AFP CUTS TROOPS IN MINDANAO: Some of the estimated 66,000 troops in
Mindanao will be withdrawn and redeployed in Luzon after the government and
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) resume peace negotiations.
Meanwhile, President Arroyo is willing to meet with MILF chairman Salamat
Hashim to pursue her administration's peace initiative in Mindanao.
Presidential adviser on the peace process Eduardo Ermita told The STAR he
discussed the Arroyo-Salamat meeting with MILF vice chairman Al- Haj Murad
in Kuala Lumpur last week.
He said Mrs. Arroyo can meet Salamat "before or after or even during" the
formal peace negotiations between government representatives and the
rebels.
Armed Forces vice chief Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim said yesterday the troops to
be withdrawn from Mindanao will be sent to priority areas in Luzon. He said
some soldiers may also be assigned to a special anti-crime unit that is
being formed.
At present, 60 percent of the 113,000-strong Armed Forces as well as 23,000
militiamen belonging to the Citizens Armed Force Geographical Units are
deployed in Mindanao. Phil. Star, 03/30/2001
GOV'T-MILF DEAL INCLUDES $100-MILLION AID: ISULAN, Sultan Kudarat -- A
secret come-on that paved the way for the revival of peace talks between
the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was the more
than $100 million in development aid from oil-rich Muslim countries,
according to a source privy to last week's meeting between the two parties
in Kuala Lumpur.
Another come-on was Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes' assurance that the
Armed Forces of the Philippines would not be demoralized by government
plans to allow MILF members and their families to return to their fallen
camps.
Reyes said political solutions like peace talks were sometimes necessary to
resolve a conflict.
The source, who asked not to be named, said the foreign aid prompted the
government and the MILF to agree to the holding of talks in a "neutral
ground" with the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) acting as host.
Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pax Mangudadatu said the government of Saudi Arabia had
already approved the release of $100 million for Mindanao infrastructure
projects and rehabilitation of the MILF's Camp Abubakar.
Mangudadatu said the amount would be released through the office of Public
Works Secretary Simeon Datumanong.
Mangudadatu was also in Kuala Lumpur during the signing of the agreement
between presidential adviser on the peace process Eduardo Ermita and MILF
political vice chair Ghazali Jaafar on March 24. The accord called for the
holding of talks between the government and the MILF.
Mangudadatu said the fund was part of the development package that Muslim
countries had offered to restore peace in Mindanao. Mangudadatu said he was
told that Malaysia was likely to host the resumption of talks stalled by
ousted President Joseph Estrada's all-out war against the MILF.
On Wednesday, Ms Macapagal said families of MILF members would be allowed
to return to former MILF camps.
A provision in the Kuala Lumpur accord says that Abubakar and Rajah Muda
are not military camps but sites of Muslim communities that must be
accorded respect.
Datumanong confirmed that 20 percent of the aid from Saudi Arabia would be
used for the rehabilitation of Moro communities in Camp Abubakar.
He said $80 million would be for infrastructure projects in the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao and other Mindanao provinces.
In Manila, Ermita assured that the returning MILF men would not be allowed
to carry firearms in Camp Abubakar, which comprises six towns.
Ermita said the returning MILF members would not be allowed to rebuild
their bombed-out military quarters and fortifications.
The officers and men of the MILF will be allowed to return to their areas
to rebuild their individual houses with the help of the government,
according to Ermita. They will have to leave their firearms outside the
camps, which will continue to be under military control.
Ermita said the banning of firearms was aimed at preventing firefight
between soldiers and MILF members. Inquirer, 03/30/2001
GLORIA AFFIRMS JOINT DEV'T EFFORT WITH MILF AMID INITIAL ACCORD (Manila)
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo this afternoon revealed the details of
the initial agreement signed by the government with the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF), which she said was signed in the presence of
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
"The GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) and the MILF are
committed to joint development efforts," Ms Macapagal announced in a press
briefing.
"I approved the agreement in the highest national interest," the President
said, adding that both sides agreed to conduct the formal peace talks in
three months time.
Presidential Adviser for the peace process Eduardo Ermita clarified that no
agreement was reached on the venue except that it will be at a mutually
agreed upon venue. Earlier reports said that probably location for the
peace talks is Malaysia, where the exploratory talks led by Ermita were
held.
Ms Macapagal said the emphasis of the agreement was on joint development
efforts, and that MILF strongholds such as Camp Abubakar will no longer be
considered military camps, but as Muslim communities.
The President said the MILF shall suspend all military offensives against
the government, reciprocating the government’s suspension of military
operations.
"The MILF shall organize its own peace panel forthwith. This will be
announced to the public soon," Ms Macapagal said.
She added that the new accord would recognize standing agreements between
the Philippine government and the MILF.
Ms Macapagal thanked Prime Minister Mahathir for facilitating the peace
efforts. She noted that she has been working towards this accord for a long
time, even while she was still vice president. The President congratulated
former Defense Secretary Ermita and his team for their efforts that led to
this initial agreement.
"Never again must our Muslim brethren find reason to rebel or seek
secession," the President stressed. "Peace cannot wait. The people cannot
wait." 3/28/01, INQ.7
GMA CONFIRMS PEACE TALK PLANS WITH MILF(Manila)President Macapagal-Arroyo
confirmed yesterday that her government had signed in Malaysia an accord
with Moro rebels for the holding of talks aimed at ending the fighting in
Mindanao.
The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) also agreed to suspend
offensives and will form its negotiating panel shortly, according to the
President.
"An accord has been signed in Kuala Lumpur. The MILF has agreed to resume
the peace talks," Ms Macapagal said in a news conference when asked to
comment on reports about "a secret meeting" with the MILF in Malaysia. She
gave no other details.
The meeting in Malaysia was attended by presidential adviser on the peace
process, Eduardo Ermita, and was shrouded with such secrecy that Jesus
Dureza, the government’s chief negotiator for the planned talks, said he
was not aware of it.
MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu told Agence France Presse that the preliminary
talks were conducted in Kuala Lumpur from March 21 to 24.Kabalu said the
formal negotiations could begin early next month in Malaysia.
"The talks will be held most likely in Malaysia (because) it hosted the
exploratory talks," Kabalu said.
On Monday, Kabalu told the Associated Press that the agreement, which was
signed on Saturday, addressed conditions set by Moro rebels for renewed
peace talks.
"This will now go on. We’re happy about this. Who doesn’t want peace?"
Kabalu remarked.
The accord with the MILF was one of two major developments announced by the
President yesterday in her effort to restore peace talks with Moro and
communist insurgents since she was swept to office on Jan. 20.
Ms Macapagal also approved holding talks with communist rebels in a foreign
country, removing a major stumbling block to renewed negotiations.
Vice President Teofisto Guingona, who is also secretary of foreign affairs
said the Cabinet’s security committee recommended that talks be held in a
Scandinavian country.
