MILITARY SEALS OFF ALL EXITS IN SULU: The Armed Forces has sealed off
strategic exit points in the province of Sulu where two Filipino and 18
foreign hostages are being held by a suspected Moro kidnap gang, officials
said yesterday.
''Sulu is a small province. We hope to finish this as soon as possible,''
Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said in Malacanang.
Acting Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim said that military units
were deployed throughout the Sulu island group to prevent the kidnappers
from fleeing Jolo and possibly linking up with the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan.
A military report said the Coast Guard had sent out patrols to coast the
waters of Sulu, particularly around Talipao, Jolo, where the victims were
reported to have been brought after being abducted from the Sipadan island
resort off Sabah Sunday night.
Malacanang said it would reject any ransom demand for the release of the 18
foreigners and two Filipino hostages, as it sent Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao Gov. Nur Misuari to negotiate for the ''safe release'' of the
victims.
''The policy of the Philippine government is that we do not deal with
ransom. That is why we are sending Nur to talk with the kidnappers,'' said
Zamora, citing the President's ''specific instructions.''
Mr. Estrada sent Misuari to Jolo, Sulu, yesterday armed with a memorandum
stating his ''mandate'' to negotiate on behalf of the Philippine government.
''I'm not promising anything,'' Misuari said at a press briefing in
Malacanang before flying to Sulu.
The kidnappers have split the hostages into groups and brought them to four
towns in Jolo, Sulu, local police sources said.
Misuari said the kidnappers were now moving around in at least four
different groups ''because they are expecting that the government might
(suddenly) launch hot pursuit operations.''
The sources said the victims were taken to Maimbung, Indanan, Talipao and
Patikul towns, and were now in the custody of Said Suaib, Galib Andang alias
Commander Robot, Mujidagga Susukan and Abu Pula Jumdail.
But according to information reaching Malaysian police authorities based in
Sabah, the hostages have already been moved by their abductors to Basilan,
scene of an ongoing military operation to free 28 hostages being held by the
larger Abu Sayyaf group, which has been fighting for a separate Islamic
state.
There were reports last night that eight Malaysian hostages had been
released but could not leave Sulu because a motorlaunch they were supposed
to use broke down.
Misuari also rejected the reports that the Malaysian hostages had been
released because they came from a Muslim country.
But he also said he received information that the Asian hostages might be
released earlier, stressing that the captors eyed higher ransoms from the
Western captives.
Misuari said his men had so far sighted only 17 of the 20 hostages in Jolo.
He said the 17 whom his men had accounted for were two Finns, three Germans,
two French nationals, two South Africans, one Lebanese, and several
Malaysians. That leaves two Filipinos and one Malaysian unaccounted for.
There are seven to eight women among the kidnap victims, he said.
Zamora said most of the kidnappers were former members of the Moro National
Liberation Front whom Misuari knew and could still contact since they were
related to some of his men.
The executive secretary said the MNLF's deputy chief and its secretary
general for military affairs were related to some of the kidnappers. He said
Misuari could use the two to establish contact with the kidnap gang.
But Misuari said his own intelligence reports indicated that the Abu Sayyaf
was ''directly behind'' the kidnapping.
He said he had already asked the Chief of Staff of the Bangsa Moro Armed
Forces, who is also the concurrent Chief of the Deputy South commander, to
alert some 2,000 to 3,000 members of the MNLF in the area.
He implied that the MNLF troops were ready to fight to secure the release of
the hostages if negotiations fail.
Misuari said the kidnappers were demanding the protection of ancestral
fishing grounds as part of their demands.
Asked about news reports that the kidnappers were demanding more than $2
million, Misuari told a Manila radio station: ''I will not entertain
monetary considerations.''
Two different ransom demands have been reported: 10 million Malaysian
ringgit ($2.63 million) and P100 million ($2.4 million). Neither demand has
been verified, and officials reiterated yesterday that the government has
not received any ransom demand.
