Chief Sultan Seeks GMA Help To Resolve Slaying Of Maguindanao Sultan

Sultan Sharif Ibrahim Ajibul Mohammad Pulalun (Zamboanga Journal)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 16 Jan) The Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, Sharif Ibrahim Ajibul Mohammad Pulalun, appealed Monday to President Gloria Arroyo to help resolve the assassination of another sultan in the southern Philippines.

"We appeal to President Arroyo for help so the senseless killing of Sultan Datu Amir Bin Muhammad Baraguir shall be resolved soon. We cry for justice and need your help," Pulalon said.

Gunmen shot dead Baraquir, the Sultan of Maguindanao province, and wounded his brother in an attack January 11 outside his house in Sultan Kudarat town, police said.

Police said the two motorcycle gunmen ambushed Baraguir and his companions who were in a van. Police said it is still investigating the motive of the attack and who were behind it.

Pulalon said the killing of Baraguir could trigger a dangerous precedent. "This is very dangerous because the killing of Sultan Baraguir could trigger more violence. The perpetrators of this senseless killing and the brains behind it must be put behind bars soon," he said.

Pulalon appealed to Baraguir's family and relatives to stay calm and let authorities resolve the killing. "I appeal to them to stay calm and President Arroyo will surely help us get justice," the influential Sultan said.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) earlier said the attack could be connected to a family feud or had something to do with Baraguir's position as a member of the Royal Sultanate. A rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu, said many others claimed to be the real sultans.

"There is an ongoing rivalry between sultans, and there is a power struggle among them. Many are claiming to be the real sultans. Family feud could be another motive in the attack," Kabalu said.

Supt. Akmad Mamalinta, chief of the police in the Muslim autonomous region, said they formed a group called "Task Force Sultan" to investigate the killing.

He ruled out family feud as the motive behind the killing. "We are ruling out family feud as the motive of the killing," he said without further elaborating, but claimed the task force has witnesses already to the slaying. "The family of the slain Sultan Baraguir is cooperating with us."

Baraguir's family is still mourning the death of the sultan and has not issued any statement.

Baraguir, a descendant of Maguindao Sultan Shariff Muhamman Kabungsuan bin Ali Zainal Abidin, was enthroned in December as the 25th Sultan of Maguindanao, and named as Seri Paduka Sultan Sayyid Hadji Datu Amir Bin Muhammad Baraguir.

Before he was killed, Baraquir vowed to pursue the right of the Muslims to self determination.