Thursday, August 14, 2008 Umbra Kato is not a renegade: MILF By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is set to file a complaint against the government before the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) for attacking the group of MILF commander Ameril Umbra Kato.
In a telephone interview Tuesday, MILF military spokesman Eid Kabalu said Umbra Kato is not a renegade contrary to claims of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
He said Kato had been following directives from the MILF central committee and abiding with the order.
Kabalu said it was the AFP that initiated the attacks Sunday, pre-empting Kato's compliance with the government and MILF agreement to re-position their forces in some barangays in Midsayap and Aleosan.
In a statement, the general staff of the MILF Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (Biaf) officially claimed that Commander Kato of the MILF 105th Base Command is "no renegade commander."
"We will stand by him in any eventuality," the statement posted at www.luwaran.com read.
A senior official of the Biaf, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kato and his men had complied with the terms and conditions set forth in the government-MILF CCCH and International Monitoring Team (IMT) Joint Resolution forged on August 1, 2008.
This aimed at bringing back normalcy to the embattled areas of Aleosan and Midsayap through implementation of some ceasefire, peace and development measures, to include installation of local monitors on the ground (JMAT) and the re-positioning of troops.
"If the object of the current military offensive is Kato and his men, why other MILF forces in Pikit, Aleosan, Linumgan, and Pigkawayan are also targeted?" he asked.
On August 7, the government-MILF CCCH and IMT tackled the details for the re-positioning of MILF troops and the CVOs/Cafgus/PNP/AFP (government forces) from the MILF-occupied barangays in Aleosan.
They agreed that the MILF forces that are non-residents and locals of barangays Pagangan, Bago Libas, Dualing, and Dungguan of Aleosan and in barangays Baliki, Upper and Lower Labas of Midsayap will be moved out from the area back to their places of origin.
Similarly, the CVOs/Cafgus/PNP/AFP will move out from the area in order to enforce the ceasefire effectively and prevent further skirmishes between the warring forces in the areas.
The 24-hour ultimatum was blamed by the MILF for the armed conflict that started Sunday until Monday.
The ultimatum, the MILF said, rendered less binding the completion of the MILF forces' re-positioning in addition to the fact that government forces did not re-position anyway.
The Moro group accused the AFP of making lame excuses in order to carry out its pro-settlers' policy and deny the Bangsamoro people's fundamental rights to legitimately resist.
