the allegations were found to be true, it would be "unacceptable," she said.
Sabah Police Chief Hamza Taib, asked about the reports at a news conference, denied any wrongdoing by security forces.
Meanwhile, the invasion's leader couldn't be reached by Mr. Kiram, whose spokesman said he would be discouraged from surrendering.
The spokesman, Abraham Idjirani, said that when the self-styled sultan proposed the cease-fire, he told his followers to operate from "a defensive position." If "they are provoked or attacked, then they have the right to defend themselves," he added.
Mr. Idjirani said the Kiram family's goal is to end the conflict peacefully and begin a discussion about the claim dating from 1658. He blamed the casualties on "the insistence of the Malaysian government not to heed the position of the sultan of Sulu to have a dialogue."
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch, an international advocacy group, expressed concern about civilians and what it sees as an overly liberal use of a "special measures" act to detain people.
"It's critical that the Malaysian authorities ensure the protection of all civilians in the area and allow humanitarian access for the provision of emergency assistance to those affected by the violence," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the group's Asia division.
Boy Killed as Philippines Probes Claims of Abuse in Malaysia - WSJ.com
Sabah residents flee 'red zone'
Residents of Tanjung Labian leave their village, an area where Filipino gunmen are still locked down in a cat-and-mouse game with pursuing Malaysian forces in nearby Tanduo village in Sabah on Sunday. Malaysian police said on March 9 they had arrested 79 people in Sabah as skirmishes to end a month-long incursion by armed Filipino gunmen left one more dead. AFP/Mohd Rasfan
Palace condemns Malaysian police abuses
Groups urge gov’t to protest to KL
By TJ Burgonio, Christine O. Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Monday, March 11th, 2013
Malacañang on Sunday condemned the reported abuses suffered by Filipinos at the hands of Malaysian police in the crackdown on followers of the sultan of Sulu in Sabah.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is verifying the report published by the Inquirer Sunday based on the accounts given by Filipinos fleeing violence sparked by the intrusion of the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III into Sabah.
One refugee, Amira Taradji, spoke of how Malaysian police conducting sweeps of villages in search of the sultan’s followers rounded up Filipino men, made them run as fast as they could, and shot them.
One of the men killed in Sandakan was Taradji’s brother Jumadil.
Even Filipinos with immigration papers were being rounded up and thrown into jails, Taradji said.
Some who tried to avoid arrest by showing their papers were shot, she said.
Seventy-nine people, including Tausug and Orang Suluk (people who originated from Sulu), were rounded up on Friday in police sweeps of villages to flush out supporters of Jamalul’s attempt to retake Sabah from Malaysia.
Thirty-three more, including four women, were arrested Sunday morning on suspicion of abetting the intruders, including providing them with security information.
The Semporna police chief, Firdaus Francis Abdullah, said the suspects, all foreigners, were detained at Bakau.
He did not say if the foreigners were Filipinos, but Bakau has many Filipino residents.
Firdaus said four of those arrested were believed to be intruders.
Malaysian police chief Ismail Omar reported that a teenage boy was shot dead and a man was wounded by security forces in the bushes in the battle zone Sunday.
Unacceptable
Omar did not say whether the man and the boy were followers of the Sulu sultan.
Sixty-one people have been killed in fighting since the intrusion led to violence on March 1, including 53 Filipinos and eight Malaysian policemen.
Speaking on state-run dzRB radio on Sunday, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said abuses against Filipinos in Sabah was “unacceptable” to the government.
Valte said Philippine diplomats would talk to the Malaysians about the reported abuses.
She said President Aquino spoke with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on March 2 and received assurance that the rights of the 800,000 Filipinos in Malaysia would be protected.
The DFA began verifying the Inquirer report on Sunday.
In a statement issued Sunday, the DFA said the Malaysian government should clarify the reported abuses.
“If this is true, we will tell them that this should not happen because the safety of all Filipinos in … Sabah is important,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said in interview on dzRB.
Hernandez said the government would appeal to Malaysia to treat Filipinos in Sabah humanely.
