19 CIVILIANS KILLED, SAYS MILF; AFP ISSUES DENIAL: At least 19 civilians 14
of them minors, were killed when a military unit stormed a remote village in
Sumisip, Basilan, early Monday morning in pursuit of Abu Sayyaf bandits, the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front said Tuesday.
MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said the 10th Infantry Battalion entered
Barangay Baiwas in the wake of an encounter with the Abu Sayyaf but, "when
they failed to find any of their enemies," fired instead at the civilians.
But the Armed Forces of the Philippines, while admitting that there was a
military encounter with the Abu Sayyaf on Monday morning, strongly denied
Kabalu's claim.
Col. Francisco Gudani, deputy commander for operations of the AFP Southern
Command based in Zamboanga City, said there was no such report pertaining
to the incident.
Kabalu said he verified the incident with the local MILF commanders in the
area. "It was an obvious incident of massacre. Imagine, those people are
helpless civilians. They are indeed our sympathizers but they were
unarmed," he said. Kabalu said the soldiers also arrested six male residents
"and we don't know what happened to them."
In an earlier interview Tuesday, AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan
said Abu Sayyaf elements under Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya are believed to
be in Sumisip. The town was the site of an Abu Sayyaf ambush last Saturday
which resulted in the death of five persons.
Kabalu said this was already the second time the military has violated the
Aug. 7 ceasefire agreement signed by the government and the MILF in Kuala
Lumpur. Inquirer, 08/29/2001
COTABATO SAYS NO TO ARMM: COTABATO CITY — Residents of this city have voted
overwhelmingly against joining the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
following the completion of canvassing for the Aug. 14 plebiscite, the
Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.
Comelec law department senior staffer Jocelyn de Mesa, who presided over
Friday's canvassing, said there were 16,075 "no" votes compared to only
9,361 "yes" votes, with a voter turnout of 35 percent.
Cotabato is the temporary seat of ARMM and at the same time the administrative
capital of Central Mindanao. The completion of canvassing ended suspicions
that an "unseen hand" was manipulating the outcome to ensure the inclusion of
the city in an expanded ARMM. Apart from conflicting reports on trends concerns
were also raised when canvassing was delayed for three days.
President Arroyo was criticized for saying that residents here favored the
inclusion of the city in ARMM. The President clarified yesterday that her
statements on the results of the plebiscite were largely based on unofficial
and raw reports from the field.
Namfrel chairman Jose Concepcion Jr. and Catholic Bishops' Conference of
the Philippines (CBCP) chairman Archbishop Orlando Quevedo thanked the
President yesterday for taking necessary steps to assure the people of this
city that she will never condone any attempt to subvert the will of the
people.
The Comelec released yesterday an updated partial result of the plebiscite
which still shows a predominantly "no" vote.
In holding a plebiscite, the government offered to hand over nearly 23
percent of Philippine territory to ARMM, which was set up in 1989 to help
convince the former separatist group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
led by Nur Misuari to come to the negotiating table.
The ARMM provinces are Sulu, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Tawi-tawi.
On the question of whether or not existing ARMM provinces would want to
amend the ARMM Organic Act, the yes votes prevailed with 439,850 over
97,630 no votes. Phil. Star, 08/19/2001
BASILAN, COTABATO QUESTION INCLUSION IN ARMM: Residents are questioning
government pronouncements that Cotabato City and Basilan have voted to be
included in an expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
In Cotabato City, Fr. Jose Bagaforo, chairman of the Humanitarian Ministries
of the Catholic Diocese, told radio station dxMS yesterday "pro-No" sectors
suspect "certain groups" might be maneuvering things to make it appear that
residents voted "yes."
Radio stations were flooded with calls yesterday from concerned residents,
among them Islamic religious leaders, who were complaining on the air about
the slow count of the plebiscite's results.
Ibrahim Guaipar, Cotabato City schools division superintendent, said
yesterday the city board of canvassers had not yet asked him last night to
officially take part in the counting. Arturo Cocjin, city election officer
did not take part in the supposed start of canvassing the other day, saying
that he was suffering from an asthma attack.
In Basilan, former Gov. Alvin Dans said he will question before the
Commission on Elections (Comelec) the result of the plebiscite in four
towns.
In Isabela City, the provincial capital, more than 14,000 people voted "No"
while 3,000 voted "Yes," which represent only 40 percent of the more than
25,000 voters.
In Turburan, of the 23,625 voters, 17 voted "Yes" and 400 "No."
Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast Meeting at the Manila Hotel, Mrs.
Arroyo said: "Marawi City, the province of Basilan and possibly Cotabato
City have voted to join the expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao."
Jose Joson, Comelec assistant director for operations, said yesterday initial
results showed about 70 percent of votes cast in Basilan favored joining the
ARMM. Since Isabela is a chartered city with special privileges, it may not
be included in the ARMM even if it is the capital of Basilan, he added.
Phil.Star, 08/17/2001
MILF WELCOMES WIDE 'NO' MARGIN IN ARMM PLEBISCITE
INQ7.net, August 15, 2001
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Wednesday welcomed the wide margin of
"no" votes rejecting the expansion of the Autonomous Region for Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM).
"It’s a blessing in disguise," MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said in a
television interview. "Autonomy is not working as a solution to the Bangsamoro
problems." MILF had boycotted the plebiscite of expanding the coverage of
ARMM.
Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited Mindanao recently to
promote the plebiscite and expressed hope predominantly Muslim cities of
Marawi and Cotabato would be included in ARMM.
Only Marawi city cast a majority "yes" vote, according to the National
Movement for Free Elections. "It’s the voice of the people in the area. We
have to live with that," Presidential spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao said.
ARMM EXPANSION HEADED FOR DEFEAT: The local plebiscite on expanded Muslim
self-rule appeared headed for defeat yesterday due mainly to the wary
Christian majority in Mindanao and Palawan.
But while pessimism reigned in most of the 15 provinces and 14 cities where
the plebiscite was held, hope emerged in the cities of Marawi and Cotabato
which appeared to have voted to join the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM).
Some 4.9 million voters from 15 provinces and 14 cities were expected to
vote in 27,000 precincts yesterday, but election officials said only about
two million actually voted because of torrential rains and flooding, lack
of knowledge on the issues and fear of violence.