After preliminary talks early this month, the Marxist umbrella group, the
National Democratic Front, and the government peace panel announced they
would resume the talks in a "mutually acceptable foreign neutral venue" on
April 27.
No details
Ms Macapagal declined to give details of the meeting with the MILF until
after Ermita returns from Kuala Lumpur and briefs her on the accord. She
promised to call a press briefing today to spell out details of the
agreement.
Executive Secretary Rene de Villa said the government did not intend to
make the meeting a secret. "It’s not really a secret. It’s just that they
wanted to make sure that goodwill is initially built on both sides. We are
aware that it happened, but we cannot make a public statement until after
(Ermita) comes back and gives a full briefing," De Villa said in an
interview.
He said the government did not want to make a misstep.
On the objections of Jesus Dureza, head of the government peace panel that
he was not informed about the talks, De Villa admitted that Dureza was kept
in the dark.
"He was only briefed lately," he said. "The truth of the matter is not all
the members of the Cabinet really knew about it. I think both sides agreed
that we have to do it that way."
In the dark
De Villa also did not reveal the MILF officials who met with Ermita. "They
are high-ranking, authoritative personalities (of the MILF)," the executive
secretary said.
Kabalu said observers from the 53-member Organization of Islamic Conference
(OIC) could also be present in the negotiations aimed at ending the MILF's
23-year rebellion.
The OIC helped broker a 1996 peace accord between Manila and the larger
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which renounced separatist rebellion
and settled for limited Muslim self-rule in four southern provinces.
The MILF broke away from the MNLF in 1978 and was not included in the
accord.
Ceasefire order
Kabalu said his group was set to issue a formal ceasefire order to its
forces deployed in the main southern island of Mindanao.
In Davao City, hours before Ms Macapagal announced the signing of the
accord with the MILF, Dureza denounced the alleged "intentionally done"
leaks on the agreement.
He said the leaks were "not the correct way" in handling the talks, which
he described as a "very delicate matter." Dureza said the document signed
by the government and MILF emissaries was not an agreement.
He said what was signed was the framework for the formal talks.
Ms Macapagal’s ousted predecessor, Joseph Estrada, ordered a military
offensive against the MILF last year after Moro rebels expanded their camps
and intensified attacks.
The offensive led to the collapse of talks between the Estrada
administration and the MILF. The Moro rebels have said they want the camps
back as part of a deal for the peace talks. PDI Mindanao Bureau, 3/28/01
NO MILITARY PULLOUT FROM CAPTURED MILF STRONGHOLDS, SAYS GLORIA--(Manila)
Even as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced the details of the
initial agreement between a government panel and the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF), she maintained there would be no military pullout from
captured MILF strongholds.
Macapagal, in a Malacañang press conference today, stressed that her
administration's peace program will focus on developing these "Muslim
communities," which she claims, differentiates her peace programs from that
of the previous administrations.
"The families of MILF members are still living in these communities,"
Macapagal said, noting that one of the possible ways of implementing joint
development for these Muslim communities is to include them in existing
programs for Mindanao.
The President said that henceforth Abubakar and others of its kind will no
longer known as camps but as communities.
"We might even visit Camp Abubakar," Ms Macapagal told the members of the
media.
Representatives of the government led by Presidential Adviser on the peace
process Eduardo Ermita and high-ranking MILF officials have signed an
initial agreement following exploratory talks in Malaysia facilitated by
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad.
The agreement stressed that the upcoming peace negotiations will be
undertaken in an atmosphere of full trust as well as the normalization of
the situation in previous MILF strongholds. 3/28/01, INQ.7
GOVERNMENT-MILF SECRET DEAL CONFIRMED: Former defense chief and presidential
adviser to the peace process Eduardo Ermita signed the Kuala Lumpur
communiqué that moves forward efforts to resume stalled negotiations between
the government and Moro separatist rebels, a senior government official said
yesterday.
In a telephone interview with THE MANILA TIMES, Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) spokesman Eid Kabalu confirmed the signing of the preliminary
accord but refused to confirm Ermita’s participation in the secret Saturday
meeting.
He also withheld the identity of the rebel signatory, identified Sunday by
a rebel source as Aleem Abdul Aziz Mimbantas, former MILF chief negotiator.
Kabalu said MILF official liaison Lanang Ali attended the meeting.
The Associated Press also said Kabalu confirmed THE TIMES’ report.
"Definitely there is already an agreement addressing the major concerns or
preconditions presented by the MILF for the holding of the talks," Kabalu
told AP in a telephone interview.
"This will now go on. We’re happy about this. Who doesn’t want peace?"
A senior Malacañang source, who is also close to Ermita, verified the peace
adviser’s participation in the weekend incident.
Irate Dureza
But the government’s chief negotiator, Jesus Dureza, vehemently denied the
report and accused THE TIMES of disrupting peace efforts, and yellow
journalism.
He said the whole report was fictional. Ermita could not have approved the
deal, Dureza said, claiming he was in constant touch with the peace adviser.
"That is preposterous," Dureza said angrily. "That is the height of
irresponsible journalism."
He even called for the firing of the reporters and the editors.
"They should have verified it first from us—either from the GRP and MILF—
before publishing it," Dureza said, referring to the reporters who wrote
the story and the editors who published it: "They must be fired from their
jobs."
"The Manila-based media people should refer it first to their Mindanao
counterparts who know more about what’s going on in Mindanao before
publishing the story," he added.
THE TIMES broke the development on the peace talks Monday, quoting a top
MILF source.
The source had identified Ermita but had erred by also naming chief
government negotiator Jesus Dureza as among the signatories.
THE TIMES story was filed by a Mindanao-based reporter. THE TIMES desk also
talked with MILF spokesman Kabalu who confirmed the report and explained
why Dureza seemed to have been caught flat-footed.
In town
Dureza said he was in Zamboanga, Dipolog and Pagadian the past few days.
The initial TIMES report said Dureza did not answer calls by press people
but his aides said he was in the country over the weekend.
Queried about the existence of the agreement yesterday, Dureza said, "there
is none." He insisted the report was "untrue" and had "no basis."
The government panel, Dureza said, is still waiting for the MILF to compose
its peace panel before discussing suggested talking points for the
resumption of peace talks.
THE TIMES story clearly pointed out that the communiqué merely agreed on
basic conditions for the resumption of talks. Dureza, however, would not
even acknowledge this.
"The latest is, we are still awaiting for them to compose their peace panel.
We are also studying their three concerns such as the venue, the
implementation of previous agreements and the third party mediator while we
are waiting for the composition of their panel," he said.
"None. Unless there was a panel organized," he added.
Confirmation
Kabalu confirmed THE TIMES report yesterday in a telephone interview, saying
government and rebel representatives had agreed to hold talks abroad, have
a neutral country as mediator, and abide with previous agreements signed.
He said THE TIMES was correct in stating the signing took place 11:45 a.m.
