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Thursday, December 15, 2005
Military insists MILF broke truce accord
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The military on Wednesday insisted the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were recruiting new fighters and said it would file a protest with the government peace panel.
The MILF, the country's largest Muslim separatist rebel group, signed a ceasefire agreement in 2001 and is currently negotiating peace with Manila.
"We maintain what we say and we have documents to back our reports about the MILF violations of the ceasefire. They continue to recruit and train rebels in Mindanao," said Colonel Domingo Tutaan, Southern Command chief of staff.
While the military supports the government peace process, it said it will not allow the MILF to use the ceasefire agreement and negotiations to build up its forces.
"We continue to observe and support the primacy of the peace process, but the military also has to perform its mandate for the conduct of internal security," said Tutaan.
Presidential peace adviser Ramon Santos said there were no indications that the MILF violated the fragile truce agreement.
The MILF also denied the reports, and said the military was trying to scuttle the peace talks, now on its final negotiations.
Southern Command chief Lieutenant General Edilberto Adan on Monday accused the MILF of secretly training recruits and indoctrinating them to carry out suicide attacks.
The training, he said, put in doubt the MILF sincerity in the peace talks.
Adan said intelligence reports suggested that as many as 4,000 were recruited and trained by rebel forces in at least 8 provinces and towns across Mindanao.
The training included indoctrination to suicide attack missions, commando and guerrilla tactics and warfare, and weapons and marksmanship, and explosives, among others, he said.
Western intelligence had previously linked the MILF to the Indonesian Jemaah al-Islamiya group and the al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden.
Adan said: "There had been decentralized and specialized training activities with the purpose of enhancing the military skills of its members and maintain their war-fighting preparedness."
He warned the MILF to cease from recruiting civilians and training rebels in the strife-torn region. But he did not say if the military will take offensive action to stop the rebels from continuing with their activities.
"I am warning the MILF that any training activity that is military in nature is considered an offensive action. The Southern Command will not take these violations lightly and allow such deceptive strategy to continue," Adan said.
Villagers in Tungawan town near Zamboanga City told the military that they saw armed MILF rebels training recruits in the hinterlands.
Zamboanga City officials also said the MILF was allegedly recruiting young men in the Muslim enclave of Taluksangay.
An unidentified van driver in Zamboanga City also told the police that he drove a huge group of MILF recruits from Basilan, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi last week to the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay.
Military sources said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was briefed by Adan about the MILF trainings when she visited Zamboanga City on Saturday.
The MILF on Wednesday accused the military of trying to derail the peace talks.
A statement posted on the MILF's website said: "A good partner in peace-making is one that is strong and is capable of fulfilling part of the deal."
"It is a must in every peace negotiation that there should be a high level of trust and confidence between the parties, otherwise their efforts will be in vain."
Khaled Musa, MILF deputy chairman, said Adan's accusation was provocative and unfounded.
"The MILF nowadays is mainly conducting capability-building, either as a requisite for sound organization or in preparation for nation-building just in case the peace talks succeed," Musa said.
The MILF said Adan's statement was so serious that it could affect the ongoing peace talks.
It said it has filed a protest against Adan with the government peace panel and Malaysia, which is brokering the peace talks.
"Adan's statement is considered a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement that could arrest the momentum of the peace talks, which is now on the final stretch," the MILF said.
Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, admitted that the MILF has been regularly training its forces, but all these were part of a regular program to enhance the skills of its members.
"There is nothing illegal about these activities. The MILF has not violated the ceasefire agreement. We are sincere in the peace talks," he said.
Kabalu appealed to the public to support the peace process. "Help us realize this dream, join us in our search for just and lasting peace," he said.
Many Arab countries, including the influential Organization of Islamic Conference, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and the United States strongly support the peace talks.
President George W. Bush offered as much as $30 million in financial assistance to help develop Mindanao should the MILF seal a peace accord with the Arroyo government. The money would be used to help the rebels get back to mainstream society.
President Arroyo previously said that 80 percent of the peace talks have been completed and that peace in Mindanao is within reach.
MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim has said that his group is sincere in the talks and is willing to end the war in Mindanao. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(December 15, 2005 issue)
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