"We cannot expect the turnout in a plebiscite to be as good as in a regular
election because here there are no candidates vying for public office," said
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Alfredo Benipayo. Despite the low
voter turnout, both the Comelec and the poll watchdog National Citizens'
Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) reported that the plebiscite was
generally peaceful.
Malacanang also expressed satisfaction with the plebiscite's outcome, noting
that the administration's target of getting Marawi and Cotabato appeared to
have been achieved.
There were no reports of poll-related violence, but the Comelec declared a
failure of elections in some towns and villages due to bad weather, which
prevented the delivery of election materials.
The Comelec expects the results of the plebiscite released within a week
but voters and election officials reported that the general sentiment in
the 15 provinces and 14 cities was to reject joining the ARMM. Even the
mostly Muslim provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Lanao del Norte appeared to be
headed for a "no" vote, according to local officials.
Other Muslim voters said the ARMM has not made a difference in their lives
since it was established in 1990.
According to Namfrel, voter turnout was between 70 and 95 percent. Most of
the voters are expected to follow their leaders and vote for inclusion in
the ARMM. Phil. Star, 08/15/2001
MILF CEASFIRE PUTS BREAK ON MILITARY VS. KIDNAPPERS
Agence France-Presse, AUGUST 15, 2001
Military forces were relying on intelligence reports to help locate four
Chinese and a Filipino abducted by renegade Muslim rebels in the southern
Philippines, an army spokesman said Wednesday.
Major Julieto Ando told AFP that the search for the captives was limited to
intelligence efforts and stressed that they could not launch a military
assault on the suspected kidnappers because of a ceasefire recently signed
with the largest Muslim rebel group there.
"We have no (military) operations because we are complying with existing
guidelines. We have not yet launched a massive pursuit of the suspected
kidnappers," Ando said.
He said the intelligence personnel were trying to pinpoint the location of
the five captives. "There are no armed operations, we are not deploying troops
or armoured vehicles. We do not know yet where the victims are being kept by
the alleged kidnappers."
The five captives are being held by renegade members of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF), an Islamic separatist group that recently signed a
ceasefire and is engaged in peace talks with Manila. Ando said that if they
physically pursued the kidnappers, they might encounter active members of the
MILF who are believed to have a camp in the area where the hostages are being
held.
The three Chinese, Zang Zong Yee, Wang Shung Li and Zho Zhing and one Filipino
guide Edwin Lim were seized by a renegade MILF group in North Cotabato
province on Sunday while delivering a five million-peso (94,339 dollar)
ransom for a Chinese engineer kidnapped in June.
Zang Zong Quiang, an engineer of China Import Export Technologies Inc., a
Chinese firm working on an irrigation project in that province, was the first
to be kidnapped. Ando stressed that the Chinese had gone out to deliver the
ransom without informing the local military.
He said the Chinese personnel still working on the project had been warned
not to go out of their premises without a military escort. Military officials
have said that the kidnapping will be a major test of whether the MILF is
complying with the ceasefire signed in Kuala Lumpur last week.
Police had earlier implicated the MILF in the abduction but the group has
rejected the claim. The latest abduction comes as 5,000 troops continue to
scour the southern island of Basilan for another Muslim rebel group, the Abu
Sayyaf, who have been holding 18 captives, including two Americans, for
nearly three months.
GIVE MUSLIM SELF-RULE A CHANCE- MACAPAGAL
PDI Mindanao Bureau, August 13, 2001
Inquirer News Service
Yes, says Gloria
(COTABATO CITY) Everyone is saying no, except President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
On the eve of a crucial plebiscite in Mindanao, the President on Monday urged
voters to give Muslim self-rule a chance amid strong opposition from Christian
areas as well as Moro rebel groups.
"Let us resolve to forge unity out of our diversity, to make ourselves
complete and united despite differences in faith and culture," Ms Macapagal
told local officials during a brief visit to Cotabato City. Voters in Lanao
del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi—-the four provinces comprising the
Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao—-will be asked if they want the ARMM
expanded.
Voters in 11 provinces, including Palawan, and 14 cities will be asked if they
favor the inclusion of their area in the ARMM.
According to officials and analysts, an enlargement of the ARMM territory
would give Manila a carrot to convince Moro separatist rebels to sign a peace
deal and end 30 years of civil war.
The initiative, however, faces formidable odds.
Local officials in predominantly Christian provinces are campaigning for a
massive "no" vote.
Ms Macapagal herself conceded the proposal was sure to lose in key areas like
Zamboanga City. Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat said his city "already
enjoys local autonomy through the local government code" and found no
impetus in joining the ARMM.
"We do not want to experience the hardship of our Muslim brothers in the ARMM,"
said North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol. Even Pax Mangudadato, the Muslim
governor of the multisectarian Sultan Kudarat province, is adopting a
similar stance.
"We are better off today. Why should we join ARMM?" he said. "It would be like
bashing our own head with a rock." Ms Macapagal, however, was not discouraged.
At the Estosan Garden Hotel, she urged Cotabato City officials to change
their stand against the city’s inclusion in the ARMM.
"There are many advantages and disadvantages if Cotabato City joins the ARMM
and becomes the permanent seat of the autonomous region," she told the local
officials, suggesting that Mayor Muslimin Sema could even become the next
ARMM governor come election time.
During the same occasion, Ms Macapagal swore in Sema as the new chair of the
Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development, replacing ARMM Gov.
Nur Misuari. Misuari earlier lost out in a power struggle within the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front that forged in 1996 a peace pact with Manila in
exchange for the establishment of the ARMM.
Misuari was ousted as MNLF chair and replaced by an executive council led by
Sema. Misuari accused Malacañang of plotting his ouster and called on Muslims
to boycott the plebiscite that he described as an "exercise in futility."
Misuari said the government violated the 1996 peace accord when it left out
the MNLF in deciding to hold the plebiscite.
'MILF remains skeptical'
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is currently holding peace talks
with the government, said it would not participate in the plebiscite. MILF
spokesperson Eid Kabalu said the ARMM’s failure to improve the plight of
Muslim Filipinos validated his group’s objective of an independent Islamic
nation in resource-rich but impoverished Mindanao.
"We can see that this is one proof that the government formula of autonomy is
a failure. Nothing has improved," Kabalu said.
