Jamalul Kiram, the sultan of the southern Philippine island chain of Sulu, tells reporters that his followers who have crossed over to the Malaysian state of Sabah, will not be leaving despite calls by both the Malaysian and Philippines governments for them to depart and end a stand-off that has lasted over a week at the Blue Mosque in Manila on February 22, 2013. Kiram told reporters during Friday prayers that his followers had a right to remain in Sabah because his sultanate still had sovereignty over the Malaysian state.
{"Image ImageDescription": "Jamalul Kiram, the sultan of the southern Philippine island chain of Sulu, tells reporters that his followers who have crossed over to the Malaysian state of Sabah, will not be leaving despite calls by both the Malaysian and Philippines governments for them to depart and end a stand-off that has lasted over a week at the Blue Mosque in Manila on February 22, 2013.  Kiram told reporters during Friday prayers that his followers had a right to remain in Sabah because his sultanate still had sovereignty over the Malaysian state.     AFP PHOTO/NOEL CELIS        (Photo credit should read NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)", "Image Copyright": "2013 AFP"}