He said Malaysia had not responded to a Philippine request for updated information about Filipino casualties in the fighting between Malaysian security forces and followers of Jamalul led by the sultan’s brother Agbimuddin.
The Philippines has asked Malaysia to be given access to 10 sultanate followers who were captured during a police raid on Agbimuddin’s group in Tanduao village in Lahad Datu town on March 1, but the Malaysians have not responded, Hernandez said.
Malaysia also has not responded to the Philippines’ request for permission for a mercy ship to go to Sabah to pick up Filipinos who want to return home, Hernandez said.
Protest it
Omar declined to comment on the reported police abuses, saying he did not want to dignify the refugees’ claims.
Omar said the police was handling the operation against Jamalul’s followers with professionalism.
Civic and militant groups called for a “humanitarian ceasefire” and urged the government to protest the abuses.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan on Sunday pressed the government to protest the brutal crackdown on Filipinos in Sabah or its silence might be understood as a tacit approval of the Malaysian government’s mail-fisted response to the intrusion.
“The crackdown on Filipino civilians must stop. The abuses must end. The Aquino government should vigorously condemn the atrocities. Aquino himself should speak out against these atrocities. The Department of Foreign Affairs should file a formal protest against Malaysia,” Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes Jr. said.
The reported ordeal of Filipinos in Sabah has prompted at least 93 civil society groups in the Philippines and Malaysia to call for a “humanitarian ceasefire” to ensure the safety of noncombatants in the eastern Malaysian state.
The appeal is addressed to President Aquino, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Jamalul.
The groups also called for the setting up of “safe zones” where humanitarian organizations could help people fleeing from the violence in the territory.
Flight from Sabah
Filipinos have been fleeing the violence in Sabah since Monday last week.
Taradji’s group of about 400 refugees crossed the Sulu Sea in a boat from Sandakan and arrived in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, on Friday.
Three hundred more arrived in Jolo in another boat from Sandakan on Saturday with stories of Malaysian police abuses committed against Tausug residents of Sabah.
The fresh stories tended to confirm Taradji’s report of police brutality.
A female refugee said Tausug suspected of supporting Agbimuddin’s group were not allowed to buy food to prevent help from reaching the intruders, who were believed moving between the villages of Tanduao and Tanjung Batu in pairs or small units.
Stranded refugees
Sources in Lahad Datu said Malaysian police had been arresting immigrants since the killing of two policemen by Agbimuddin’s group on March 1.
The Philippine Navy on Sunday reported that 400 refugees had been stranded on Taganak Island (Turtle Island) since Saturday night, waiting to be rescued.
Navy Capt. Rene Yongque, commander of Naval Task Force 62, said the refugees, all from Sandakan, reached Philippine waters in wooden boat past 7 p.m. Saturday.
Yongque said the Navy’s vessel Sultan Kudarat had been dispatched to rescue the refugees.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development said it would help the refugees get to Bongao.—With reports from Julie Alipala, Karlos Manlupig, Allan Nawal and Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao; and The Star/Asia News Network
Palace condemns Malaysian police abuses | Inquirer Global Nation
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Government: ‘Brutality’ on Pinoys in Sabah unacceptable
MANILA (Updated) -- Philippine officials have asked the Malaysian government to clarify news reports saying Filipinos in Sabah have been mistreated by authorities amid a crackdown on armed followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in the area.
Reports said Filipinos in Sabah are being treated "like animals" when Malaysian forces launched a crackdown on Kiram's supporters.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will be contacting its Malaysian counterpart to air the concerns, stressing the alleged brutality is "unacceptable."
"We have been receiving these reports (of brutality) from our countrymen who have gone back to different places in the south - there were those who went to Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Zamboanga - and these reports are unacceptable," she said.
Valte recalled that President Benigno Aquino III asked for humane treatment of Filipinos in Sabah when he had a phone conversation with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak shortly after the March 1 clash between the followers of Kiram and the Malaysian forces.