Misuari has been widely criticized for failing to deliver on his promise to
develop the ARMM. He has accused the government, however, of failing to
provide adequate financial support to the region.
"Let’s change that record. Let’s work for peace and development. Let’s bring
21st century modern management to the ARMM," Ms Macapagal said in Cotabato
City.
To show her concern for the development of Muslim areas in Mindanao, she
inaugurated rehabilitated portions of the Narciso Ramos Highway in Matanog
Maguindanao.
The major road linking the cities of Cotabato and Marawi was destroyed in the
military offensive against MILF camps last year. Ms Macapagal also inaugurated
an agricultural project in Barira, also in Maguindanao, despite the heavy
rains.
Commission on Elections Chair Alfredo Benipayo said he expected 70 percent of
the eligible voters to troop to 27,421 precincts in 6,804 barangays in today’s
plebiscite. Comelec Commissioner Luzviminda Tancangco, however, said she did
not expect a huge turnout because of inadequate information on the plebiscite.
She said poll officials were also having problems delivering plebiscite
materials to far-flung areas, raising the possibility that no balloting might
take place at all in those areas.
Security concerns have prompted Comelec officials to transfer the voting in
at least 40 polling precincts in Basilan where the Abu Sayyaf bandits are
still holding 18 hostages, including a US Christian missionary couple.
Heavy flooding caused by five days of continuous rains is also expected to
hamper the conduct of the plebiscite in the entire Sibugay Valley on the
Zamboanga peninsula.
Lawyer Helen Aguila-Flores, Comelec director for Western Mindanao, said the
floods had displaced villages in at least five towns in Zamboanga del Sur.
Flores said public schools, which would be used as polling places, were crowded
with evacuees.
"All systems go, except for the flooded areas," she told the INQUIRER.
Military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said soldiers had been
deployed in potential trouble spots to prevent disruptions in the plebiscite.
Many fear Misuari’s allies and supporters, especially former MNLF guerrillas
might try to violently stop the plebiscite in some areas.
MNLF, MILF URGED TO BACK ARMM POLLS: Sen. Blas Ople asked the top command
of the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
yesterday to support the plebiscite on Tuesday in the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Top leaders of the two groups signed a unification agreement several days
ago in Kuala Lumpur.
Ople said an autonomous government provides an "intelligent option" to the
demand for independence raised by the MILF, a group that broke away from
the MNLF to press the campaign for a Bangsamoro nation.
he plebiscite seeks to expand the territory of ARMM from beyond Maguindanao
Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Lanao del Sur to include 14 cities and 15 provinces that
are predominantly Christian areas.
Earlier, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel expressed doubts that the plebiscite would
result in a bigger area for ARMM. He has opposed the call of ARMM Gov. Nur
Misuari to postpone the plebiscite for a third time.
He noted that Misuari did not even participate or send a representative to
the public hearings on proposed amendments to the ARMM Organic Act. Misuari
has contended that the Jakarta Agreement between the government and the MNLF
could be implemented without the plebiscite, which he described as a
"unilateral" act of the government.
Aside from the expansion of the area, the plebiscite also seeks to increase
the powers of the local officials below the rank of regional governor.
Phil. Star, 08/12/2001
MASSIVE 'NO' VOTE SEEN IN MINDANAO PLESBISCITE: (DAVAO CITY) A massive
Christian "no" vote is shaping up for Tuesday's plebiscite on expanding the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
"I think there will be a massive vote against joining the ARMM," said North
Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Pinol.
About 4.9 million registered Muslim and Christian voters in 11 Mindanao
provinces, including North Cotabato, and 14 cities will be asked if they
favor the inclusion of their area in the ARMM.
Ten of those provinces and all the cities are dominated by Christians.
Only four predominantly Muslim provinces-—Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu
and Tawi-Tawi—-at present comprise the ARMM headed by Gov. Nur Misuari, a
former Moro rebel leader.
Presidential peace adviser Eduardo Ermita said that, at best, one province
and two cities dominated by Muslims might vote to join the ARMM.
In Davao del Sur, Gov. Reynerio Llanos said his province had "rejected its
inclusion in the ARMM in the past plebiscite and we were proven right when
we did that."
Isabela City Mayor Luis Biel II predicted his constituents would overwhelmingly
vote against the city's inclusion in the ARMM. Koronadal City Mayor Fernando
Miguel said that joining the ARMM would not ensure progress for his city.
"What is it to us?" he asked.
Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pax Mangudadatu said he wanted the development of his
province "to continue under the present state of governance." Mangudadatu
said the ARMM had been slow in its development efforts despite its big annual
budget.
Piñol voiced out similar sentiments. "This is not a Christian-Muslim issue.
The main reason people will not be enticed to join is that they have not
seen changes (in the ARMM)," he said. Christian leaders said Misuari had
failed to deliver on his promises to develop the ARMM.
Even so, some Muslims led by Misuari have also threatened to boycott the
plebiscite amid a power struggle within the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) that forged a peace pact with Manila in 1996. The accord led to the
establishment of the ARMM.
A group of MNLF leaders who have accused Misuari of alleged mismanagement
recently ousted him as MNLF chair and replaced him with an executive
council led by Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema. Inquirer, 08/13/2001
WANTED: NEW JOB FOR MISUARI
(Inquirer News Service, PDI Mindanao Bureau), August 11, 2001
'Eased out'
Malacanang yesterday said that it was looking for another government post to
give to Nur Misuari who was eased out as chair of the Southern Philippines
Council for Peace and Development.
Presidential spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao said an ambassadorial post was one
of the options being considered but Misuari preferred a post that would not
require him to leave Mindanao.
"Misuari decided that he would stay in Mindanao to help out the Bangsamoro
people," Tiglao said. Asked if Misuari could be appointed as a presidential
adviser, Tiglao said "that could be one of the alternatives, but it has not
been decided what kind of post he would be agreeable to holding."
President Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema to
replace Misuari as SPCPD chair effective Aug. 10. Sema is secretary general
of the MNLF and a former executive director of the SPCPD.
Tiglao said the MNLF executive committee had given very "sensitive reasons"
for recommending Misuari’s replacement which prompted the President to act
immediately. He refused to divulge these reasons, but added that the government
was not duty-bound to appease Misuari.