Saturday in the Malaysian capital. Asked why Dureza did not seem to know of
the signing, Kabalu told THE TIMES: "the meeting was beyond panel level."
The rebel spokesman said Dureza was right in saying the peace panel had no
involvement in the signing. The MILF has no panel yet, Kabalu said, because
it wanted the preliminary agreement before reconstituting its negotiating
team.
Dureza, as head of the government negotiating panel, would meet the head of
the still to be formed MILF negotiating panel, once the actual peace talks
get underway, Kabalu added.
Critics
Reacting to developments, the rightwing Young Officers’ Union (YOU) said it
would abide with the government’s decision on the issue. YOU founding
chairman, Sr. Supt. Diosdado Valeroso, sought to downplay other YOU officers’
claim of restiveness within the military.
Interviewed by THE TIMES, Valeroso said: "We are giving the government a
free hand. We will abide by the government. It is not for soldiers to decide
because there is a government. If anyone of us thinks that we should decide,
then that person must leave the service and be a politician."
3/27/01, Manila Times, Mindanao News Bureau
MILF REBELS AGREE TO SUSPEND MILITARY OPERATIONS: Macapagal
March 27, 2001
By INQ7.net
MUSLIM rebels have agreed to suspend military operations for the resumption
of peace talks with the government, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said
in a press conference today.
Ms Macapagal revealed that during a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the
MILF panel agreed to cease offensives against government troops and to go
back to the negotiating table very soon.
She said an agreement was reached between MILF representatives and
presidential adviser on the peace process Eduardo Ermita.
The 12,500-member MILF has been waging an armed campaign to set up a
separate state in the southern third of the mainly Roman Catholic
archipelago.
"An accord has been signed in Kuala Lumpur. The MILF has agreed to resume
the peace talks and form their negotiating panel shortly," the President
told a news conference. "Meanwhile, they also agreed to suspend all
offensive military operations just like we did recently," said Ms Macapagal
who declared a unilateral truce with the MILF last month.
She said Ermita would give additional details on the truce when he arrives
from Malaysia.
MILF WANTS TO CLARIFY ISSUES BEFORE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS (DAVAO CITY) The
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) wants the government to clarify certain
issues before it resumes peace negotiations.
Despite this stand, the MILF is in the midst of reconstituting its peace
panel. The talks got stalled after the former Estrada administration
launched a massive offensive against the separatist group last year leading
to the capture of 46 of its camps, including Camp Abubakar, its largest
enclave in Parang, Maguindanao.
Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza, who heads the government
peace panel, said MILF leaders aired certain concerns, one of which is
whether the peace talks would resume from where negotiators left off in
July last year when deposed President Joseph Estrada suspended the
negotiations.
"There is (also the) concern on what to do with the agreements that (had
been) signed with the government panel since the talks started in 1997,"
Dureza said.
The MILF also wants to know if a third party would mediate in the talks
just like what the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) did when it
brokered the 1996 peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF).
Dureza, however, said these concerns are matters that have to be agreed
upon by both panels when they meet again.
He added that the venue of the talks still has to be discussed. The MILF
insists on holding the discussions abroad while the government wants them
held in the country due to financial constraints. 3/22/01, phil.star
RIZAL DAY ATTACKS, NBI CLEARS MILF ON BOMBINGS (Manila) The National Bureau
of Investigation has categorically ruled out the involvement of top
officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Rizal Day bombings
last year, which killed at least 22 and injured more than 100.
The agency failed to establish any connection between the Moro rebels and
the three suspects who are now in government custody, NBI Director Reynaldo
Wycoco said during his regular press conference yesterday.
The investigation by the NBI Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division (AFCCD)
showed that the Dec. 30 attacks were not a Moro operation although the three
suspects had "Muslim-sounding names," said Wycoco.
"We are sure they are not MILF members," he said.
During the Estrada administration, the Philippine National Police implicated
the Moro separatist group in the bloody carnage. The then PNP chief, Panfilo
Lacson, even filed multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges
against MILF chair Salamat Hashim and other top MILF officials.
But Wycoco admitted that the case was far from solved as the NBI had yet
to identify the brains behind the bombings or the suspects’ "linkages."
According to Wycoco, one of the three suspects in the Dec. 30 bombings,
identified as Bassal Diamla, had also intended to bomb Malacañang the same
day.
He was arrested by members of the Presidential Security Group before he
could detonate the bomb, Wycoco said. Diamla, who is now under the custody
of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp)
has maintained he is innocent.
"We are still coordinating with the Isafp to ascertain where he (Diamla)
was spotted in the Palace, and what part of the Palace he intended to bomb,"
Wycoco said.
Police said the attackers had used improvised 1-kg black powder bombs
with timing devices. Diamla was carrying the same type of bomb, identified
as TNT (trinitrotoluene).
Wycoco said the two other suspects were being held by an NBI regional
office in the South. He would not reveal their names.
"They are actually Muslims but they (have) also worked with some Christians
(from Dipolog City)," he said. Wycoco, who identified the two as Diamla’s
"co-perpetrators," said the two had already owned up to their part in the
bombings.
He said they attested that Diamla was one of those who perpetrated the
Dec. 30 bombing attacks on five places in Metro Manila, which killed and
injured many, including children and two policemen.
The synchronized bombings occurred at a Light Rail Transit couch in
Blumentritt, Manila; Plaza Ferguson in front of the US Embassy in Manila;
an abandoned gasoline station in front of Dusit Hotel in Makati City; a
passenger bus in Cubao, Quezon City; and the cargo handling section of the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Wycoco said Diamla was also a suspect in a string of bombing cases in the
South before the Rizal Day bombings. He said Diamla had exploded a bomb in
one of the shopping malls in Iligan City, and in some public places in
Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Maguindanao.
The two other suspects admitted to NBI investigators that they had prepared
the bombs and that they were the ones who set these off, Wycoco said.
"They are now in the custody of our regional offices in the region and
corresponding cases will be filed soon," he said.
Asked about the possible motive for the bombings, Wycoco said: "According
to them, they (wanted) to make a statement against the Estrada
administration, but we are checking this angle also. It might be that their
handlers want it to appear that way, but there might be another objective.
We are looking at this, too."
According to Wycoco, the two categorically stated that they were not MILF
members.
"They said they are not MILF, they were not ordered by the MILF and they
had some Christian companions with them when they did it. So it’s not really
a Muslim operation per se (although) some of the perpetrators (have) Muslim-
sounding names. We cannot say at this point that (because) they are Muslims,
that’s why they did it. There must be something else," Wycoco stressed.
The PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Estrada
administration blamed the synchronized terror attacks on Salamat, MILF vice
chair for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar, vice chair for military affairs
Al Haj Murad and vice chair for internal affairs Aleem Aziz Mimbantas.
Also implicated were MILF members Ismael Abbas, Safilla Unos and Mohammed
Guindolongan.