The clashes erupted days after Kiram’s followers landed in Lahad Datu, Sabah to stake a claim on the resource-rich territory, which they said once belonged to the Sultanate of Sulu.
At least 53 Filipino clansmen and eight Malaysian policemen have died in the conflict, mainly in shootouts. Malaysian police said Saturday they have detained 79 suspects linked to the clansmen.
On Sunday, two policemen were reported injured in gunfights with Kiram’s followers. Authorities said the policemen were shot by gunmen in overnight skirmishes.
Authorities said they are concentrating efforts to hunt down the armed Filipinos holed up in Kampung Tanjung Batu and Kampung Tanduo by launching airstrikes and sifting them out house-to-house.
Malaysian police said some of Kiram’s followers were found to be posing as civilians.
But DFA, in a statement, said it viewed with "grave concern" the alleged rounding up of community members of Sulu/Tausug descent in Lahad Datu and other areas in Sabah and the alleged violations of human rights reported in the media.
"The allegations are alarming and should be properly and immediately addressed by concerned authorities," the statement said.
There was no immediate reaction from Malaysian officials.
The DFA said it is coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and other relevant agencies to document these reports so that appropriate actions could be taken.
The agency also reiterated a call Sunday for Malaysia to give Philippine diplomats full access to Filipinos who are being held outside an area where Malaysian forces have staged the crackdown against the Filipino clansmen.
This would enable the Filipino officials to fulfill their mission, which is to provide humanitarian and consular assistance to Filipinos who have been affected by the incident, the DFA said.
Some Filipinos who fled from Sabah said they witnessed the brutality being committed by the Malaysian police against some Filipinos during their crackdown operations after the March 1 encounter that left 18 people dead.
Malaysian police refuted these reports, however, saying the Filipinos in Sabah were not abused.
New York-based Human Rights Watch on Saturday echoed a call by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to ensure the protection of civilians and for humanitarian access to help those affected by the violence.
Malaysia should provide accurate information on what has transpired and either charge or release dozens of suspects detained under a new security law, said Human Rights Watch's Asia deputy-director, Phil Robertson. (SDR/With AP/PNA/Sunnex)
Philippine Government:
Palace Deplores ‘Unacceptable’ Treatment Of Pinoys In Sabah
By: Genalyn D. Kabiling
Published: March 11, 2013
MANILA, Philippines --- Malacañang is protesting the alleged cruel treatment of Filipinos in Sabah amid the Malaysian police crackdown on armed loyalists of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and their supporters.
Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said they have received complaints from Filipinos about the supposed harsh treatment by Malaysian authorities and described such behavior as “unacceptable.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will contact its Malaysian counterpart to relay the government’s concerns about the welfare of the Filipinos in Sabah, according to Valte.
“We have been receiving these reports from our countrymen who have gone back to different places in the south, there are those going to Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Zamboanga and these reports are unacceptable,” Valte said over government radio.
“This kind of treatment on our Filipino citizens or Filipino nationals is unacceptable which is why the DFA will be contacting their Malaysian counterparts to speak about these particular reports,” she added.
Malaysian security forces have launched operations against Kiram’s group and their suspected supporters in a bid to end the bloody siege in Sabah. The crackdown reportedly included shootings and beatings at the hand of the Malaysian police, forcing hundreds of Filipinos to flee the territory and return to the Philippines.
As Malaysian forces continued pursuit operations against the Kiram group in Sabah, Valte said the government has already appealed for humane treatment for Filipinos in the area.
She said they also requested “full access” to the Filipinos in Sabah so its can extend consular and humanitarian assistance. But such request is still pending given the security situation in Lahad Datu, Valte added.
She noted that President Aquino earlier obtained the assurance of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to spare the innocent Filipinos in his government’s pursuit of the intruders in Sabah.
“This is one of precisely the things that President Aquino raised in his conversation with the Prime Minister of Malaysia that we are hoping that other Filipinos will not be dragged in the conflict in Sabah,” she said.
Meanwhile, a daughter of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III said yesterday independence is out of the plans of the Sultanate of Sulu, even if they won the disputed Sabah back.
