MILF AFFIRMS HOLY WAR VS GOV'T: Leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) affirmed yesterday a vow of jihad or holy war against the
government, a spokesman said, as eight people died in fresh fighting.
Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the Muslim separatist group, said leaders of the
group, meeting in the remote jungles of Mindanao, had backed MILF chairman
Hashim Salamat's decision to call a jihad against the government.
The Sept. 22-24 meeting, which included MILF leaders who had returned from
abroad, also agreed to indefinitely suspend peace negotiations with
President Estrada's government, Kabalu said.
The MILF abandoned peace talks with Manila and declared a jihad against
military and police forces after a military campaign to overrun the rebels
left more than 1,000 people dead and resulted in the capture of more than a
dozen MILF bases.
Kabalu said the holding of the meeting was a "victory in itself" after the
military offensive.
He brushed aside government statements that it was willing to reopen peace
talks with the MILF, saying "the government's peace policy is based on
sending battalions of soldiers. It does not want to talk peace but to
dictate terms of surrender to the MILF." Phil. Star, 09/29/2000
CRIES OF RIGHTS VIOLATIONS RISE: The Commission on Human Rights yesterday
expressed concern over authorities' initial refusal to allow the CHR to
investigate alleged human rights violations arising from the military
assault on the Abu Sayyaf bandits.
CHR Chair Aurora Recina said the commission's Western Mindanao office
based in Zamboanga had reported that "in spite of persistence," its team
was not allowed to look into the alleged violations "because of the
blockade/given policy of the Armed Forces."
Recina also said the government might have violated at least four laws when
it imposed a news blackout and blocked transportation and communication in
the whole island of Sulu.
"The general public, especially the families of the affected individuals,
has every right to information on what is really happening in Jolo. The
right to locomotion and freedom of the press as guaranteed by the
Constitution appears to have been violated," Recina said at a press
conference in the CHR's central office in Quezon City.
She said the CHR would send a three-member team to Jolo as soon as the AFP
allows it.
Recina called on military officials to protect "at all times" the welfare
of civilians caught in the crossfire, and to observe the provisions of
Protocol II.
Commissioner Nasser Marohomsalic was not as diplomatic. He said the
military endangered the lives of civilians, especially children, when it
launched the assault without allowing them to move out to safety.
The assault, he said, clearly violated the rules and regulations on
children in situations of armed conflict, as stipulated under RA 7610 or
the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and
Discrimination Act.
He said the military violated another provision in RA 7610 when it
restricted transportation in Sulu.
Under Section 8 of RA 7610, the temporary restriction on the "flow of goods
and services" should not go beyond three days.
Marohomsalic also pointed out that the government violated RA 7634, or the
Organic Act for Muslim Mindanao, when it carried out the assault without
informing the regional government, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
In Zamboanga City, a Catholic priest said the restrictions imposed on Sulu
should be lifted because "the end (of the military operations) is still
too far away."
"They cannot anymore defend the necessity of the ban," said Fr. Romeo
Villanueva, executive director of radio station dxMM and social action
director (justice and peace) and pastoral coordinator of the Vicariate of
Jolo.
Villanueva also said the restrictions have resulted in "untold
inconvenience" among civilians. The travel ban was "partially" lifted with
the fielding of naval boats and C-130 aircraft to and from Zamboanga four
days after the ban was imposed.
To date, only government-chartered naval boats and commercial cargo boats
are allowed to ply the Zamboanga-Jolo route. CHR Regional Director Jose
Manuel Mamauag said commission personnel who had visited government offices
involved in inter-island travel to seek copies of written orders banning
the vessels from the Zamboanga-Jolo route were told there was only a verbal
order from Task Force Zamboanga.
The communication ban was also lifted "partially" through the reactivation
of a landline phone company and the reopening of public calling stations.
The media ban was "partially" lifted through a "guided tour" of Jolo on
Monday, under military guard, with itinerary provided by the military.
Inquirer, 09/27/2000
ESTRADA NO LONGER PUSHING FOR EMERGENCY POWERS - ZAMORA: Executive
Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said yesterday President Estrada is not too keen
about pursuing the proposed grant to him by Congress of emergency powers
to fast-track peace and development in troubled Mindanao.
Zamora echoed the sentiments of Mr. Estrada on the granting of emergency
powers to the President a day after the Senate started its floor debate on
the proposed measure as sponsored by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
Zamora noted that Mr. Estrada was no longer as determined as he was when
he first broached the idea to Congress last July, or weeks after government
troops succeeded in overrunning the camps of the secessionist Moro Islamic
Liberation Front.
Zamora said this was the latest presidential sentiment he gathered from
Mr. Estrada, who expressed the exact opposite shortly before leaving for
the United States Sept. 4 to attend a United Nations conference.
Phil. Star, 09/27/2000
GOV'T, MILF URGED TO SET CEASEFIRE: COTABATO CITY--Cotabato Archbishop
Orlando Quevedo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines, yesterday renewed his call to the government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front to look into declaring a ceasefire and other
"doable gestures of goodwill."