Lacson also blamed Salamat and his followers for a series of bombings in
Metro Manila in May last year—at the SM Megamall and Glorietta shopping
centers-—and subsequently charged them.
Sr. Supt. Raul Bacalzo, director of the CIDG-National Capital Region,
claimed that Salamat and his officials orchestrated the bombings as part of
a "feasibility project."
He said the bombings "had long been conceived by Salamat."
Bacalzo said the PNP believed that the plot to bomb Metro Manila was aimed
at turning the media’s attention away from the Mindanao conflict. He said
the plot would be carried out by 12 mujahideen (freedom fighters)
within 30 days.
Of the seven charged before the Department of Justice, only Abbas was
arrested. He was arrested by PNP-CIDG agents while alighting from his green
Tamaraw FX in Pasay City. 3/17/01 Inquirer
MILF REBELS AGREE TO NEW TALKS (DAVAO CITY) The Moro Islamic Liberation Front
is willing to resume peace talks with the government but has three "concerns"
which must be addressed in preliminary discussions.
Undersecretary Jesus Dureza, government peace panel chair, said the MILF
central committee in a letter to him Tuesday, raised the three "concerns"--
the treatment by both panels of agreements already signed in past peace
negotiations, a third-party mediator, and the venue of the talks.
Dureza said the MILF made it clear that the "concerns’’ raised were "not
preconditions’’ but valid points for discussion that both panels would have
to thresh out before formal talks could resume.
A July 1997 general ceasefire agreement between the government and the MILF
collapsed after ousted president Joseph Estrada declared an "all-out war"
against the MILF in September 2000.
Although President Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered a suspension of offensive
military operations (Somo) against the Muslim separatists, sporadic fighting
goes on between the MILF, particularly its breakaway military faction, the
Abu Sayyaf, and government troops.
Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that at least 10 Muslim guerrillas
and two soldiers were killed in a four-hour battle on the island of Basilan.
Military spokesman Col. Danilo Servando said some 50 members of the Abu
Sayyaf attacked an army patrol Wednesday near the remote village of Bolanza.
He said the rebels retreated after suffering heavy losses.
"Troops are still pursuing the rebels in the hinterlands and they will not
stop until the terrorists are cornered," Servando told reporters.
The MILF has yet to officially tell the government who will comprise its
peace panel. In a letter to Dureza, however, Lanang Ali, MILF legal counsel
said the Central Committee has authorized him to be its official
representative in the preliminary talks.
Ali’s letter was written on MILF stationery with the MILF seal.
Dureza said he and Ali agreed to discuss the MILF’s "concerns" at a one-on-
one meeting next week in Metro Manila. Dureza reiterated the MILF has not
set any preconditions for the talks, contrary to reports quoting Ali
Mimbantas, a member of the MILF peace panel, that the separatist group
wants the government to return its captured camps and drop all criminal
charges against its leaders, including MILF chair Salamat Hashim. --With a
report from AP 3/16/01, Inquirer News Service PDI Mindanao Bureau
GLORIA RECEIVES MORO REBS: "Welcome home, brothers" (TAMPARAN, Lanao Del Sur)
"Welcome home, brothers. The war is over," President Macapagal-Arroyo said
as she led 931 surrendered Moro Islamic Liberation Front members in reciting
an oath of allegiance to the republic in this Lanao del Sur farming town.
Ms Macapagal traveled to Mindanao yesterday to receive the surrendered
Moro rebels, visit refugees displaced by decades of Moro separatist
insurrection and preside at the return of ancestral lands to a group of
Manobo tribespeople.
"Mindanao will be a better place to live in under my administration," the
President told a cheering crowd of 5,000.
She said the war had only brought misery and poverty to Lanao del Sur and
other provinces. Ms Macapagal arrived here yesterday morning, on the first
leg of a three-town Mindanao sortie, to include this small Muslim-dominated
town; Parang in Maguindanao province; and Quezon in Bukidnon where she met
members of the Manobo tribe whose ancestral lands were returned to them
yesterday.
As in previous Mindanao sorties, Ms Macapagal endorsed the senatorial
candidates of the People Power Coalition.
"Don’t forget their names come election time. If you have forgotten the
names, just get the list from (ARMM) Gov. (Nur) Misuari," she said.
The rebels, many in fatigues, turned over about 300 weapons, including
grenade launchers, during the brief but heavily secured ceremony. "Welcome
home. It’s been a long time we’ve not had unity," Ms Macapagal told the
surrendered rebels lined up before her outside the town hall.
She appealed to other members of the MILF to give up arms or support planned
peace talks with the government. Last month, Ms Macapagal declared a
unilateral ceasefire with the MILF.
National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the chance of a peace agreement
with the MILF was "great." "We are only waiting for the MILF to form their
negotiating panel to start the peace talks," he said.
Maj. Gen. Roy Cimamtu, commanding general of the Army’s 4th Infantry
Division, said the suspension of military operations against the MILF
ordered by the President last Feb. 20, appeared to be holding in the two
Lanao provinces. There have been no attacks against military and government
installations since, he said.
Ms Macapagal assured Nur Misuari, governor of the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao, her government was committed to implementing the 1996 peace
agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front even as it "(opens) a new
chapter in the peace process by our dialogue with the MILF."
Misuari, who chairs the MNLF, was last Tuesday appointed ambassador to the
Organization of Islamic Conference. In Parang, Maguindanao, the President
urged thousands of refugees to return to their villages "so we can go full
swing in our rehabilitation."
"Unless we as a people come to terms with Mindanao we will never attain our
full promise as a nation," she told about 1,000 people assembled at Camp SK
Pendatun’s social hall.
There are three principles that should guide "our search for peace and
prosperity in Mindanao," the President said in her 25-minute extemporaneous
speech.
First, she said, "our ultimate goal should be both peace and development."
Second, "our framework should be based on constitutionality and sovereignty."
This was why "we continue to appreciate the work of the Armed Forces because
it is important that we continue to have peace and order," she said.
Third, "our society is a multi-ethnic one which should be founded on social
justice for all and institutionalizing accommodation of ethnic
tradition."-- 3/15/01 PDI Mindanao Bureau
NEW SET OF SUSPECTS IN MANILA BOMBINGS DETAINED: Police investigating the
deadly bombings across Manila at the end of last year have detained a fresh
set of suspects, the head of the justice department's police arm said
Thursday.
All three suspects are Muslims but there is no evidence linking them to any
of the Islamic separatist groups in the south, National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI) chief Reynaldo Wycoco said.
Twenty-two people were killed and more than 100 others were injured when
powerful explosions hit the Manila airport, the capital's light railway
system, a bus, and two open areas of the capital within an hour of each
other last December 30.
Wycoco said two of the suspects, who he did not identify, had confessed to
taking part in the bombings. The third suspect, Diamlan Bassal Diamlan, has
not owned up to anything, he added. Inquirer, 03/16/2001
GOVERNMENT-MILF PEACE TALKS TO RESUME: COTABATO CITY – Leaders of the
secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) agreed yesterday to
resume peace talks with the government.