Asked if the sultanate was considering independence if it gets back the disputed territory, Princess Jacel Kiram said: “Well, that is not in the plans. We have a Filipino heart. So what we are striving for is not only for the Kiram family, not only for the sultanate alone, but for the entire Filipino people,” she said on DZBB radio.
She said the group of her uncle (Rajah Muda Agbimuddin Kiram) has split into small groups, apparently to avoid detection from the Malaysian authorities which has put in place a tight cordon in the affected villages.
This means that the rajah muda has shifted to guerrilla tactics, blending into the jungles of Sabah.
She said yesterday her uncle was okay as they try to elude their pursuers. But they are also getting hungry because of lack of food, she added.
Meanwhile, Philippine authorities continued to receive Filipinos fleeing from the conflict in Sabah, intercepting lately at least 130 more refugees on board a motorboat in the waters of Tawi-Tawi, reports reaching the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) leadership in Cotabato City said yesterday.
The reports quoted Lt. Commander Lawrence Roque, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard station in Bongao, as saying that the latest refugees – mostly women, children and the elderly – were taken off Taganak Island, also known as Turtle Island, near Sandakan, Sabah.
The refugees were escorted to Bongao, the capital of Tawi-Tawi, where they were assisted by Task Force Tabang, which was formed to help civilians displaced by the hostilities in Sabah, according to ARMM’s social welfare and development officials.
They claimed to have escaped from Sabah for fear that they would be rounded up by Malaysian security forces reportedly raiding houses of residents with Filipino-sounding surnames.
Also yesterday, Mindanao bishops appealed to the government to do its best in saving the lives of Filipinos caught in the ongoing violence in Sabah.
Government leaders, they said, should not merely tell Filipinos to get out of Sabah rather do more “for the sake of life and peace.”
The bishops in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website urged the Aquino government “to support the appeal of the United Nations for an immediate end of the violence in Sabah and to press upon the two contending forces to heed the UN call.”
Malaysian police said yesterday two officers were injured in shootouts with Filipino gunmen as they try to end a month-long incursion in remote Sabah state that has already left 61 people dead.
Fifty-three militants and eight police officers have been shot dead since a group of armed Filipino Islamists landed in the state on Borneo island last month to resurrect long-dormant land claims of a self-proclaimed Philippine sultan.
Malaysia, facing its worst security crisis in years, insists the gunmen must surrender unconditionally, but the men have refused to lay down arms, hiding within a security cordon around two villages, palm oil plantations and swamp.
Sabah police chief Hamza Taib said gunmen have traded fresh fire with security forces since late Saturday with shots hitting two officers who were sent to a hospital in Sandakan town for treatment.
He also said six more people have been arrested in the state under a security lawand are being investigated for ‘‘committing terrorist acts,’’ bringing the total held under the law in relation to the crisis to 85. (With reports From Edd K. Usman, Ali G. Macabalang, Leslie Ann G. Aquino, Mike U. Crismundo, Nonoy E. Lacson, and Agence France Presse)
Manila Bulletin
MANILA (Updated) -- Philippine officials have asked the Malaysian government to clarify news reports saying Filipinos in Sabah have been mistreated by authorities amid a crackdown on armed followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in the area.
Reports said Filipinos in Sabah are being treated "like animals" when Malaysian forces launched a crackdown on Kiram's supporters.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will be contacting its Malaysian counterpart to air the concerns, stressing the alleged brutality is "unacceptable."
"We have been receiving these reports (of brutality) from our countrymen who have gone back to different places in the south - there were those who went to Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Zamboanga - and these reports are unacceptable," she said.
Valte recalled that President Benigno Aquino III asked for humane treatment of Filipinos in Sabah when he had a phone conversation with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak shortly after the March 1 clash between the followers of Kiram and the Malaysian forces.
The clashes erupted days after Kiram’s followers landed in Lahad Datu, Sabah to stake a claim on the resource-rich territory, which they said once belonged to the Sultanate of Sulu.