Quevedo said these gestures should be considered so the stalled peace
negotiations could resume "before matters can no longer be managed."
He said it would be worthwhile for both the government and the MILF to
cooperate so families displaced by the armed conflict could leave the
evacuation centers and return to their villages.
Quevedo said that among the "doables"that were "a definite step" toward
the resumption of the peace talks was for the government to lift the
arrest order for top MILF officers and declare a unilateral ceasefire.
Likewise, he said, the secessionist group should declare a ceasefire and
lift its declaration of jihad (struggle) "since this has already been
misinterpreted by some of its units to justify attacks on civilians."
Quevedo said "destructive and violent guerrilla warfare was now being
waged by the MILF in Central and Southern Mindanao."
But the news, he said, "usually based on military reports, speak of
wounded and killed MILF units, of MILF 'stragglers' and 'surrenderees,'
of MILF attackers being driven off, of bombs allegedly set off by the
MILF, etc."
The archbishop said these reports "do not tell the whole story of Mindanao."
"There are so many other things that do not appear in the news."
Quevedo expressed hope that the talks between the government and the
MILF would resume, saying "there is no substitute for dialogue toward
peace." Inquirer, 09/16/2000
INTELLIGENCE EFFORTS STEPPED UP IN SOUTH: Military intelligence chief
Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim yesterday said intelligence efforts were being
intensified in Mindanao to blunt the shift by the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front from conventional combat to guerrilla warfare.
"We have to intensify our operations because they are now engaged in
guerrilla warfare," said Calimlim, chief of the Intelligence Service of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp).
Calimlim noted that it was relatively easier to monitor the movements of
MILF rebels when they were still operating from their military bases.
MILF forces, however, have been broken into highly mobile units after all
their 46 major and satellite camps were captured by government troops in a
series of offensives between January and July this year.
Military officials privately concede that the MILF regained the initiative
shortly after losing all its camps, including its general headquarters,
Camp Abubakar in Maguindanao.
Military officials cite the increasing number of clashes between government
and MILF forces, most of which are initiated by the secessionist group
through ambushes and hit-and-run raids.
A battle casualty report previously issued by the AFP showed that the MILF
lost no more than 500 fighters in the battles between January and June this
year.
The AFP earlier estimated the MILF's strength at between 14,000 and 15,000
as December 1999.
Groups calling for a peaceful resolution of the armed conflict had earlier
pointed out that an inconclusive guerrilla war would defeat government
efforts to set up development projects in the South.
Peace talks between the two parties remain stalled, with no immediate
prospects that negotiators will return to the bargaining table. The
fighting is also ongoing.
In four remote villages in Kiamba town in Sarangani, some 600 families
with 3,799 dependents fled their homes to avoid being caught in the
crossfire.
The evacuation of civilians started on Saturday, when about 100 suspected
MILF guerrillas attacked a military outpost manned by the elements of the
Army's 68th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Tambilil on Saturday afternoon.
Inquirer, 09/09/2000
MILF NO-SHOW AT PEACE TALKS: The Moro Islamic Liberation Front was a
no-show yesterday at the start of a supposed two-day meeting called
by government negotiators in an effort to jump-start the stalled peace
talks.
MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu told defense reporters by phone that the
MILF central committee had "withdrawn the authority" of the MILF peace
panel.
Chief government peace negotiator Edgardo Batenga had proposed the
Sept. 7-8 meeting at the Estosan Hotel in Cotabato City as a goodwill-
building measure following the collapse of the negotiations. The setback
occurred just as Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo prepared to
convene the Mindanao Coordinating Council (MCC).
The MCC, created by President Estrada last July 5 through Executive
Order No. 261, is assigned to coordinate rehabilitation efforts in the
areas affected by the armed conflict between government troops and the
MILF that began in March.
Macapagal said she would convene the MCC on Monday to look into whether:
peace and order in the conflict areas had been secured; damaged property
and people's livelihood had been restored; evacuees had returned to their
homes, and were adequately provided for.
Kabalu said a proposal earlier presented by Sen. Robert Barbers to
President Estrada could facilitate the resumption of the peace talks.
According to Kabalu, Barbers had proposed that three senators--Teofisto
Guingona, Aquilino Pimentel and himself--be named advisers to the
government's peace panel.
He also said it would not matter if Batenga were replaced as head of the
government peace panel. "We are willing to talk to anyone under the right
conditions," he said.
The MILF leadership earlier dissolved its peace panel led by Abdulazzis
Mimbantas in response to, among others, the P9-million bounty offer for
the capture of MILF chair Salamat Hashim, vice chair for military affairs
Al Haj Murad, and Kabalu.
Malacanang has since recalled the bounty offer, but there are standing
warrants of arrest issued by a General Santos City court against Salamat
and other top MILF leaders for their alleged role in bombing incidents
in Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, Moro residents are trying to cope with the effects of the
armed conflict on their lives.
In Kabacan, North Cotabato, Moro families fled their homes in Barangay
Simbuhay on Sept. 2 to escape the clashes between government troops and
MILF guerrillas. But they found themselves in hostile neighborhoods whose
residents refused to give them refuge because of their being Muslim.
