Filipino rebel may visit the UAE

The leader of a major Muslim separatist group in southern Philippines will be temporarily freed from detention to enable him to visit the UAE “within two weeks'' provided he meets the conditions set by a Philippine court.

Nur Misuari, the 66-year-old former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front who is facing rebellion charges, has sought permission from the Makati City Regional Trial Court to travel to the UAE, Kenya and Saudi Arabia to meet with Muslim leaders.

According to an ABS-CBN News report beamed to Dubai by The Filipino Channel, Judge Winlove Dumayas granted Misuari's request provided he secures sovereign guarantees from the three countries where he is set to travel and to post an additional bail bond of P100,000 (Dh8,295) which will be refunded when he returns to the Philippines on or before June 30.
In a statement, Misuari said he wants to speak with some Muslim leaders to discuss the armed conflict in Mindanao.

Misuari's lawyers assured the court that he will abide by any conditions set by the court and will not be a flight risk.

Misuari, a political science lecturer at the University of the Philippines in the early 1970s, was one of the leaders of the Mindanao Independence Movement which eventually evolved into the MNLF.

He became the first governor of the ARMM after signing a peace agreement with the Philippine government in the mid-1990s and was arrested and charged with rebellion for alleged leading an armed uprising in Jolo, Sulu after he was ousted as MNLF chairman in 2001.

The Philippine mission in Dubai, meanwhile, is clueless on Misuari's impending arrival.

“I have not received any information about it yet, but we will abide with whatever instructions from the home office,'' said Benito Valeriano, Consul-General of the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.