At least 53 Filipino clansmen and eight Malaysian policemen have died in the conflict, mainly in shootouts. Malaysian police said Saturday they have detained 79 suspects linked to the clansmen.
On Sunday, two policemen were reported injured in gunfights with Kiram’s followers. Authorities said the policemen were shot by gunmen in overnight skirmishes.
Authorities said they are concentrating efforts to hunt down the armed Filipinos holed up in Kampung Tanjung Batu and Kampung Tanduo by launching airstrikes and sifting them out house-to-house.
Malaysian police said some of Kiram’s followers were found to be posing as civilians.
But DFA, in a statement, said it viewed with "grave concern" the alleged rounding up of community members of Sulu/Tausug descent in Lahad Datu and other areas in Sabah and the alleged violations of human rights reported in the media.
"The allegations are alarming and should be properly and immediately addressed by concerned authorities," the statement said.
There was no immediate reaction from Malaysian officials.
The DFA said it is coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and other relevant agencies to document these reports so that appropriate actions could be taken.
The agency also reiterated a call Sunday for Malaysia to give Philippine diplomats full access to Filipinos who are being held outside an area where Malaysian forces have staged the crackdown against the Filipino clansmen.
This would enable the Filipino officials to fulfill their mission, which is to provide humanitarian and consular assistance to Filipinos who have been affected by the incident, the DFA said.
Some Filipinos who fled from Sabah said they witnessed the brutality being committed by the Malaysian police against some Filipinos during their crackdown operations after the March 1 encounter that left 18 people dead.
Malaysian police refuted these reports, however, saying the Filipinos in Sabah were not abused.
New York-based Human Rights Watch on Saturday echoed a call by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to ensure the protection of civilians and for humanitarian access to help those affected by the violence.
Malaysia should provide accurate information on what has transpired and either charge or release dozens of suspects detained under a new security law, said Human Rights Watch's Asia deputy-director, Phil Robertson. (SDR/With AP/PNA/Sunnex)
Philippine Government:
Palace Deplores ‘Unacceptable’ Treatment Of Pinoys In Sabah
By: Genalyn D. Kabiling
Published: March 11, 2013
MANILA, Philippines --- Malacañang is protesting the alleged cruel treatment of Filipinos in Sabah amid the Malaysian police crackdown on armed loyalists of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and their supporters.
Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said they have received complaints from Filipinos about the supposed harsh treatment by Malaysian authorities and described such behavior as “unacceptable.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will contact its Malaysian counterpart to relay the government’s concerns about the welfare of the Filipinos in Sabah, according to Valte.
“We have been receiving these reports from our countrymen who have gone back to different places in the south, there are those going to Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Zamboanga and these reports are unacceptable,” Valte said over government radio.
“This kind of treatment on our Filipino citizens or Filipino nationals is unacceptable which is why the DFA will be contacting their Malaysian counterparts to speak about these particular reports,” she added.
Malaysian security forces have launched operations against Kiram’s group and their suspected supporters in a bid to end the bloody siege in Sabah. The crackdown reportedly included shootings and beatings at the hand of the Malaysian police, forcing hundreds of Filipinos to flee the territory and return to the Philippines.
As Malaysian forces continued pursuit operations against the Kiram group in Sabah, Valte said the government has already appealed for humane treatment for Filipinos in the area.
She said they also requested “full access” to the Filipinos in Sabah so its can extend consular and humanitarian assistance. But such request is still pending given the security situation in Lahad Datu, Valte added.
She noted that President Aquino earlier obtained the assurance of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to spare the innocent Filipinos in his government’s pursuit of the intruders in Sabah.
“This is one of precisely the things that President Aquino raised in his conversation with the Prime Minister of Malaysia that we are hoping that other Filipinos will not be dragged in the conflict in Sabah,” she said.
Meanwhile, a daughter of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III said yesterday independence is out of the plans of the Sultanate of Sulu, even if they won the disputed Sabah back.
