MILF asks Palestinians to unite

COTABATO CITY -- The head of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) called on Palestinians and their leaders Friday to close ranks with the passing away of Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) who died Thursday in France after slipping into a coma.

"Yasser Arafat is a great leader with courage and determination to fight for the cause of the Palestinian people," said MILF chair Al Haj Ibrahim Murad in a press statement.

"We know how it is to be terribly hit and saddened by the loss of a leader in time of crisis and at the thick of unfinished bloody struggle to free the Palestinians from the savagery of Israeli occupation," he added.

At the same time, Murad also urged the Palestinian people to carry on the struggle until they achieve final victory.

Arafat died Thursday about 12:00 noon [Philippine time] at a hospital in Paris, where he had been in deep coma since he was brought there a week ago from a compound in Ramallah where he was a virtual prisoner of the Israelis for the last three years

His health began deteriorating last month. Palestinian officials initially insisted that he had a lingering case of flu, but they grew increasingly concerned when he did not recover.

He was rushed Oct. 29 to Percy Military Training Hospital in Clamart, France, where he died.

Speaking in behalf of the MILF and Moro people in Mindanao, Murad expressed sympathy and prayers for the passing away of Arafat.

Murad recalled how the Moro people have had a similar experience when Chairman Salamat Hashim, considered "Father of the MILF", passed away in July last year amid a turbulent moment in Mindanao.

Like Arafat, Salamat had never wavered in his entire life in the struggle, spanning four decades, to fight for his people's right to self-determination, and even at the throes of death, he continued to urge his colleagues to continue the struggle, Murad continued.

The Israelis, on various occasions, were contemplating on assassinating Arafat, accusing him of not only fanning the wave of "suicide bombings" inside occupied territories and right inside Israel but also as a "terrorist".

"Arafat may have made some controversial decisions during his time especially the peace deal with Israel that earned the anger of his colleagues, but no doubt he stood as a towering figure and the "father of the Palestinian struggle," Murad said.

He said they are praying for the soul of the "great leader," who even at the worst of times and health was fasting being the obligation of every Muslim.