Favor for Misuari, but no justice for Zamboanga siege victims

I REALLY can’t believe how our Department of Justice decided to withdraw the arrest warrant against Moro National Liberation Front’s Nur Misuari after he facilitated the release of hostages being held by the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group, including Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad. Did it consider the barangays in Zamboanga City that MNLF secessionists under Misuari burned to the ground in the 2013 Zamboanga siege? Innocent citizens were killed by Misuari’s group in that attack, and the hundreds of thousands of people who were forced to leave their homes are, until now, internally displaced.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said that the move to lift the arrest warrant against Misuari was part of the peace talks. Does our government really need to negotiate with someone who has been charged with violating international humanitarian laws and has committed crimes against humanity?

The bloody Zamboanga siege did not only destroy many homes; people also lost their loved ones—father, mother, brother, sister, or child. Not to forget that soldiers sacrificed their lives to protect their fellowmen. I support the government’s fight against terrorism, and it will be much appreciated if our present leadership finds a way to give justice to both victims and survivors of past terrorist acts.

—LYDIA S. ESGUERRA, lydiaesgueraa@gmail.com