Zamora said there was also the defense department preparing a military
response in case negotiations should fail.
Still, Malacanang rejected reported offers of foreign governments to provide
armed commandos to help rescue the hostages. ''The Philippine government
will not agree to that,'' said Zamora.
Among those who were reportedly offering their services were French
government commandos.
But the Agence France Presse reported that France and other Western
governments had warned Manila against making a precipitate move which could
endanger the lives of the captives.
In Davao City, National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre yesterday said
the kidnapping was a ''transnational crime'' which should concern the
international community, particularly the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean) and the United Nations.
Zamora said the foreign ambassadors promised to help the government in
whatever way possible and had agreed not to turn the kidnapping into an
international issue. Inquirer, 04/28/2000
TROOPS LAUNCH AIR, GROUND ATTACKS ON LANAO REBELS: BALO-I, Lanao del
Norte--Government troops yesterday launched air and ground attacks against a
Moro Islamic Liberation Front stronghold in two barangays in this Lanao del
Norte town.
Military officials said the attacks were launched to allow the repair of
steel power pylons in Pakalundo and Apo Hill barangays that had been
destroyed by the rebels, it was reported.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The MILF camps in the two barangays were occupied by at least 500 rebels.
The camp in Apo Hill is strategic for the rebels because it has two-way
radio communication facilities, it said.
Air force planes, Huey and MG520 attack helicopters were still pounding the
rebel stronghold in Balo-i yesterday afternoon.
The highway from Iligan City to Marawi City was closed to traffic because of
the fighting.
The new fighting erupted even as thousands of evacuees have not been able to
return to their homes since hostilities broke out last month between the
rebels and government troops.
On Monday, the newly formed multisectoral group, Siyap Ko Kapage-inged
(Concern and Vigilance for Society) or SKK, staged a peace rally in Marawi
City.
The group, numbering about 7,000, called for peaceful means in solving the
Moro problem and for government to immediately attend to the needs of the
evacuees in Marawi.
''The June 20 deadline also means that should the negotiations fail, the
government can pursue militarizing Lanao as the solution to this problem,''
lawyer Hamid Barra said.
Barra said that after consulting nongovernment organizations and private
groups, the SKK created a People's Committee on Referendum to work on an
information drive to promote a United Nations-supervised vote that would
allow the Muslims of Mindanao to decide their destiny. MILF leader Hashim
Salamat had earlier proposed that such a referendum be held. Inquirer,
04/26/2000
`WE'RE DYING OF FRIGHT,' SAYS PRIEST: ZAMBOANGA CITY--''You (military) are
bombing us and not the armed men who are holding us.''
Fr. Roel Gallardo yesterday said on radio as government forces intensified
their attacks on the camps of the Abu Sayyaf, which is still holding the
Claretian priest and 27 other hostages in the hinterlands of Basilan
province.
''It seems to me that we're going to die not from bullets but from fear,''
he added.
He said the government should have the hostages released through ''peaceful
negotiations, not bombing.''
The military and the Basilan government, however, said Gallardo was
apparently being ''coached'' by the Abu Sayyaf during the radio interview.
The Abu Sayyaf has been holding Gallardo and the other hostages since their
abduction in Tumahubong, also in Sumisip, on March 20.
The military claimed it was able to topple a communication tower and destroy
two generator sets of the Abu Sayyaf during Monday's air strike.
The helicopters pounded three outlying Abu Sayyaf camps with rockets, said
Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, chief of the military's Southern Command.
Villanueva said ground troops were pursuing fleeing rebels, and the troops
next plan to advance to the main stronghold further up the mountain.
The Abu Sayyaf originally seized more than 50 hostages from two Basilan
schools March 20 for use as human shields after attacking an Army outpost.
Some of the hostages have since been freed.
Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar said Moro National Liberation Front members,
militiamen and barangay tanods were being utilized in the rescue attempt.