The 15-man MNLF executive council made the recommendation to replace Misuari
with Sema as SPCPD chair two weeks ago. Tiglao downplayed fears that Misuari
who said he was "saddened" by the President’s decision, would resort to
violence.
He said Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo and Presidential Adviser for
Regional Affairs Paul Dominguez had talked to Misuari about two weeks ago.
"The two reported that Misuari would be agreeable (to his replacement) and
won’t resort to violence especially because he is still the ARMM governor.
He is still a member of government," Tiglao explained.
The President, however, has not yet talked to Misuari.
"The President would like to thank ARMM Gov. Nur Misuari for his magnanimity
and for his invaluable contribution to the historic peace settlement between
the government and the MNLF, including the many years he served the SPCPD as
chairman," Tiglao said in a statement.
"She hopes he will continue to help the government’s efforts to uplift the
lives of our Muslim brothers in another appointive position," he said. Tiglao
said that the President felt that the pace of social and economic development
in Mindanao must be quickened. "She would like to deliver the message that
peace and development are but both sides of the same coin, the coin of national
stability and progress," Tiglao said.
Cabinet officials earlier questioned the need to replace Misuari as SPCPD
chair when his term will end soon--after the results of the Aug. 14 ARMM
plebiscite are known, or on Nov. 26 at the latest.
In Cotabato City, reports said that Sema was being groomed by some Palace
officials to also replace Misuari as MNLF chair. But in an interview over
radio dxMY here, Sema professed surprise. "We never anticipated this action
from Malacañang," he said.
Sema is a member of the 15-member MNLF executive council that sidelined
Misuari and named him "chairman emeritus," a non-performing title.
'Plot to divide MNLF?'
Misuari immediately blamed an alleged Malacañang-instigated intrigue to divide
the MNLF that signed a peace pact with the government in 1996. An MNLF insider
said the council of 15 would have to choose from among themselves whom to
appoint overall leader of the organization.
It would likely be a fight between Sema and MNLF foreign affairs committee
chair Farouk Hussin, the source said. "But with Malacañang’s blessings bestowed
upon Sema when it appointed him SPCPD chair, the city mayor becomes a much
heavier contender to the highest MNLF post," he said.
Peace advocate Fr. Eliseo Mercado Jr. said, however, that the influential
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) still recognized Misuari as the
"legitimate leader of the MNLF" and the "MNLF as the voice of the Bangsamoro
people."
The OIC will have to pass another resolution in support of the new MNLF
leadership under the 15-member executive council, Mercado said. "The government
is now banking on the council of 15 to become the legitimate MNLF, its partner
in the peace agreement. It would no longer be the MNLF under Nur Misuari,"
commented Mercado, who believes that the MNLF power struggle was a Malacañang-
orchestrated game.
COTABATO CITY MAYOR REPLACES MISUARI AS SPCPD CHAIR: PALACE
INQ7.net, August 11, 2001
Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema is the new chairman of the Southern
Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD), according to a
statement Malacañang issued on Saturday.
Presidential spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao confirmed earlier reports that
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Sema on Aug. 3 through Executive
Order No. 29. Tiglao said the President’s directive also extended the term of
the SPCPD, a "transitional implementing structure envisioned in the 1996
Final Peace Agreement between the government and the MNLF (Moro National
Liberation Front) up to the conclusion of the plebiscite."
Sema, the MNLF secretary-general and former SPCPD executive director, would
be at the helm of the SPCPD when the southern region holds a plebiscite on
Aug. 14 to determine whether or not the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) would be expanded. At present, the ARMM comprises Lanao del Sur
Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
Sema replaces ARMM Governor Nur Misuari who was SPCPD chair in a concurrent
capacity.
Tiglao said the President would like to thank Misuari "for his magnanimity
and for his invaluable contribution to the historic peace settlement between
the government and the MNLF."
Amid Sema’s appointment was the signing of a peace accord between the
government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kuala Lumpur
during the President’s state visit to Malaysia. Like the MNLF, the MILF has
batted for autonomy in Mindanao for years.
With these developments, Tiglao said Ms Macapagal "feels that the pace of
social and economic development in Mindanao must be quickened to infuse the
spaces of normalcy with a bounty of jobs and livelihood opportunities."
MISUARI REJECTS MILF-MNLF COORDINATING COUNCIL
INQ7.net, August 10, 2001
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Gov. Nur Misuari rejected the Bangsa Moro
coordinating council established after the Moro National Liberation Front and
Moro Islamic Liberation Front agreed to unite in Cyberjaya, Malaysia last week.
In a television report, Misuari described the council as "a new Frankenstein in
the making," calling participating members of the MNLF "traitors" and lashed at
the government for using a "divide and rule tactic".
He also accused the Macapagal administration of violating the 1996 Peace
Agreement in pushing for the ARMM plebiscite on August 14. Misuari said the
move was "arbitrary" and his group was not properly consulted.
Misuari said he would continue "the struggle for peace and development of
Mindanao." When asked if it was an armed struggled, he replied, "only God would
know".
KL TRIP A BIG SUCCESS, SAYS MACAPAGAL: DAVAO CITY -- "I am glad to report
we accomplished everything which we set out to achieve and much more,"
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared after her arrival here yesterday
afternoon from a three-day state visit to Malaysia in pursuit of "peace and
development."
Among the achievements, the President announced:
• Proposed joint ventures for the establishment of palm oil plantations in
Mindanao.
• The resumption of direct flights between Malaysia and Mindanao.
• The establishment of a gas pipeline between the two countries.
• Establishment of a de facto embassy in the Malaysian state of Sabah to
protect the thousands of undocumented Filipino workers there.
During the President's visit to Malaysia, Manila also signed a ceasefire pact
with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which had waged a rebellion in
Mindanao for the last 30 years.
"When I talked about peace, I talked about Mindanao. When I talked about trade
I talked about Mindanao. When I talked about investments I talked about
Mindanao. When I talked about Eaga (the East Asian Growth Area), I talked
about Mindanao," Ms Macapagal said addressing a gathering of foreign and local
businessmen at the Marco Polo Hotel here.
Ms Macapagal said peace would speed the economic growth of Mindanao and had
urged Malaysian businessmen to make Mindanao their gateway to investment in
the country, citing the proximity of Mindanao to Malaysia and the recently
signed ceasefire accord.
