Aquino, Muslim Rebel Hold Surprise Meeting

President Corazon Aquino, ignoring rumors of a coup, traveled to this Muslim rebel stronghold on the battle-scarred island of Mindanao on Sunday for a surprise meeting with the rebel commander who led a series of attacks last week that left at least 45 people dead.

It was the fourth stop on a five-city weekend tour of the island to muster support for ratifying the draft constitution in a plebiscite on Feb. 2.

Aquino’s meeting with Haji Murad, chief of staff of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, lasted about 10 minutes.

The session started with a handshake and ended with an invitation from Aquino for a “longer meeting” at her Malacanang Palace office, Murad told reporters.

“We presented her a flower as a symbol of peace,” the rebel leader said. “We are pinning our hopes on her.” He also handed her a list of the group’s demands.

Murad said that exiled leader Hashim Salamat, who is in Saudi Arabia, would have to approve a further meeting with Aquino.

Back in Manila, military chief of staff Gen. Fidel V. Ramos ordered troops in the capital and the surrounding regions placed on full alert, according to Col. Honesto Isleta, chief military spokesman, “because of the rumors of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front being in the Manila area.” Isleta said the alert might be lifted today.

By Sunday morning, troops had sealed off major streets around the presidential palace.

However, a high-placed military source said Ramos remained at headquarters with other top generals into the pre-dawn hours Sunday, gathering reports on forces allegedly involved in an alleged “destabilization plot.”

Supporters of ousted President Ferdinand E. Marcos and disgruntled soldiers loyal to former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile were placed under surveillance.

Two Manila newspapers had reported that the military fears Muslim rebels might join forces with dissident officers and supporters of Marcos in a plot against the government before the ratification plebiscite, something that is regarded as a critical component in Aquino’s efforts to restore political stability to the country.

The newspapers said the alleged plot also involved the same group linked to last November’s reported coup attempt, which led to the dismissal of Enrile.

Military intelligence sources, speaking on condition they not be identified, said they heard such rumors over the weekend but knew of no firm reports that such a plot existed.

Aquino, when asked about the coup rumors, replied, “It’s nothing.” She later flew to Zamboanga City, where she addressed a crowd estimated at 100,000 before returning to the capital Sunday afternoon.

About 800 Marcos loyalists burned Aquino in effigy Sunday at a Manila rally as part of their campaign against the constitution, which guarantees her a six-year term.

Aquino’s meeting with Murad came one day after the rebel group agreed to a provisional cease-fire, ending five days of attacks on the island.

The 7,000-member group blew up bridges, sabotaged power lines, strafed houses and staged grenade attacks to protest its exclusion from government peace talks with the larger Moro National Liberation Front, which has spearheaded the 14-year-old war for Muslim self-rule in the south of the Philippines, a predominantly Christian country.

Although both groups seek the same goal, they disagree on the terms. Of Mindanao’s 11 million people, about 60% are Christian and the rest Muslim.