Inquirer, 04/26/2000
GOV'T TROOPS PRESS ATTACK ON ABU LAIR: The fate of the 28 hostages who are
still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf remained uncertain as the military
yesterday continued ground and air assaults on the stronghold of the Muslim
extremist group.
Even Malacanang was clueless on the alleged beheading on Wednesday of two
hostages as it admitted it had no ''A-1 information or source.''
An Abu Sayyaf spokesman claimed two other hostages--a child and a
schoolteacher--were wounded when government troops started attacking the
rebels' Camp Abdurajak in Sumisip town, Basilan province on Saturday.
The uncertainty about the remaining hostages continued as the military vowed
to crush the rebel group which it had failed to dislodge from its jungle
hideout in Camp Abdurajak.
The Abu Sayyaf rebels had warned Saturday they would behead their five
remaining male hostages if the military did not halt attempts to rescue the
hostages abducted from schools a month ago.
Ignoring the threat, the Armed Forces of the Philippines' chief of staff,
Gen. Angelo Reyes, said the military would not halt the attack until the
hostages have been rescued and the rebels eliminated.
Abu Sayyaf spokesperson Abu Ahmad Salayuddin said in a radio interview that
a child and a schoolteacher suffered shrapnel wounds during Saturday's
attacks, but he did not identify the wounded hostages.
Salayuddin said he could no longer guarantee the safety of the remaining
hostages, claiming some of them were suffering from trauma and could no
longer eat because of the bombings.
The military denied Salayuddin's claim.
Malacanang remained clueless as to the true fate of the two hostages
reportedly beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf.
Newly appointed presidential spokesperson Ricardo Puno Jr. said that they
were still going over conflicting reports on the alleged beheading.
But he said the conflicting reports may finally be clarified when the
military completely overruns the Abu Sayyaf camp.
The rebels announced Wednesday they had beheaded two male teachers because
the government had ignored the conditions they set for the release of the
hostages, including the freeing of Arab terrorists held in jails in the
United States.
On Saturday, Salayuddin said the hostages, abducted on March 20, remained in
good condition despite the attack. But he warned that the rebels would begin
beheading the remaining adult males, including teachers and a priest, as
soon as Sunday if the rescue attempt continued.
Maj. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, chief of the military's Southern Command,
challenged the Abu Sayyaf to prove it is tough ''without using the hostages
as human shields.''
He said the military's ''primordial concern is not to kill the Abu Sayyaf or
capture its camp but to safely rescue the captives, if possible, without any
casualties.''
He said the military can deploy as many as 10 battalions and drop as many
bombs to achieve its objective, ''but we will not do that because (it might
jeopardize the safety) of the hostages.''
In an interview with the Associated Press, Villanueva said: ''I feel it's
about time we stopped talking with these fanatics.''
From the way the rebels have been acting, it is apparent ''they will just
kill the hostages one by one,'' he said.
According to Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar, the military has overrun the Abu
Sayyaf advance posts in Punoh Lumot, Punoh Ahiring, Punoh Timogen and
Kulilisi, all in Sumisip town.
Members of the 10th Infantry Battalion now occupy these, Akbar added.
Reports from Basilan last night said the government has lost seven men, but
their names were not available.
Government authorities said the Abu Sayyaf has so far lost 14 members,
including one beheaded by the Christian armed cult Sagrado Corazon Senor.
Scores of Abu Sayyaf rebels were also believed wounded in the attacks on the
well-defended lair.
Government troops were fighting an estimated 230-250 rebels in the rescue
attempt, Reyes said.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) political affairs chair Ghazali Jaafar
criticized the Abu Sayyaf for beheading two hostages on Wednesday, saying
the Islamic law on war forbids the killing of non-combatants and innocent
civilians. Inquirer, 04/24/2000
2 MORE MARINE BATTALIONS SENT NEAR MILF'S MAIN CAMP: COTABATO CITY--Two more
Marine battalions in Central Mindanao are scheduled to be deployed next week
close to Camp Abubakar in Maguindanao, the main base of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF), an Army general yesterday said.