The President herself made Mindanao the gateway for her homecoming as she
chose to land in Davao, considered the region's commercial center. She was
scheduled to spend the night there.
The President pledged anew during her speech before the businessmen to wipe
out the Abu Sayyaf, now the only Muslim militant group fighting in Mindanao
which still holds 21 US and Filipino hostages in Basilan. Investment would
also help end the fighting in Mindanao, Ms Macapagal said, stressing that
"a peace agreement is a piece of paper unless we have development." She called
on assembled businessmen to "take advantage of these doors we opened up in my
visit to Malaysia."
The President was also greeted by picketers from various groups, including
farmers, the militants led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and Bayan Muna.
While Ms Macapagal was announcing the good news on the forging of the ceasefire
deal between the government and the MILF, protesters demanded the resolution of
the Bangsamoro conflict.
The Akbayan and Freedom from Debt Coalition met the President at the
airport with calls for peace in Mindanao.
The main thrust, Ms Macapagal said, is to provide more employment for Filipinos
and to do that, the government must first attract investors. She said she had
directed Secretary Mar Roxas to include local government units in his "one-stop
shop" project.
"If foreign businessmen don't want to invest in the Philippines, then we
shall."
So declared the leaders of "Ang Tunay Na Pinoy Movement" launched in Kuala
Lumpur on the eve of the President's departure during a gathering of
Malaysia-based Filipino workers.
Charina Chaku, one of the movement's leaders, said they aim to raise P1
million as a start-up fund for a business in Manila. So far, they have
already raised P630,000 from fellow Pinoys.
President Macapagal noted that the Malaysia's Filipino community is the first
among Filipino expatriates who are setting up a common fund for investment in
Manila. There are around 600,000 OFWs in Malaysia, most of them undocumented
illegal aliens who sneak into the country via Sabah. Inquirer, 08/10/2001
CEASEFIRE GUIDELINES BARED; TALKS TO CONTINUE NEXT MONTH: The ceasefire
guidelines signed by the Philippine government and the Muslim secessionist
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday prohibit
"hostile and provocative acts, harboring of criminals and lawless elements
and all other acts that endanger the safety and security of the people of
Mindanao," according to a Malacanang announcement.
Under the guidelines the two sides "agreed to normalize the situation in
conflict areas in Mindanao and pave the way for the successful conduct of
relief, rehabilitation and development programs," the announcement said.
The guidelines implement an agreement for peace entered into by the parties
in Tripoli, Libya on June 22, 2001.
The negotiating panels agreed to hold their next rounds of talks in September
this year to discuss the remaining agenda items on rehabilitation development
and ancestral domain, the statement added.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir
Mohamad welcomed the signing of the ceasefire guidelines.
The two leaders likewise welcomed the unity agreement signed between Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
to promote lasting peace in Mindanao. Inquirer, 08/08/2001
HASHIM SALAMAT: THE ISLAMIC SCHOLAR TURNED REBEL ROUSER
Agence France Presse, August 08, 2001
Hashim Salamat, the head of the largest Filipino Muslim rebel group which
signed a ceasefire pact Tuesday with the authorities, is a religious scholar
who spent most of his adult life in the jungle or in foreign exile fighting
the Philippine government.
Following the landmark agreement, the 59-year-old Salamat, who is chairman
and founder of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is expected to come
in from the cold and lead a more active public life.
Born to an affluent and aristocratic Muslim clan in the southern island of
Mindanao, Salamat left on a traditional pilgrimage to Mecca when he was 16
and did not return home until 1970, ready to wage war on his government.
Military intelligence officials say Salamat clandestinely organized a core
group of Filipino Muslim students who planned a separatist guerrilla campaign
from Egypt in the early 1960s.
He also arranged the training in the east Malaysian state of Sabah in 1970 of
the first armed cadres of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the
officials say. Among the 90 trainees was former professor Nur Misuari of the
University of the Philippines, who would later serve as founding chairman of
the MNLF.
The MNLF "jihad" or holy war broke out in Mindanao in October 1971, with Salamat
serving as vice chairman.
A stickler for the strict interpretation of the Koran in the culture of the
southern Philippines, Salamat parted ways with Misuari in the late 1970s
accusing his ally of hewing too closely with the communist line.
An MILF document said Salamat was first educated in his own house, tutored by
his mother. At age six he could read the Koran and had memorized some of its
verses. He completed primary and secondary education at government-run schools
in the town of Pagalungan before going on his pilgrimage.
The military said he reached Cairo in 1959, where he was caught up in the
political activism in the Middle East at the time. He established a group
called the Philippine Student Union that staged several demonstrations
protesting the oppression of Muslims in Mindanao.
He enrolled at the Al Azhar University to pursue a study of Islamic theology
and philosophy. Civil war in his homeland prevented him from finishing his
doctoral dissertation.
The 12,500-strong MILF said its top leader spent the 1980s in self-exile in
Pakistan, where he "ordered the deployment of hundreds of MILF guerrillas
alongside Afghanistan's mujahideen, who were then fighting the Soviet-backed
Kabul government."
Meanwhile his group recruited thousands of Filipino Muslim youths who were
sent to Islamic schools in the Middle East. On their return to Mindanao,
"they served as Salamat's aides in the implementation of the MILF Islamization
program and jihad activities in the homeland."
After long-serving Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos was toppled in a
popular revolt in 1986, Salamat returned home and set up his headquarters at
Camp Abubakar, a sprawling MILF training camp in the central Mindanao rainforest.
Wearing a black Muslim cap, horn-rimmed glasses and sporting a wild goatee
the stocky but greying rebel leader presided over a low-level rebellion from
a fortified bungalow stocked with books.
The military, under the orders of former president Joseph Estrada, routed
the MILF from dozens of its camps last year, accusing the group of training
Indonesian separatists at the camp.
But the MILF was not stifled until Estrada’s successor President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo offered the hands of reconciliation after she stormed to
power in January.
RED CARPET FOR MACAPAGAL: (KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia yesterday rolled out the red
carpet for President Macapagal-Arroyo on the first day of her state visit
highlighted by the signing of a ceasefire pact between Manila and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front.
