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Monday, February 09, 2004
JI links shadow MILF negotiations with gov't
DAVAO -- Peace talks between the government and Muslim separatist rebels may be stymied by suspected links between the group and regional militant network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a top official said Sunday.
Government peace negotiations said JI "would remain to be a continuing major concern" that may affect the talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), military chief of staff Lieutenant General Rodolfo Garcia said.
"We have an ongoing mission pertaining to the JI," Garcia told reporters here after meeting with an MILF panel enforcing a ceasefire pact with the government.
The MILF and government panels had created a joint interim action team to prevent and address the occurrence of armed encounters between secessionist group members and government troops.
Called the I-ACT, the team was created during the 15th Joint Meeting in Davao between the government's and MILF's coordinating committees on the cessation of hostilities.
According to Garcia, the government is still trying to establish whether members of JI -- the group thought to be responsible for the Bali bombing -- were training in MILF camps in the main southern island of Mindanao, he said.
The military earlier said some 30 Indonesian militants allegedly belonging to the JI are believed to be in southern Mindanao island, where the MILF has been fighting for the establishment of an independent Islamic state since 1978.
The MILF has earlier denied having links with the JI, said to be the southeast Asian arm of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
President Arroyo had called on the MILF to cut off links to the JI as a precondition for the resumption of formal negotiations, which may be hosted by Malaysia soon.
Both the MILF and the government earlier agreed to a ceasefire and create a monitoring team headed by Malaysian observers to oversee violations in the agreement.
The I-ACT is one such ceasefire mechanism ensuring that incidents like the Pikit armed conflict in February last year will not happen again.
A series of armed encounters hit Central Mindanao last year as a result of government's hot pursuit operations against lawless elements in areas controlled by the MILF.
Garcia said the I-ACT will foster better coordination between the MILF and the government, especially during military and police operations conducted in areas identified with the MILF.
Both panels reportedly agreed on the "temporary relocation" of MILF forces to a neutral place when government troops pursue lawless elements in their areas.
Benjie Midtimbang, chair of the MILF committee on the cessation of hostilities, said he sees nothing wrong with the "temporary relocation" as long as government provides for their forces during the relocation. Sun.Star Davao/AFP
(February 9, 2004 issue)
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