The deployment of the two battalions will make Central Mindanao the most
militarized region in the country.
But the deployment, according to Brig. Gen. Librado Ladia, 2nd Marine
Brigade chief, was a regular military activity.
But Al Haj Murad, MILF military chief, said the deployment of Marines near
and around Camp Abubakar would lead to the escalation of hostilities in
Mindanao.
Maguindanao already hosts the 2nd Marine Brigade (composed of three Marine
battalions), the Army's 6th Infantry Division, the 603rd Infantry Brigade,
the headquarters of the Philippine National Police in the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao, para-military troops, special forces and the Air Force.
An American think tank said the MILF would be targeting key oil and power
facilities to sow chaos and keep government forces busy to boost its
capability of mounting offensives.
In its report ''Rebels Target Fragile Philippine Infrastructure'' dated
April 12, the Strategic Forecasting Inc. (Stratfor) said the attacks on
vital facilities were geared at pressuring the government to drop its
deadline for the peace agreement.
President Estrada had announced the government would resume military
offensives against the MILF if a peace deal was not forged by June 30. The
peace talks between the government and the MILF will resume on May 2.
Stratfor said the MILF had held the region's power supply ransom in the past
to extract payoffs from the government.
''Now it appears that MILF has chosen the use of the nation's power
infrastructure to combat the government,'' it said, adding that the MILF
leadership had already said a peace agreement before June 30 was highly
unlikely.
While the clashes are continuing, the MILF is suing for peace.
The MILF said the government appeared to be delaying the forging of a
ceasefire agreement in Lanao del Norte to comply with the President's
directive to wipe out the rebel group.
On Tuesday, retired Gen. Edgardo Batenga, government peace negotiator and
his counterpart in the MILF peace panel, Aleem Abdulaziz Mimbantas, met in
Cagayan de Oro City to discuss a ceasefire in Lanao del Sur.
''But they left each other empty-handed,'' Eid Kabalu, MILF ceasefire
coordinating committee chair, told radio dxMS.
Kabalu said the government was not prepared in that meeting.
A new ceasefire agreement is expected to be forged by Monday, according to
Aventajado.
Kabalu, however, asked ''why the negotiators have to wait until Monday when
both could declare a ceasefire right away?''
He said that MILF field commanders in Lanao del Norte had been informed of
the planned ceasefire and that they could implement it quickly.
Murad said the government negotiators appear to be intentionally delaying
the forging of a ceasefire agreement because of Mr. Estrada's all-out war
directive. Inquirer, 04/14/2000
ESTRADA: NO DEAL WITH MORO `TERRORISTS': FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City--The
government will neither be threatened nor intimidated by rebels and
separatists and will continue to go all-out against the extremist group Abu
Sayyaf, President Estrada said here yesterday.
The President made the steadfast statement as he implored the 240 new
graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to ''fight all threats to
peace and security.''
''I have instructed the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (Gen. Angelo Reyes) on what to do,'' the President told
reporters.
The Abu Sayyaf, which is holding 33 civilian hostages in Basilan, is
fighting for the establishment of an Islamic state in Mindanao.
Until the Abu Sayyaf lays down its arms, the chances of the government
negotiating with the extremist group is nil, according to Defense Secretary
Orlando Mercado, who also attended the graduation of PMA's Sanghaya Class
2000.
''The existing policy is we do not negotiate with terrorist movements,''
said Mercado. ''And acts of terrorism have to be met with the appropriate
police and military action.''
He said the government would not allow itself ''to be at the mercy of
terrorist activities.''
He rallied the PMA graduates to join this ''mission of courage and
conviction'' to bring peace to the country, particularly in Mindanao.
Earlier, about 30 activists carrying placards tried to block the President's
convoy near the PMA gates, but 50 policemen managed to fend them off.