They were forced to return to their farming village in Pedsalurayan
despite the danger of being caught in the crossfire. Some 80 families
fled Simbuhay when the military conducted operations against the MILF on
Saturday. Forty houses were burned down.
In Davao City, Commission on Human Rights Chair Aurora Recina yesterday
expressed support for the military's plan to recruit and field more
members of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units (Cafgu) to
conflict areas.
Recina said the Cafgu was the best defense group for communities
threatened by attacks by lawless elements, especially in the wake of
the killings in remote areas in North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Lanao
del Sur. Inquirer, 09/08/2000
9 KILLED, 18 HURT IN MILF EXPLOSIONS IN MINDANAO: COTABATO CITY - Nine
people were killed and 18 others were wounded in separate explosions in
the neighboring provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, and North
Cotabato last Sunday.
The fatalities included seven Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
guerrillas. In the first incident, Joel Banaga and Ernesto Mariban, were
blasted to death after one of them accidentally pulled the pin of a
grenade during a dance in a remote barangay in Libungan town, North
Cotabato. The explosion seriously wounded nine bystanders.
The attack wounded two farmers, Datu Moven Sinarimbao and Mokamad
Sansaluna. They were taken to the Cotabato Medical Center for treatment.
Reports said the two were operating a rice thresher when the rebels
attacked, and a grenade exploded on the farm equipment, causing them to
be hit by shrapnel.
Army spokesman Maj. Julieto Ando said the rebels could have staged the
attack to intimidate the farmers into paying them "protection" money.
Hours after the Pingkawayan raid, MILF guerrillas attacked a temporary
camp of the 534th Engineering Combat Battalion in Sultan sa Barongis
town, Maguindanao.
The Army engineers were deployed to Maguindanao last week to rehabilitate
war-torn areas. Last Saturday, three MILF rebels were killed after
government troops foiled a rebel attempt to raid the Maranao Plantation
in Marugong town, Lanao del Sur.
Also in Lanao del Sur, at least 164 MILF rebels, including two commanders
surrendered to military authorities last Sunday. Army spokesman
Col. Eliseo Posadas identified the MILF commanders as Basseer Sultan and
Abu Fatra Barimbingan. Phil. Star, 09/05/2000
ARMM POLLS RESET; MISUARI'S FATE HANGS: Gov. Nur Misuari&'s grip on the
post of governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) may
be slipping.
Malacanang can’t make up its mind on Misuari’s continued stay
in office even as President Estrada has already signed into law a measure
resetting the ARMM elections to coincide with the mid-term polls on the
second Monday of May 2001.
Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. said the President has not decided
whether to extend Misuari's term or let it lapse on Sept. 30.
Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said yesterday he believed that
Section 4 of the newly signed Republic Act 8953 allows Misuari and other
ARMM officials to hold office until their successors are elected next
year.
Section 4 states that "All incumbent officials of the ARMM shall hold
office pursuant to existing laws." He also pointed out that Section 3 of
the law provides that the term of office of the regional governor, vice
governor and members of the legislative assembly shall commence at noon
of Sunday, June 30, 2001 following their elections and expire at noon
of June 30 three years later.
But Puno argued that Section 4 does not necessarily mean that Misuari
and fellow ARMM officials will continue holding office in a holdover
capacity. The press secretary said the best guide on the intent and
spirit of this new law resetting the ARMM polls to next year would be
the transcripts of the bicameral conference committee which ratified the
measure before the President signed it into law. Phil. Star, 09/06/2000
BISHOPS WANT NEW MILF TALKS: Roman Catholic bishops called on the
Philippine government yesterday to resume peace talks with Muslim
separatist rebels, warning that rising violence in the southern
Philippines could develop into a Muslim-Christian conflict.
"That's what we are afraid of, and we hope it will not," said Nestor
Carino, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the
Philippines. "We are not against the Muslims, and we want the government
to stop its all-out war policy."
He said peace negotiations are "the only way to solve the problem, not
through war."
Government troops launched an offensive against the secessionist Moro
Islamic Liberation Front in late March. Since troops captured the MILF's
headquarters in early July, dozens of civilians have been killed in
massacres, which each side blames on the other.
In the latest deaths, 12 Muslims, including a 10-year-old boy, were
killed by men in ski masks who fired on the minibus they were riding
Sunday in a remote area of Carmen in North Cotabato province.
The following day, at least 18 people, all Christians, were wounded when
a grenade lobbed by two men exploded in a bus station in nearby
Kidapawan, the provincial capital. The police suspected the MILF was
responsible.
Archbishop Orlando Quevedo condemned the killings and called for an
independent investigation of the massacres. Kidapawan Bishop Romulo
Valles said "great sacrifices" were needed to prevent any escalation of
the violence.
Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado has repeatedly downplayed the religious
aspect of the conflict.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu says the MILF will return to the negotiations
if Estrada shows sincerity by eliminating all preconditions, such as
abandonment of the secessionist goal. Phil. Star, 09/01/2000