President Arroyo told residents of Parang town in Maguindanao yesterday the
MILF leaders had written the government to indicate their intention to
return to the negotiating table.
However, Mrs. Arroyo did not say if the letter meant the MILF had dropped
the "preconditions" it had earlier laid down before agreeing to any
resumption of peace talks.
Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza, who chairs the government
peace panel negotiating with the MILF, told reporters that MILF legal
counsel Lanang Ali officially accepted the government's offer to restart
the negotiations.
On the other hand, Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political
affairs, said that although they have accepted the government's peace
offer, their central committee still has to submit proposals to Malacanang.
Mrs. Arroyo said her administration is not keen on setting a deadline for
the peace talks. Phil. Star, 03/15/2001
MILF ACCEPTS PHIL. GOV'T. OFFER TO RESUME TALKS -- GMA (Parang, Maguindanao)
President Macapagal-Arroyo today announced that the secessionist Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), headed by chairman Hashim Salamat, has
accepted the government's offer to resume peace negotiations.
The President said she received a letter from the MILF leadership expressing
its willingness to return to the negotiating table even as ten groups of
MILF rebels in Tamparan, Lanao del Sur decided to return to mainstream
society.
According to the President, her administration will honor all the commitments
made to the MILF under the 1996 peace agreement.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Nur Misuari, who will
represent the country in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), said
he is optimistic the Arroyo administration will accomplish a lot in terms
of peace and development for the Muslim population.
He added that the people of Mindanao support the President's initiatives
for Southern Philippines.
Misuari and his supporters are confident the President will be able to
solve the "outstanding" problems of Mindanao within the next three years.
Phil.Star 3/14/01
MACAPAGAL APPOINTS NUR MISUARI AS OIC ENVOY: Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
has designated Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Gov. Nur Misuari as the
government's special envoy to Organization of Islamic Conference
member-countries.
Ms Macapagal said Misuari has "graciously accepted" the designation. "This
would allow (Misuari) to serve his constituents with wider latitude,"
Macapagal said.
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Misuari, 60, ends his term as
governor of an autonomous Muslim region in the southern Philippines this
year.
The MNLF in 1996 ended a campaign lasting more than 20 years to set up a
separate Islamic state in the southern third of the archipelago when it
signed a peace treaty with the government.
The settlement was forged under the guidance of the OIC, a block of more
than 50 Islamic states that include Philippine neighbors Indonesia,
Malaysia and Brunei.
Misuari was later elected governor of a Muslim self-rule area granted to
the Muslim minority following the armistice.
Ms Macapagal has declared a unilateral truce with a second Muslim separatist
guerrilla faction, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and freed a number of
Muslim and communist guerrillas to entice their leaders to come to the
negotiating table.
The President also appointed lawyer Randolph Percasio as head of the
Southern Philippines Development Authority. Inquirer, 03/14/2001
MILF DECLARES OWN UNILATERAL CEASEFIRE: COTABATO CITY — While the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has declared its own version of a
unilateral truce, separatist leaders warned clashes could erupt anytime if
government forces continue to encroach on their remaining strongholds in
the guise of "police actions."
The other day, the MILF announced it was willing to resume peace talks if
mediated by the Organization of Islamic Conference or a member state of the
OIC.
Sporadic clashes continue to take place in Maguindanao province even after
the MILF central committee ordered its forces to maintain a defensive
posture and confine themselves to their enclaves.
Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF political officer, said the directive was in response
to the peace overtures of President Arroyo, who declared the suspension of
military offensives (SOMO) against separatist rebels last month.
Members of the MILF central committee held an assembly Friday in Pagalungan
Maguindanao, where they reached a consensus to respond positively to the
government's offer to reopen the peace talks.
Jaffar, however, said they still have to come out with a set of proposals
on how the government and the MILF panels can work out the immediate
restoration of peace in areas where soldiers and Muslim fighters are in a
standoff.
In Zamboanga City, government peace panel chief Jesus Dureza admitted
formal talks with the MILF may take some time, saying most members of the
separatist panel are apprehensive to come out because of a string of arrest
warrants issued against them by the previous administration.
He appealed to the government to review the cases of the MILF leaders, and
if possible withdraw the warrants if the charges are not substantiated.
Last Friday, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said they want the Arroyo
administration to respect and implement previous agreements made under
ousted President Joseph Estrada, including an agreement to resolve the
Muslim insurgency through a peaceful political settlement and the
recognition of at least seven major rebel camps.
He also said rebels want the government to invite the OIC or one of its 56
member states to send representatives to mediate the talks. Phil. Star,
03/11/2001
OIC TELLS MILF: "PURSUE PEACE OR..." This was the message of the
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) in prodding the secessionist group to pursue peace talks with
the government.
Officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said this was one of
the most encouraging statements that special envoy to Islamic countries
Raul Rabe got from no less than OIC secretary general Dr. Abdelouahed
Belkeziz during a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
DFA Assistant Secretary Shulan Primavera said the MILF runs the risk of
losing its sympathizers in the international Muslim community, or Ulama, if
it fails to heed the call of peace.
Belkeziz, however, did not specify which countries or groups were
supportive of the MILF since the OIC officially recognizes only the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) as the sole representative of Muslims in
Mindanao.
Rabe spoke with Belkeziz on a special mission to drum up international
support for the Philippine government's new "all-out peace" policy in
Mindanao.
Rabe delivered to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia a letter from President Arroyo
asking support for the government's change of policy from the "all-out war"
stance of the Estrada regime to the "all-out peace" initiative of the
Arroyo administration.
Rabe briefed King Fahd on the steps taken to forge peace in Mindanao, such
as the enactment of the law to implement the 1996 pact, the revival of the
peace panel and the declaration of a cease-fire in Mindanao.
The Saudi king expressed happiness over Rabe's special mission and sent his
" sincerest wishes for the success of President Arroyo in all her endeavors
and for the success of the peace process."
Rabe also got a pledge from the Saudi Development Fund to increase a
$20-million concessional loan for projects in Mindanao once the situation
in the area improves.
Rabe also met with members of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and
the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and encourage several Saudi businessmen to
visit the country and take advantage of trade and investment opportunities.
Earlier, the OIC expressed support for the Arroyo administration and
promised to enhance the relations between the group and the Philippine
government. Phil. Star, 03/05/2001
24 SUSPECTS IN METRO BLASTS FREED TODAY (Manila) Twenty Four of the 26 Moro
construction workers charged for the bombing of Metro Manila malls last
summer will walk free today as part of the government’s goodwill gesture for
the resumption of peace talks with Mindanao separatist rebels.
The Moro Christian People’s Alliance said the 24 construction workers will
be released on recognizance at 8:30 a.m. at the sala of Judge Lavina of
Branch 71 of the Pasig Regional Trial Court.