The protesters, belonging to the militant group Tongtongan ti Umili, shouted
anti-Estrada slogans, but immediately dispersed after the presidential
convoy drove past them. Inquirer, 03/27/2000
`CRISIS COMMITTEE' TO HANDLE SAYYAF NEGOTIATIONS: The government will form a
"crisis management committee" that will spearhead negotiations with
fundamentalist Muslim rebels holding hostage at least 42 students, teachers
and a Catholic priest in the southern island province of Basilan.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado stressed that the government
negotiators should insist on a no-ransom policy.
National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre said the committee will be made
up of local government officials, but would fall under his direct
supervision in negotiating with the Abu Sayyaf rebels.
The Abu Sayyaf extremist guerrillas stormed a Catholic school and a
government-run high school last Sunday in Basilan after a failed attack on
an Army outpost.
They seized at least 45 students, teachers and the priest, but freed a
pregnant woman and two boys on Wednesday.
Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Ahmad said yesterday they will release 10 more
captives in exchange for 200 sacks of rice, canned goods and medicines to be
delivered to the rebel hideout by local Red Cross representatives and the
Roman Catholic church.
Ahmad relayed the demand to Basilan Rep. Abdulgani Salapuddin who initiated
talks with the rebels late Wednesday.
Ahmad also urged the military to call off pursuit operations, warning that
it would only endanger the lives of the hostages who would be "killed like
goats and sent to the town."
Mercado asserted, however, that the military would not object to
negotiations being led by civilians, but stressed that the government's
no-ransom policy should be upheld.
The Abu Sayyaf attack on the two schools in Basilan came as government
forces were trying to flush out guerrillas of the larger Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) in mainland Mindanao where sporadic fighting has
been raging since Wednesday last week, leaving scores of people dead or
wounded.
In other developments, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) batted for the continuance of peaceful negotiations between the
government and the MILF, and twitted Mr. Estrada for ordering an all-out
offensive against the communist and Muslim.
CBCP secretary general and spokesman Bishop Nestor Carino said Mr. Estrada's
tough stance could weaken the peace talks.
Carino also revealed that Bishop Romulo de la Cruz has been designated to
negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf for the safe release of the hostages in
Basilan.
The Bishop-Ulama Forum of Western Mindanao, a religious organization of
Christian and Muslim leaders, also appealed to the Abu Sayyaf to immediately
free their hostages.
In a manifesto, the group also asked the military to call off any offensive
that might endanger the lives of the captives. Phil. Star, 03/24/2000
ERAP ORDERS ALL-OUT WAR VS MORO REBELS: KAUSWAGAN, Lanao del Norte--''We
will not spare any one of them (rebels),'' President Estrada yesterday told
a cheering crowd of residents of this town who were besieged by the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Friday.
The President who was visiting here yesterday, said he ordered Gen. Angelo
Reyes, the Armed Forces chief of staff, ''to go all out'' against the rebels
who terrorized the town.
The MILF shot back by threatening to attack Iligan City and other towns in
Lanao del Norte if military offensives continued.
In a news briefing after his speech, Mr. Estrada said the ongoing peace
talks between the government and the MILF would continue.
''We are seeking peace but we will not allow our enemies to take advantage
of this,'' he said. ''They should not make the mistake of repeating this
because I have ordered the Armed Forces to go all out against these
terrorists.''
According to the Armed Forces, the number of MILF rebels killed since Friday
in Lanao del Norte had risen to 400 as four bombers from the Philippine Air
Force had been conducting bombing runs.
Camp Aguinaldo authorities said the figure was based on the body count and
interviews with civilians.
It was the biggest death toll suffered by the MILF in a sustained
conventional warfare against government forces.
Soldiers also overran two MILF strongholds in Kauswagan--Camp Bilal and Camp
Jack Mack-- after heavy fighting on Sunday.
Maj. Gen. Diomedeo Villanueva, commander of the Southern Command (Southcom)
based in Zamboanga City, said the situation in Lanao del Norte ''is
manageable.''
He said there was no need to increase the number of government soldiers in
Mindanao since 40 percent of the entire combat force of the AFP have been
deployed there.