Philippine and MILF negotiators signed the pact at Putrajaya, Malaysia's new
administrative capital just outside Kuala Lumpur. The MILF also sealed a unity
accord with the Moro National Liberation Front, bridging a 23-year split.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid, who earlier welcomed Ms Macapagal
and her 90-member delegation at the airport, quoted her as saying that the
two pacts made her three-day visit "fulfilling and satisfying."
She was immediately whisked to Parliament Square upon her arrival where she
was given a full-scale ceremonial welcome by the Malaysian king, Sultan
Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Ms Macapagal, making her first state visit since assuming the presidency in
January, met briefly with King Salahuddin and Mahathir at the five-star
Shangri-La Hotel where she will be staying until Thursday.
After lunch, the Philippine leader was driven south to the Putrajaya
administrative center where she thanked Mahathir for brokering Manila's
peace deal with the MILF.
The two leaders also discussed a wide range of issues, including joint
border patrol and efforts to revive the so-called East Asian Growth Area
covering southern Philippines, eastern Malaysia, Brunei and northern
Indonesia.
The Malaysian king will host a state banquet for Ms Macapagal at the palace
late Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Ms Macapagal will meet Malaysian business leaders to invite
them to invest in the Philippines. Inquirer, 08/08/2001
MILF, GOV'T SIGN FORMAL CEASEFIRE ACCORD
Agence France-Presse, August 07, 2001
(PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia) The largest Philippine Muslim separatist group, the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), signed a formal ceasefire pact here
Tuesday with the Philippine government.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid
Albar at the Putrajaya government administrative center, where visiting
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad were holding talks.
The MILF also signed a unity pact with a smaller Muslim separatist group, the
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), to forge peace in the impoverished
southern Philippines.
Officials earlier said the pacts would be signed in the presence of Arroyo
who arrived here Tuesday on her first foreign trip since taking office in
January.
But chief Philippine negotiator Jesus Dureza said there was "no expectation
of Arroyo witnessing the signing" of the treaty, outlining guidelines to
enforce a ceasefire agreement made in Libya in June. "This is good news for
everybody. If we are able to silence the gun and move into development, it is
a dream of every Mindanao," he told Agence France-Presse, referring to the
main island in the southern Philippines that has been racked by separatist
violence since the early 70s. "This ceasefire is immediate but we have to do
a lot of work on the ground."
After the signing, Dureza and MILF officials met briefly with Mahathir and
Ms Macapagal. He said the President congratulated them and called for
development in Mindanao.
Predominantly-Muslim Malaysia has been hosting talks between Manila and the
MILF to help end a 23-year-old rebellion in the southern Philippines. Dureza
said a monitoring team made up of non-governmental organizations and local
governments would observe the ceasefire pact containing guidelines on security
aspects.
The next round of talks between the MILF and Manila would be held next month
at a place to be decided later, he added.
MILF chief negotiator Murad Ebrahim earlier said the pact comprised guidelines
to implement a "cessation of hostilities..., mechanisms to normalize the
situation in the Bangsamoro (Moro) homeland, and security and immunity aspects."
The treaty brokered in Kuala Lumpur would involve monitoring teams from
Malaysia, Indonesia and Libya representing the 56-member Organization of Islamic
Conference, he said.
Both Murad and Dureza have said there was still a long way to go before a formal
peace agreement could be reached.
ARMED FORCES CHIEF WARNS MILF AGAINST FUTURE ATTACKS
Agence France-Presse and INQ7.net, August 07, 2001
(ZAMBOANGA) Armed Forces chief General Diomedio Villanueva on Tuesday warned
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) against breaking its newly signed
ceasefire pact with the Philippine government.
Villanueva issued the warning hours after the signing of the formal ceasefire
agreement in Kuala Lumpur, which presidential adviser on Mindanao Jesus Dureza
earlier described as "a dream of everyone in Mindanao".
Villanueva said government soldiers were prepared to retaliate if the MILF
violates the ceasefire and launches attacks on military positions and civilian
communities. "We have to see to it that our soldiers are safe and are not
disadvantaged in the fighting," he said.
He said the military respected the peace initiatives but added that attacks
by MILF guerrillas could "strain our patience to the limit". The general was
reacting to an ambush staged by MILF rebels in the town of Pikit in North
Cotabato province on Monday that left a junior officer dead and four soldiers
wounded.
The troops were on the trail of an unidentified armed group that snatched a
Chinese contractor when they were ambushed by some 25 MILF guerrillas, Villanueva
said.
The MILF had also signed ceasefire agreements with administrations preceding that
of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The accords were often broken, with
each side accusing the other of provoking deadly clashes.
The government’s peace efforts with the Muslim secessionist groups do not
involve the small Abu Sayyaf bandit group, which is holding 21 Filipino and
American hostages on southern Basilan island, where the MILF also operates.
MNLF, MILF WILL NOT MERGE, KABALU INSIST
INQ7.net, August 08, 2001
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front will
not reunite, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said. Kabalu insisted in a television
interview the two groups have "no plans to merge." He said the recent agreement
between the MILF and the MNLF which was initialized in Kuala Lumpur was merely
a "framework of unity".
He reiterated that both groups will retain their separate identities while
spurred by their common Islamic background to reconcile as Muslim brothers.
MNLF signed a peace deal with the government in 1996. MILF, who broke off from
MNLF, is holding separate peace negotiations with the Philippine government.
The separate talks will continue, Kabalu said.
"We are still looking for a final and lasting political solution," Kabalu said.
"But it is still far off."
Earlier, the government and the MILF signed in Kuala Lumpur ceasefire guidelines
which prohibit "hostile and provocative acts" between the two parties.
Meantime, Kabalu said the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao headed by MNLF
chairman and founder Nur Misuari is not part of the solution. However, he
refused to give an alternative governing structure. Kabalu said that there is
an "internal rift" within the MNLF but added the MILF will not interfere in
the group's internal politics.
MNLF, MILF FORGE PACT FOR LASTING PEACE: The Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's two largest
Muslim separatist factions, reached a "unity agreement" in Malaysia yesterday
to end more than two decades of estrangement and rivalry.
At Malacanang, President Arroyo said she hopes negotiations with Muslim rebels
will proceed more smoothly if they can speak with a unified voice. The two
Muslim groups would consolidate under the banner "Moro People Solidarity
Conference" at international forums and in cooperating with the government.
