Tuesday, September 02, 2008 Military warned against setting foot on MILF peace office
THE MILF peace negotiating panel satellite office in Butig, Lanao del Sur unless they want the Philippine-MILF ceasefire agreement to totally break up.
The MILF claimed that Aleem Abdul Aziz Mimbantas, MILF vice chairman for military affairs, is holding office at the MILF peace panel satellite office as well as the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), the development agency of the MILF for the peace process with the government.
The satellite office was said to have been established in 2006 as duly concurred by the Philippine–MILF peace negotiating panels.
The MILF said the military earlier vowed never to set foot or attack the satellite office upon negotiations made by the local government executives of the Lanao province.
“But since yesterday (Sunday) the AFP seemed to forget its solemn vow as its huge troops with their artillery assets started again to move, consolidate, and surround the satellite office. Thousands of people already evacuated, other municipalities had virtually become ghost towns,” the MILF claimed.
The MILF had been complaining to the government that its punitive actions against MILF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato and Abdullah Macapaar alias Bravo had already affected other units of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF -MILF) such as the 104th Base Command, 107th Base Command, MILF Central Committee Task Force Ittihad based in Maguindanao, Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Elements (JCMEs) of the government- MILF Ceasefire Committee, and 117th Base Command due to its indiscriminate manner of operations.
Efforts to get the reaction of the military's Joint Force Mindanao in Lanao proved futile as of this Monday. (BOT)