The MILF maintained that the Lanao del Norte battles started with an Army
offensive on Camp Bilal, one of the 46 MILF camps identified by the
government peace panel as MILF-held areas.
''If we are pushed against the wall, we have no other recourse but to fight
back,'' Murad said.
The chair of the government peace panel, retired Gen. Edgardo Batenga, said
the MILF should refrain from attacking civilian communities and town
centers. Inquirer, 03/22/2000
MILITARY CAPTURES MILF CAMP IN LANAO: KAUSWAGAN, Lanao del Norte-- The
military yesterday announced the capture of the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front's 303rd Brigade camp in the mountain village of Inudaran in this town.
The announcement came as Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado yesterday vowed
to bring the residents' grievances against their mayor and chief of police
to the attention of President Estrada.
Residents are up in arms against their mayor and chief of police whom they
accuse of ''cowardice'' and ''connivance'' with Moro rebels who stormed and
occupied their town hall last Friday.
Hundreds of angry placard-bearing residents met Mercado here to express
their disgust over Mayor Moamar ''Jackmar'' Maruhom and Supt. Adar Ibrahim,
the town's police chief.
According to them, the two officials abandoned them at the height of the
siege by MILF rebels of the town and the municipal building.
The officials were reportedly among those who boarded a barge to safety as
hundreds of people were left behind and held hostage by the MILF.
The residents said some policemen were even ''escorting'' the rebels during
the attack.
The defense chief awarded Golden Cross medals for ''gallantry in action'' to
Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio, commander of the First Marine Brigade; Col.
Samuel Bagasin, head of the Army's 402nd Brigade operating in the two Lanao
provinces; and Maj. Norman Oliver Febiar, head of the Fourth Scout Ranger
Battalion.
Teodosio led the military assault that drove the MILF rebels away from the
town hall, while Febiar's unit defeated the rebels in a battle over a vital
bridge in Kauswagan.
Despite the siege and the demand of Kauswagan residents to smash the MILF in
Lanao, Mercado said the government would not abandon the gains achieved so
far by the ongoing peace talks with the rebels.
''We were just responding to their move to occupy a seat of government,'' he
said.
Although the residents' ''no ceasefire'' call was a ''legitimate voicing of
an opinion,'' Mercado said the government would not rush decisions without
closely studying the situation.
Rebels encamped in Inudaran reportedly mounted simultaneous attacks on seven
military and police detachments on Thursday.
As of yesterday, the military was pounding rebel positions with 105-mm
howitzers in the mountains of Linamon and Kauswagan towns. Fighting was
still raging in the remote mountain villages in both towns yesterday.
Bagasin said some 200 rebels tried to enter the adjacent town of Linamon on
Saturday night but were repulsed by two platoons of soldiers in Barangay
Robocon, 5 kilometers from the national highway. Inquirer, 03/20/2000
15 DEAD IN RENEWED FIGHTING BETWEEN SOLDIERS, MORO REBS: ZAMBOANGA CITY - At
least 15 Moro rebels and two soldiers were killed as new fighting broke out
in Lanao del Norte yesterday, the military said.
Five soldiers and at least 20 guerrillas were wounded in the clashes in four
separate towns, military officials said.
The fighting began when about 200 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
guerrillas tried to overrun an Army outpost at daybreak in the village of
Inudaran in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, said Maj. Johnny Macanas, spokesman
of the Army's 4th Infantry Division.
He said reinforcements held back the attackers in Inudaran, but five other
outposts in the towns of Bacolod, Linawon and Balo-i, also in Lanao del
Norte, were then attacked by MILF guerrillas.
By noon, battles were raging in the mountain villages of the four towns, and
the Army deployed three battalions, equivalent to about 1,800 men, in a
counter-offensive, Macanas said.