A consultative council would be formed to coordinate all activities.
Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao welcomed news of the MILF-MNLF
pact.
The deal between the MNLF and MILF was reached after two days of intensive
talks in Cyberjaya, some 50 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur. MILF vice
chairman and chief negotiator Murad Eibrahim said his side and the MNLF will
formally sign the agreement on Aug. 7 when Mrs. Arroyo arrives in Malaysia for
a two-day visit.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the agreement was prompted by the need to
unify efforts of the MILF and MNLF to achieve "peace, unity, freedom, self-
determination and progress" for the Muslim minority in Mindanao. "However, the
identity of the MNLF will be maintained and so with the MILF. This is not a
merger," Kabalu said.
Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak witnessed the "initializing" of the
agreement by Eibrahim and MNLF executive council head Hatimil Hassan. Najib
said the breakup of the MNLF that led to the formation of the MILF had been a
setback for the Muslim struggle.
Najib described the accord as the "beginning of a new era for the Moro people"
and said the two groups would observe a ceasefire and not wage war against the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Hassan said the group would not push
for an Islamic state but for greater autonomy.
The unity talks were pushed by three Muslim states: Malaysia, Libya and
Indonesia. Jakarta brokered talks between Manila and the MNLF. Libya hosted
the reopened talks with the MILF and Malaysia is hosting the current round
of negotiations.
The agreement calls on both groups to send a common observer delegation to
represent the two groups in meetings of the Organization of Islamic Conference
(OIC), a grouping of Muslim states that pursue common interests.
Previously, only the MNLF was recognized as a representative of the Muslims
in the Philippines. Quoting from the unity document, Kabalu said the two
factions also responded to the "desire" of members of the OIC, for the
"parties to the conflict in the south of the Philippines to arrive at the
common stand for peace, justice and development in the name of national,
regional and global stability."
MILF officials said they were likely to resume talks with government
negotiators tomorrow. Talks started at a southern Malaysia state on July 24
but were adjourned as negotiators returned to Manila to seek consent. Phil.
Star, 08/04/2001
MISUARI'S BLOC HITS UNITY PACT
Inquirer News Service, August 05, 2001
(COTABATO CITY) The Misuari faction of the Moro National Liberation Front has
dismissed as “an illusion” the unity pact forged recently by the MNLF executive
committee and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
"The MILF is working for independence while the MNLF has agreed to genuine
autonomy", Absalom Cervesa, a close aide of MNLF chair and ARMM Gov. Nur
Misuari, said yesterday.
Cervesa, who represents the Christians in the MNLF, said the MILF, a breakaway
faction of the MNLF, and the MNLF cannot possibly come together before because
they have separate objectives. "How can you unite those calling for independence
and those who agreed for autonomy in the same areas?" he asked in a telephone
interview with dxMS.
"It’s difficult to reunite a dog and a cat, tie their tails and both would go
in different directions", Cervesa said. But Ghadzali Jaafar, speaking for the
MILF, said the unity pact does not necessarily mean that the armed forces of
the MNLF and MILF would be unified.
"We will support each other, work for the welfare of our people but we will
maintain our organizational independence", he said. MNLF secretary general and
Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema, a member of the MNLF council of 15 which
toppled Misuari who was then named chairman emeritus, said the general
framework for unity was signed in Malaysia with Najib Tun Razak, Malaysia’s
defense minister, as a witness.
The joint community assured that the MILF’s reuniting with the latter would
not constitute a military threat to the government. "The MNLF will continue to
honor its commitment to the final peace agreement. Peace, freedom and progress
are the only causes for which the draft agreement was reached by the two fronts"
it said.
Sema said the formal signing of the unity pact will be done on Aug. 7 when
President Macapagal-Arroyo makes her visit to Malaysia. Shared autonomy for
the MNLF and MILF was one of the issues discussed in the initial talks between
the government and the MILF in Libya and in the ongoing negotiations in Kuala
Lumpur, a source privy to the talks said.
The President has said any agreement forged with the MILF should be "within
the framework" of the peace accord signed with the MNLF in 1996. "We will go
for anything that is genuine, just and a lasting solution to the Mindanao
problem, be it independence, autonomy and what have you", said Jaafar
commenting on the President’s statement.
MACAPAGAL SAYS NO PEACE ACCORD SIGNING SCHEDULED WITH MILF
Agence France-Presse, August 03, 2001
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday downplayed the chance of a peace
pact being signed with a Muslim separatist group next week even as she welcomed
a deal to unite the group with another Muslim secessionist faction.
A deal to reunite the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and its estranged
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was announced in Malaysia Friday after
two days of talks. The actual signing of the agreement is due next week during
Ms Macapagal's visit to Kuala Lumpur planned for August 7-8, her first trip
abroad since she became President in January.
Her trip has sparked speculation here that a peace agreement with the 12,500-
member MILF is imminent as the group is holding peace talks with Manila in
Malaysia.
But the President stressed at a press conference that "there is no projected
signing" of a peace deal. "I don't believe in putting timetables on those
things. The important thing is, there is peace on the ground and development
on the ground," she said.
She added that she hoped "any agreement with the MILF would be in the context
of the (government-MNLF) agreement that was forged a few years ago in Indonesia."
The two Muslim groups signed a unity intent Friday at a ceremony near Kuala
Lumpur witnessed by Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak. They said the
actual deal would be forged during Ms Macapagal’s state visit to Malaysia.
The MNLF is the most powerful Muslim group in the southern Philippines, where
its founder and chairman Nur Misuari heads a Muslim autonomous region that
was carved out by virtue of the 1995 peace accord.
On August 14 a plebiscite is due to be held in the southern Mindanao region
to ask the electorate there if they want to join the autonomous region.
Ms Macapagal described Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as a "friend"
of the Philippines and said the foremost objective of her visit would be to
thank him for his help in hosting the peace talks with the MILF.
She said Malaysia and the Philippines, as founding members of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), could help revive growth in the region
and forge stronger trade relations.
She said she would also discuss with Mahathir security concerns, after a
series of kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf rebels, who also took captives from
a resort in Malaysia's Sipadan island last year.