Collectively known as Maharlika 26, only 24 of the suspected mall bombers
were included in President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s list of political
prisoners approved for release.
Those not included from the list were SPO3 Ali Samad and Nestor Solaiman.
Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said he has ordered a review to determine
the two men’s exclusion.
The 26 men were arrested by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force
as suspects in the summer bombings of Metro Manila malls.
However, there has been very little evidence presented against the suspects
and the PAOCTF and the Estrada administration have been accused of using
Muslims as a scapegoat to divert attention from growing unrest over
allegations of graft and corruption.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leaders also accused government agents
of planting the explosives in a bid to justify the Estrada administration’s
all-out war in Mindanao.
The 24 Moro political prisoners will be taken in custody by their counsel
Romeo Capulong, and the Public Interest Law Center (PILC).
Maharlika Village Barangay Captain Brenda Pangandaman and other local
community leaders will also serve as custodians of the Maharlika 26.
"Families, friends and the human rights organizations and lawyers see the
release as a good development to the month-long campaign for the release of
political prisoners under the Arroyo administration,” the activist group
said in a statement.
"However, there are still a hundred and more prisoners left languishing in
jails, as only 73 names were approved by President Arroyo out of the 250
political prisoners documented by human rights organizations," it stressed.
MCPA has documented 61 Moro political prisoners in Metro Manila and detention
cells in Mindanao.
The judge ordered the release with the concurrence of the DOJ’s four-man
panel of prosecutors. Manila Times, 3/5/01
MILF RECOGNIZES GMA AS PRESIDENT: The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
now recognizes President Arroyo as the new leader of the Republic and has
made "official contacts" with the government peace panel to resume peace
negotiations.
But even if lines of communication are now open between the two sides,
intermittent clashes continue down south between Muslim rebels and
government soldiers.
Jesus Dureza, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and Presidential
Assistant for Eastern Mindanao, said yesterday that the MILF legal officer
wrote him last Feb. 24 to say that the MILF leadership has received his
letter to chairman Salamat Hashim regarding Mrs. Arroyo's offer to
"reconstruct" the peace process.
"In view thereof, the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is
ready to send emissaries or representatives to your proposed initial
meeting on Feb. 26, 2001 in Davao City," he quoted Lansang Ali as saying in
his letter.
However, acting Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said yesterday he doubts
if the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) would offer to broker any
peace agreement between the government and the MILF.
Ermita said the Saudi Arabian ambassador had informed him that the OIC does
not recognize the MILF but the Moro National Liberation Front as the
representative of the Moro people.
Dureza said his receipt of Lansang's letter is the "first official contact"
between the Arroyo administration and the MILF since peace negotiations
were discontinued in August last year.
Dureza said the government takes the word of Lansang who presented himself
as the "duly authorized representative of the MILF" to speak on behalf of
the rebel movement in his capacity as legal officer.
Phil. Star, 02/27/2001
CANADA VOWS $10-M MINDANAO AID: Canada is to pour nearly $10 million in aid
to strife-torn Mindanao, a ranking Canadian official with roots here said
yesterday.
Canada's newly appointed Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific Dr. Rey
Pagtakhan paid a courtesy call on President Arroyo yesterday to say that
the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) would be spending 60
percent of its budget for the Philippines this year in Mindanao.
Pagtakhan is the second most senior government official Mrs. Arroyo has
received since assuming power on the back of a popular revolt last month,
after US Secretary of State Ralph Boyce who called on her two days after
the uprising.
CIDA officials in Manila said $16.3 million has been earmarked in aid to
the Philippines this year, with about $9.8 million going to various
projects including livelihood projects in the South.
They said pouring development aid into the South was part of a commitment
Canada earlier made to the government to help residents in Mindanao, where
Muslim separatists have been fighting government troops for more than two
decades.
The Canadian government was pleased with Mrs. Arroyo's "peaceful approach
to the resolution of the issue," Pagtakhan said.
Aside from aid to the south, Canada is also committed to help finance the
extension project of the Light Rail Transit from Baclaran to Cavite,
Pagtakhan said.
SNC Lavalin, a Canadian firm, had won the contract to build the LRT
extension project, and negotiations for the implementation agreement with
the Light Rail Transit Authority are expected to be completed in two to
three months.
Pagtakhan noted that Manila's special envoy to North America Raul Rabe was
currently also in Canada "to drum up support" for investments in Manila.
The secretary of state also conveyed the greetings and support of Canadian
Prime Minister Jean Chretien to Mrs. Arroyo.
Pagtakhan was accompanied by Canadian Ambassador Robert Collette, who
announced that Chretien asked his secretary of state to travel to Manila
immediately after the peaceful transition of government known as people
power II.
At a press briefing following his courtesy call, Pagtakhan disclosed how he
reiterated the official recognition and expression of support by the
government of Canada to the new administration. Phil. Star, 02/20/2001
GLORIA URGES MILF: DROP ALL 'PRE-CONDITIONS:' DAVAO CITY--President
Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday urged the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to drop
all "pre-conditions" to the resumption of peace talks with the government.
In a dialogue with Catholic bishops and Muslim religious leaders here, the
President said she had ordered the suspension of military operations in
Mindanao to "pave the way for the reconstruction of the peace process."
"Our message to the MILF is this: We have decided to stop firing. It is now
your turn to unload your weapons and keep them for a while," she told those
attending the 15th Bishops-Ulama Forum General Assembly.
Ms Macapagal said the MILF should instead concentrate on organizing its own
peace panel to deal with the government side.
The President was referring to an MILF demand that it be allowed to return
to its captured military camps in Maguindanao, a condition the President
said she was not inclined to give in to.
At the same meeting, Ms Macapagal announced the formation of an
inter-agency committee to "oversee the implementation of all our
rehabilitation and development programs as far as they relate to the areas
of conflict."
She said acting Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita would head the panel.
Ermita also serves as the presidential adviser on the peace process."
At the gathering that was well attended by many sectors here, the President
also said she would maintain close ties with the Organization of Islamic
Conference.
The President revealed that she had signed into law an amendment to the
organic act of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
She said a plebiscite in ARMM provinces will be held with the May 14
elections, and its first set of leaders will be elected in September.
Inquirer, 02/23/2001
RAPS VS. MILF LEADERS DROPPED (Manila)The Dept. of Justice (DOJ) has
withdrawn criminal charges against Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
chair Salamat Hashim and five others for the Dec. 30, 2000 bombings in Metro
Manila.
This was revealed yesterday by Justice Secretary Hernando Perez who also
announced that 24 more political prisoners have been recommended for release
in government moves to entice the communist National Democratic Front (NDF)
and the separatist MILF to return to the peace table.
Perez said the charges of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder
brought against Salamat and MILF vice chairs Ghadzali Jaafar, Al-Haj Murad
and Aleem Aziz Mimbantas, among others, have been withdrawn and brought back
to the DOJ for reinvestigation.