Macanas called the MILF attack a "serious violation" of a ceasefire
agreement signed in 1997. Phil. Star, 03/17/2000
MNLF BREAKAWAY GROUP RISES: BASAK AREA, Lanao del Sur--A group of Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) leaders has broken away from their chair,
Nur Misuari, and declared renewed hostilities against the government in
pursuit of a ''separate Islamic state in Mindanao.''
''Armed guerrilla war is hereby reaffirmed,'' the MNLF-Islamic Command
Council said.
It vowed to continue the fight for independence ''as if the Tripoli
Agreement was never signed.''
The accord, forged in 1976 by the Marcos regime and the MNLF in Libya,
provided for autonomy to 13 provinces and nine cities in Mindanao and
Palawan.
In a show of force, the MNLF-ICC, led by a young generation of MNLF
fighters, yesterday presented to media about 100 of their heavily armed
members from the Basak Area, the term used for the nine rice-producing towns
of this province.
''We note with deep sadness the success of the government in coopting and
destroying the consistency and credibility of Brother Nur Misuari (and
company) as a leader of the Moro struggle for liberation,'' it said.
It said Misuari had ''lost authority'' to lead the Moro people because he
could not be in government and lead the jihad (holy war) at the same time.
The group said it ''will never be a party'' to Misuari's decision to give up
the Moro people's struggle for total freedom and self-rule in favor of a
''fleeting and mirage-like autonomy,'' referring to Misuari's signing of the
peace agreement with the government in September 1996.
The spokespersons said senior MNLF officials who hold choice posts under
Misuari were acting as their ''advisers.''
Its spokesperson claimed the MNLF-ICC was composed of about 90 percent of
the original MNLF force.
But the MNLF-ICC claimed it could not unite with the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF), which itself split from the MNLF years ago, although they
shared the same goal of independence.
The MNLF-ICC said its strategy was different from that of the MILF.
The new group recognizes that government forces are strong and are enjoying
a technological advantage which it cannot meet face-to-face in a
''positional war.''
The MILF, in contrast, has been building big camps and confronting the enemy
head-on.
The new Moro group said it planned to fight a guerrilla war. ''To be
effective as a guerrilla force, we don't divulge our identity, our
whereabouts, our strengths and our plans,'' Mohamad said.
Thirteen Moro tribes in Mindanao are represented in the MNLF-ICC, the
spokespersons claimed.
Mohamad traced the MNLF-ICC's beginnings to the signing of the peace accord
between the MNLF and the government in 1996.
But he pointed out that Misuari was not the ''villain'' but a ''victim'' of
government's machinations.
Burhanodin said they would not attempt to talk with the government because
it was not sincere in its dealings with the Moro people. Inquirer,
03/14/2000
SALAMAT AGREES IN PRINCIPLE TO PEACE PACT WITH INFRA DEAL: Sen. Aquilino
Pimentel Jr. said President Estrada informed him the other night that Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) founder and chairman Hashim Salamat has
agreed in principle to forging a peace pact with the government in exchange
for P2 billion worth of infrastructure projects in Mindanao.
"Whatever it takes, the President was talking of at least P2 billion,"
Pimentel said yesterday.
Sought for comment, Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political
affairs, however, said the infrastructure package "was never a condition for
us to sign a peace agreement."
"There was no agreement whatsoever. We were informed of the projects and we
agreed with them because it was really for the government to deliver such
services to the people," Jaafar said.
Pimentel said Salamat wants the immediate implementation of infrastructure
such as roads, hospitals, irrigation systems and power plants in
Muslim-dominated areas in Mindanao.
The senator did not say when the peace pact will be signed. "I will not
preempt the President but the way he sounded last night, he was very
optimistic," he said.
The President has given government and MILF panels until June to forge a
political settlement. Both panels ended their third round of formal talks in
Cotabato City yesterday, agreeing on safety and immunity guarantees for the
negotiators during the talks and finalizing the "clustering" of talking
points.
Jaafar admitted though that there were certain issues raised in the
back-channeling efforts the government has initiated. Phil. Star, 03/10/2000