"We share security concerns. We are neighbours and we have adjoining sea
lanes where pirates and bandits roam. The two countries have to guard shared
waterways," she said.
2 LARGEST MUSLIM SEPARATIST GROUPS UNITE
INQ7.net with Agence France-Presse, August 03, 2001
(CYBERJAYA, Malaysia) The Philippines' two largest Muslim separatist factions
agreed Friday to unite to forge a lasting peace in the impoverished southern
Philippines.
The deal between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) was reached after two days of intensive talks in
Cyberjaya, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) south of Kuala Lumpur.
The MNLF has already struck a peace deal with the Philippine government, while
the MILF is holding talks with Manila in Malaysia for a separate peace agreement.
Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak witnessed the "initialising" of the
agreement -- marking an intent to unite -- with the actual signing to take place
when Philippine President Gloria Arroyo makes a two-day visit here from Tuesday.
Najib said the breakup of the MNLF, which led to the formation of the MILF in
1976, had been a set-back to the Muslim struggle in the largely Roman Catholic
Philippines.
"The consequences of this breakup had far-reaching effects on the leadership
of the Moro (Philippine Muslim) people and fragmented the directions of your
struggle," he said at the ceremony.
"The agreement will provide (a) new platform for a more lasting solution to
resolve the Moro people's problem," the Malaysian minister said. The accord
will give the two factions a united front in cooperating with the Philippine
government, Najib noted.
MNLF vice president Hatimil Hassan said unity was crucial to promoting peace
and prosperity in the poverty-struck southern Philippines. The group would
not push for an Islamic state but greater autonomy, he added.
"There are Muslims and Christians there. We respect all religions. We will
not push for an Islamic state but we will leave that to the people," he told
Agence France-Presse. The MILF's vice chairman for military affairs, Murad
Ebrahim, said the unity agreement would promote the peace cause after three
decades of insurgency.
"We should leave behind the differences that set us apart and together as one
let us move forward and secure for ourselves the bounties of freedom which
have been denied the Moro people for so long," he said.
Earlier, a television report said that the united MNLF and MILF would be called
the Bangsa Moro Solidarity Conference. A formal signing ceremony on the
unification of the two groups will be witnessed by President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad on August 7 in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, it said.
MILF, MNLF IN REUNIFICATION TALKS: Moro secessionist rebels holding peace
talks with the Philippine government are holding separate negotiations to
rejoin a Muslim faction that has already made peace with Manila, officials
said Thursday.
The contacts between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) are being made as the MILF conducts talks
with the Philippine government in Malaysia, they said.
The MILF resulted from a 1978 splinter of the MNLF, which signed a peace
treaty with the government in 1995 to end its 24-year separatist rebellion
in the southern Philippines.
"They have not merged, but there are talks for the MILF and the MNLF to
merge," President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao
told reporters.
A senior Macapagal adviser on the peace talks, retired general Eduardo
Ermita, said the government had received reports that factions of the MNLF
leadership and the MILF were holding reconciliation talks. He said there was
an apparent "leadership struggle" in the MNLF's 15-member executive council
with certain members pushing for reunification with the MILF.
The MNLF founder and chair, Nur Misuari, is "apparently not in favor" of
this proposal, Ermita told radio station DZRH.
The region is to hold a plebiscite on Aug. 14 for residents of other
provinces to decide whether they wish to join the autonomous area, which
now comprises four Muslim-majority southern provinces.
Officials said a key government objective in the peace talks with the MILF
was to convince the group to accept autonomy under the framework of the
peace accord with the MNLF. Inquirer, 08/03/2001
MILF REBELS KILL CIVILIANS IN RAID ON FARMING VILLAGE
Agence France-Presse, August 01, 2001
(ZAMBOANGA) Two civilians were killed in a raid by Muslim separatists in the
southern Philippines, violating a truce amid peace talks being held in
Malaysia, the military said Wednesday.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas swooped on Tuesday on a
small village in Alamada town in North Cotabato province and indiscriminately
fired on farmers' huts, the military said. "They shot dead at least two
civilians who were fleeing from their homes before retreating to the
hinterlands," local army spokesman Maj. Julieto Ando said.
The military immediately set up detachments in nearby villages to thwart
further attacks, Ando said. "We do not want civilians to be target boards of
the rebels and the army has beefed-up patrols in many far-flung areas in
central (Mindanao) where terrorists are believed to be still hiding," Ando
said.
The MILF is the Philippines' main Islamic insurgent group, waging a 23-year
rebellion against Manila. Its leaders are currently in Malaysia for a second
round of peace negotiations with Philippines officials.
It was not clear how the attack could affect the negotiations.
Both sides had signed a ceasefire accord in Libya ahead of the talks.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to fly to Malaysia for a two-
day visit next week to personally thank Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for
hosting the negotiations.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar on Tuesday said Kuala Lumpur was
hoping a peace pact could be signed during Ms Macapagal's visit beginning
August 7.
ARROYO VISIT TO KL: RP-MILF PACT INKED?: President Arroyo might witness the
historic signing of a peace agreement between the government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) when she embarks on a three-day state visit
to Malaysia starting Aug. 7.
When Mrs. Arroyo leaves for Malaysia next week, Executive Secretary Alberto
Romulo will take over the running of day-to-day affairs at Malacanang.
Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said Mrs. Arroyo will not appoint a
caretaker committee that would run the government during her absence as her
ousted predecessor Joseph Estrada had done.
Government and rebel negotiators adjourned their talks yesterday after a
week of meetings in Port Dickson, a Malaysian coastal resort, to give flesh
to a ceasefire framework agreed last month in Libya.
Murad Ebrahim, chief of the MILF armed forces, said yesterday the talks
will resume Sunday in Putrajaya two days before Mrs. Arroyo arrives. On the
other hand, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told the Malaysian
news agency Bernama his government hoped the two parties would sign a peace
agreement during Mrs. Arroyo's visit.
Tiglao said Mrs. Arroyo will look into possible areas of cooperation in
information technology (IT) with Malaysian companies during her state
visit.
Tiglao said Mrs. Arroyo had chosen Malaysia as the first stop in her ASEAN
tour because Prime Minister Mohammad Mahathir had helped in convincing the
MILF to hold peace talks with the government. Phil. Star, 08/01/2001