The charges were filed against the MILF leaders on the basis of documents
reportedly found in a captured rebel camp which purported to show that the
group was planning to bomb malls, utilities, transportation facilities
and infrastructure in Metro Manila.
"The government is interested in lasting peace. After the SOMO (suspension
of offensive military operations), we are showing the MILF that (the
withdrawal of charges and release of political prisoners) are the right
steps toward peace," Perez said.
But the justice secretary said the charges against Ismael Abas, who was
arrested for the bombing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on that
day,will remain.
Abas, according to reports, was positively identified by witnesses to the
bombing of a cargo warehouse, and the car that carried the bomb was
allegedly linked to him.
The release of the 24 political prisoners will follow the granting of
freedom to 49 detainees by President Macapagal-Arroyo last Monday.
"First batch"
Perez identified the second batch of prisoners as Giagmal T.Tongke, Dante
M. Awel, Tantalie M. Alitreki, Jade K. Mangko, Tomas Brusas, Ronilo Mapinhag
Alberto Beron, Remegio Yasay, Oscar Oliva, Amacncio Mesario; Vivencio Lagada
Pablito Plaza, Edylizon Hortelano and Basiledes Baddion, Danilo Navasquez,
Manuel Isetada, Rolieto Anquillano, Nieto Duque, Nestor Javier, Marlon Dayap
Ramilo Orgasan, Julito Tobias, Modesto Tobias and Bartolome Tobias.
Perez said the list should have included four more prisoners but the special
committee reviewing their records has not completed its job.
"One of them is NPA leader Leoncio Pitao, alias Kumander Parago. His release
is still being discussed with the military," he said.
Pitao led an NPA regional unit that seized two ranking Army officers and
held them captive for three months in 1999.
Muslim rebels said yesterday the government SOMO could help revive peace
talks but they will ``wait and see’’ if the military actually halts its
offensive in Mindanao.
"Ceasefire"
MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said, however, the ceasefire ordered by Ms
Macapagal on Tuesday "gives added impet us" to the desire to resume peace
negotiations as soon as possible.
"We welcome this with reservations," Kabalu told a Mindanao radio station.
"When we feel the Army will no longer launch offensives, then we can be
convinced that the government is really sincere," he added.
Macapagal said the SOMO would take effect as soon as she issues an executive
order. She said she hopes the rebels will reciprocate quickly.
Since becoming president Jan. 20, Macapagal has made the resumption of peace
talks with the MILF and the NDF a high priority.
The MILF is fighting for a separate Islamic state in southern Philippines,
while the communist guerrillas are waging a Marxist insurgency nationwide.
Peace talks with the MILF collapsed last year after then President Joseph
Estrada ordered a massive military campaign that captured many rebel camps
in Mindanao.
"Fostering new talks"
Ms Macapagal said her order was meant to foster new talks, allow thousands
of displaced persons to return to their homes and pave the way for
rehabilitation and development projects in the region.
Communist rebels called off talks with the government after the Philippine
Senate approved the Visiting Forces Agreement in 1999, which allowed for
the resumption of large-scale US military exercises in the country.
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon yesterday welcomed the SOMO called by Ms Macapagal but
cautioned that public safety and security should not be jeopardized with
its implementation.
"Even if we resume peace talks with the MILF, if the group commits criminal
acts, the government would be justified in responding appropriately,"
Biazon told a news briefing. 2/24/01, Inquirer News Service
FOREIGN DONORS TO INFUSE $700 MILLION FOR MINDANAO: BAGUIO CITY –
Foreign donor countries have pledged to infuse some $700 million to the
administration of President Arroyo for the development of Mindanao, acting
Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said here yesterday.
Ermita, who is with the President for the alumni homecoming of the
Philippine Military Academy at Fort Del Pilar here, said the capital
infusion is a welcome development for the government whose vision is to
fully convert war-torn areas in Mindanao into economic zones.
He said talks between the government and foreign donor countries started in
earnest last Tuesday at the main office of the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) in Makati City.
Speaking for the foreign donor countries, Terence Jones of the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) said they are ready to assist Mindanao
but the main reason they could not implement various projects in the island
is the security problem.
But Ermita said he and other government officials have assured the foreign
donors that the Arroyo administration is vigorously pursuing its all-out
peace policy, as against the all-out war policy of the previous
administration, in Mindanao.
In putting flesh into this policy, Ermita said, the government is now ready
to resume peace negotiations with the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF).
Paul Dominguez, presidential adviser on regional development, and Jesus
Dureza, presidential adviser for Western Mindanao and head of the Philippine
government peace panel in the talks with the MILF, also briefed the donor
country officials.
Donor countries represented in the meeting included Germany, Canada, United
States, the Netherlands, Australia and Japan.
Ermita said the US Assistance for International Development (USAID) has
also expressed its intention to help develop Mindanao. Phil. Star,
02/18/2001
GOV'T. TO DROP MURDER CHARGES VS. MORO REBELS FOR DEC.30 BOMBING (Manila)
The Philippine Gov't. will drop murder charges against Muslim separatist
rebels in connection with a wave of deadly bombings in Manila in a bid to
restart peace negotiations, state prosecutors said Friday.
State prosecutor Menrado Corpuz said the order withdrawing murder raps
against several Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leaders came directly
from Justice Secretary Hernando Perez.
"This is in line with the government’s peace process with the MILF," Corpuz
said.
The 13,000-strong MILF, the country's main Muslim insurgent group, pulled
out of peace negotiations last year after the military overran its camps
across the southern island of Mindanao.
It subsequently declared a jihad or holy war against the government, and
was blamed for allegedly masterminding five bomb attacks that killed 22
people and injured more than 100 others in Manila on December 30.
Police last month slapped multiple murder charges against MILF chairman
Hashim Salamat and six of his deputies in connection with the bomb attacks,
which were carried out on a national holiday.
The MILF was linked to the attack by a Muslim man arrested four days after
the explosions, which hit a packed railway station, a passenger bus, a
warehouse at the international airport, a plaza near the US embassy and an
abandoned gasoline station in Manila's main financial district.
MILF guerrillas have denied they carried out the attacks, insisting that
rebel offensives were limited to Mindanao and only targeted government
troops.
But President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, after assuming office on the back of
a military-supported popular uprising last month, immediately ordered
resumption of peace talks with the MILF and communist rebels.
The MILF said it welcomed the offer, but insisted government lift murder
charges against its leaders and pull out troops from in its fallen camps in
the south. The last demand was ruled out by Manila.
Inquirer 2/16/01
PEACE TALKS WITH REBELS WELCOMED: Militant groups yesterday welcomed the
resumption of peace negotiations between the government and the National
Democratic Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front but said President
Macapagal-Arroyo should show her sincerity by dropping any preconditions
to the talks.
Party list group Bayan Muna president Satur Ocampo, former NDF spokesman,
said Ms Macapagal should drop the preconditions set by her predecessors and
initiate measures that would provide a "conducive atmosphere" for the
talks.
