Ni ANTONIO L. COLINA IV
DAVAO CITY – Sinabi ni Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairman Datu Abul Khayr Alonto na “blasphemous” na tawaging “Muslims” ang mga miyembro ng teroristang Maute Group na sinisikap na lipulin ng mga puwersa ng gobyerno sa tangkang pagkubkob sa Marawi City, Lanao del Sur mahigit isang buwan na ang nakalipas.
“This is not a war of religion. In fact, it is even blasphemous to refer to these people sa Muslims, because there is nothing in the Koran that will say, that you have to fight and this and burn your own house,” sabi ni Alonto, chairman din ng isang paksiyon ng Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Nagpahayag ng pagkadismaya si Alonto sa bakbakan sa Marawi City na nakaapekto sa libu-libong residente na nagtungo sa Iligan City at sa mga kalapit na bayan nito sa paligid ng Lake Lanao sa Lanao del Sur para sa sariling kaligtasan simula nang sumiklab ang labanan nitong Mayo 23.
Tinatayang 132,000 pamilya, lumikas sa Eastern Visayas dahil sa super typhoon Pepito
Sinabi ni Alonto na ang krisis sa Marawi ay hindi lamang problema sa rebelyon kundi sa “annexation” ng Maute Group na nangako ng alyansa sa international terrorist group na Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), na napaulat na planong magpalawak ng teritoryo nito sa Timog-Silangang Asya.
“This is a war of annexation, they want to annex as what the good Secretary referred to us the Wilayat, wilayat in Arabic and in English, it is a province. This is a war of annexation to make Marawi City as the capital of the province of the ISIS and that is the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant where you are referring to now as the ISIS,” aniya.
Hinimok ni Alontop ang agarang pagresolba sa problema sa pangambang magaya ang Marawi at ang iba pang mga pangunahing siyudad sa Pilipinas sa Aleppo ng Syria na ganap na nakubkob ng ISIS.
“This is a war of annexes. This is not only a rebellion and we have to stop it otherwise, the next might be the capitals or our neighbors and it is happening, what happened in Aleppo, what happened in Syria and in Baghdad and Iran must not happen here, but it happened and it did happen in Marawi,” paliwanag ni Alonto.
“The humanitarian, the damage…the collateral damage has been there and this may take sometimes for us to reconstruct, rehabilitate the area particularly the lives of these people who suffered and subjected to this barbaric not in fact, this is not a war of religion we want to speak it out,” sabi pa niya.
Ikinagulat din ni Alonto ang pagkakarekober ng gobyerno sa bangkay ng ilang dayuhang terorista sa Marawi.
“We already find some of these casualties on that side of the ground and there were foreign elements, foreign nationals involved about 8 to 10, more than 20 almost about 30 plus casualties on the side of the ISIS. But 8 of those were foreign nationals, which even their countries have acknowledged two of their nationals,” ani Alonto.