Asked if the sultanate was considering independence if it gets back the disputed territory, Princess Jacel Kiram said: “Well, that is not in the plans. We have a Filipino heart. So what we are striving for is not only for the Kiram family, not only for the sultanate alone, but for the entire Filipino people,” she said on DZBB radio.
She said the group of her uncle (Rajah Muda Agbimuddin Kiram) has split into small groups, apparently to avoid detection from the Malaysian authorities which has put in place a tight cordon in the affected villages.
This means that the rajah muda has shifted to guerrilla tactics, blending into the jungles of Sabah.
She said yesterday her uncle was okay as they try to elude their pursuers. But they are also getting hungry because of lack of food, she added.
Meanwhile, Philippine authorities continued to receive Filipinos fleeing from the conflict in Sabah, intercepting lately at least 130 more refugees on board a motorboat in the waters of Tawi-Tawi, reports reaching the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) leadership in Cotabato City said yesterday.
The reports quoted Lt. Commander Lawrence Roque, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard station in Bongao, as saying that the latest refugees – mostly women, children and the elderly – were taken off Taganak Island, also known as Turtle Island, near Sandakan, Sabah.
The refugees were escorted to Bongao, the capital of Tawi-Tawi, where they were assisted by Task Force Tabang, which was formed to help civilians displaced by the hostilities in Sabah, according to ARMM’s social welfare and development officials.
They claimed to have escaped from Sabah for fear that they would be rounded up by Malaysian security forces reportedly raiding houses of residents with Filipino-sounding surnames.
Also yesterday, Mindanao bishops appealed to the government to do its best in saving the lives of Filipinos caught in the ongoing violence in Sabah.
Government leaders, they said, should not merely tell Filipinos to get out of Sabah rather do more “for the sake of life and peace.”
The bishops in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website urged the Aquino government “to support the appeal of the United Nations for an immediate end of the violence in Sabah and to press upon the two contending forces to heed the UN call.”
Malaysian police said yesterday two officers were injured in shootouts with Filipino gunmen as they try to end a month-long incursion in remote Sabah state that has already left 61 people dead.
Fifty-three militants and eight police officers have been shot dead since a group of armed Filipino Islamists landed in the state on Borneo island last month to resurrect long-dormant land claims of a self-proclaimed Philippine sultan.
Malaysia, facing its worst security crisis in years, insists the gunmen must surrender unconditionally, but the men have refused to lay down arms, hiding within a security cordon around two villages, palm oil plantations and swamp.
Sabah police chief Hamza Taib said gunmen have traded fresh fire with security forces since late Saturday with shots hitting two officers who were sent to a hospital in Sandakan town for treatment.
He also said six more people have been arrested in the state under a security lawand are being investigated for ‘‘committing terrorist acts,’’ bringing the total held under the law in relation to the crisis to 85. (With reports From Edd K. Usman, Ali G. Macabalang, Leslie Ann G. Aquino, Mike U. Crismundo, Nonoy E. Lacson, and Agence France Presse)
Manila Bulletin
Sam1980
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This Sultan guy is nuts! If that's the case we Iranians, could claim most of the middle-east, parts of Europe, Africa, Central Asia! Based on previous ownership of these territories! Or Native Americans could kick out everyone out of Americas! Or Indians could claim Pakistan and Bangladesh, the list goes on...
This guy is just a terrorist!
This guy is just a terrorist!
Fsjal
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What is with this cases of abuse by Malaysian military. Typical propaganda from Aquino regime. Too bad people are brainwashed by his "sheer awesomeness". I hope Malaysia crushes the Kiram followers and take Kiram to justice.
Zero_wing
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Hahahaha your just full of $hit if you watch both local Philippine News and International news President Aquino as repeatedly ask for them to go home or surrender without condition but still the tausugs of sulu like before never lessens to the government so please don't bring your lies here chinese propagandist true we never abandon our claim but not like this and Malaysia knows this to be true. So please bring your lies to some other forum. you chinese are nothing more than trouble makers and warmongers that's your only propose in this world no positive contributions at all
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