Nur not seen at OIC meeting

oro ational iberation ront fo nding chairman r is ari was not seen yesterday attending the 0th session of the rgani ation of slamic ooperation in ona ry, ep blic of ew inea.

epartment of oreign ffairs spo es man a l ernande responded to es tions abo t is ari s s pposed attendance at the meeting where the hilippine government is represented by officials led by ndersecretary afael eg is.

st tal ed to sec eg is who is now in ona ry, inea attending the meetings. e said he and other delegates have not seen is ari in the meetings, on its second day now, ernande said.

nd the observer seat has been vacant, he added.

he military said on onday that is ari is still hiding somewhere in l .

rmed orces of the hilippines p blic affairs chief t. ol. amon agala iss ed the statement amid reports that is ari wo ld attend the meeting in ona ry from ec. to 11.

agala, however, declined to comment on estions whether the wo ld hand over is ari to the hilippine gov ernment, considering he is a f gitive.

is ari was among those charged for rebellion and violation of international law over the three wee siege in amboanga ity that left h ndreds of people dead and homeless last eptember. agala said an arrest warrant is already o t for is ari. is ari was alleged to have sent h ndreds of armed followers to amboanga on ept. in a bid to derail peace tal s with the rival oro slamic iberation ront .

ore than 10,000 homes were ra ed in the ens ing street battles, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee.

he signed a peace treaty in 1 with the hilippine government that allowed the creation of the tonomo s egion in slim indanao.

owever, the is opposed to a planned final peace deal between the government and the , believing a peace deal wo ld leave them sidelined.

he signed a power sharing agreement with the hilippine govern ment on onday.

spo esman bsalom erve a said the signing of the power sharing an ne had prodded their gro p to aspire for an independent state in indanao.

ertainly, that wo ld lead to another war. hey can sign everything. f they want to contin e, then let the war contin e, erve a said in an earlier interview.

agala said they have reports indi cating that is ari s followers wo ld la nch offensives to oppose the power sharing deal. e stressed the actions of is ari s gro p do not represent that of the .

e believe that the still abides by the 1 final peace agreement, agala said. nder the power sharing anne , a angsamoro ministerial abinet will be formed and will be appointed by a chief minister and a angsamoro o n cil of eaders. t least 0 members will constit te the legislative assembly of the angsamoro ministerial government.