"The President should pursue the peace talks and renounce the policy of
total war and militarism to address the country's social ills," Ocampo
said.
"Forming peace panels is one thing but forging peace is another," said
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan chair Rafael Mariano.
Both groups said the Macapagal administration should first ensure the
prosecution of ousted President Joseph Estrada as well as release some 250
political prisoners to show its sincerity in wanting a lasting peace
accord.
Presidential assistant for southern Mindanao Jesus Dureza, chair of the
government peace panel that will meet with the MILF, said in Davao City
yesterday that a ceasefire will top the agenda of the peace talks.
He made no commitment, however, to the demand of evacuees and other groups
that government soldiers be pulled out of the war-affected areas to allow
for the safe and immediate return of the displaced residents to their
homes.
He said the pullback proposal would have to be carefully studied by the
government, considering the "security situation and the complexities" on
the ground.
He said there are still armed rebels who are creating conditions of
"unpeace." Inquirer, 02/11/2001
ERMITA PURSUING PEACE WITH MOROS IN COTABATO: COTABATO CITY--A possible
ceasefire with Moro secessionist rebels is one of the matters to be
threshed out by Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Presidential Assistant
for Southern Mindanao Jesus Dureza who are to fly here today following a
directive from President Macapagal-Arroyo to resume negotiations with the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Malacanang plans to declare a temporary suspension of military operations
against the MILF to convince the Moro rebels to return to the negotiating
table, Ermita said.
Ermita and Dureza will be meeting with military and local government
officials, peace advocacy groups, relief workers and evacuees.
Ermita said he would sit down with military officials in Central Mindanao
"to get their insights on whether we can consider a cessation of
hostilities."
While here, Ermita is also expected to announce the names of the new
membership of the government peace panel.
Ermita's statements were warmly received by the MILF, which earlier also
welcomed the announcement of the resumption of peace talks.
MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said the rebels can immediately reconstitute
their peace panel which it disbanded in August last year, following ousted
President Joseph Estrada's announcement of an "all-out war policy."
Ermita, a last-termer congressman from Batangas and former Armed Forces
vice chief of staff, was vice chair of the government peace panel that
negotiated a peace agreement with the main Muslim-led insurgency, the Moro
National Liberation Front, between 1993 and 1996.
Mindanao's peace advocacy groups had repeatedly called for a ceasefire to
allow for the resumption of the peace talks and the return of residents who
had been forced to evacuate their war-torn villages.
A ceasefire declaration would be the cue for thousands of evacuees, now
housed in makeshift evacuation centers, to safely return to their villages.
Several evacuees who returned to their villages went back to the evacuation
centers because of continued skirmishes between the MILF and government
troops.
"The MILF and the Muslims desire peace in their homeland more than anybody
else," Kabalu said in Filipino in reaction to Ermita's statement.
Ermita and Dureza will also be meeting with peace advocacy groups and
looking into the situation of refugees.
According to Dureza, the first instruction that he received from President
Macapagal was to visit the war-ravaged areas in Central Mindanao and be
briefed by development and relief workers.
Dureza, who will be flying in from his base in Davao City, has met with
officials of Tabang Mindanaw, one of the biggest private groups assisting
evacuees in Central Mindanao. He was told the group was still extending
assistance to a total of 35,000 evacuees in Maguindanao and North Cotabato.
At least 2,000 families remain in evacuation centers or are staying with
relatives in Marawi City. Inquirer, 01/31/2001
MILF WILLING TO TALK PEACE: ILIGAN CITY--The separatist Moro Islamic
Liberation Front yesterday (MILF) said it was willing to resume peace talks
with the government on condition that charges against its leaders were
dropped and government troops were removed from its fallen camps.
Aleem Elias Macarandas, a member of the MILF peace panel, said the newly
installed Macapagal government should grant these demands as a gesture of
goodwill.
In Davao City, former Tarlac Gov. Margarita "Ting-ting" Cojuangco
yesterday said a cease-fire should be made a "top priority" in the peace
agenda.
Cojuangco, a convenor of the Council on Philippine Affairs (Copa) which
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently tapped to help in restarting
peace talks, said a cease-fire was the "key" to boosting MILF confidence
in the peace process.
Paul Dominguez, presidential adviser for regional development, said Ms
Macapagal was holding "high-level" discussions with senior government
officials involved in the peace process regarding the matter of a
cease-fire.
Dominguez said the Macapagal administration was still in the process of
finalizing its general policy on the insurgency problem in the country.
But he said the government had already announced its commitment to
reconstruct the peace process and implement special programs to accelerate
peace and development in Mindanao.
Immediately after meeting with her top security advisers in her first day
of office, Ms Macapagal ordered a resumption of talks with the 13,000-
strong MILF, which has been waging a two-decade rebellion for an independent
Islamic state in the South.
She also appointed former military officials to key posts in her
government, including Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Executive
Secretary Renato de Villa.
But Macarandas said the government should first pull out its forces from
several MILF camps that fell last year under Estrada's all-out war policy
against the rebels.
He said government prosecutors should also dismiss murder charges filed
against several MILF leaders in connection with a wave of deadly bombings
in Manila that killed 22 people.
But Macarandas praised Ms Macapagal's appointment of former military
officials in her Cabinet, saying this could help speed up the peace process
because they would be able to give her a "clear view of the Mindanao
situation." Cojuangco said she intends to take up her cease-fire proposal
with Ms Macapagal and with the other members of the government peace panel.
Inquirer, 01/29/2001
ESTRADA RENEWS WAR WITH MILF: President Estrada ordered yesterday the
resumption of military operations against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) after it was tagged as the brains behind the Rizal Day bombings in
Metro Manila.
Following a meeting with security advisers and police and military chiefs,
the President said he was suspending peace efforts with the main Muslim
separatist group.
The President is also studying a proposal from his top policeman to allow
authorities to arrest MILF leaders.
His statements came after police filed multiple murder charges against the
MILF leadership for the five bomb blasts that rocked Metro Manila on Dec.
30, killing 22 people and injuring almost a hundred others.
The President met with top security officers to discuss the bombings and
the situation with the MILF, which is fighting for a separate Islamic state
in Mindanao.
Talks with the 13,000-strong MILF collapsed last year after the military
overran most of the rebels' major camps in Central Mindanao and the
government slapped arrest warrants on its leaders for allegedly planning a
spate of bomb attacks in two shopping malls in Makati City and Mandaluyong
City last May.
However, the Estrada administration has recently been making overtures to
the group again, even suspending the arrest warrants against its leaders,
namely, chairman Hashim Salamat, vice chairman Al Haj Murad and spokesman
Eid Kabalu.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Panfilo Lacson said
yesterday he has recommended the lifting of the suspension of the arrest
warrant.
Lacson said he made the recommendation to the Cabinet Cluster E meeting
last Friday. It will be endorsed for approval by the President. Phil. Star,
01/07/2001
