Sunday, February 04, 2007
Palace exec, general held in Muslim rebel camp
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- A government peace delegation tasked to discuss development projects under a long-standing peace agreement were not allowed to leave a Muslim rebel camp, officials said Saturday.
But hopes are high that Marine Major General Benjamin Dolorfino and Undersecretary Ramon Santos and their companions who were held by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Panamao, Sulu might be allowed to leave camp by Sunday morning, Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said.
Dolorfino and his group will have to spend another night at the camp near Panamao town while "negotiations" were underway between government emissaries and Habier Malik, a commander of the MNLF, Dureza said.
"I cannot give anything yet, but it's very positive," he said by cell phone from Jolo town.
"My emissary is now on the way back. Barring complications I see an early resolution" in which the general and his group could leave the camp safely, he said. "Give me overnight, things may happen."
Dureza, who is in Jolo said he spoke with Malik by phone, but refused to give details.
He sent Dolorfino and Santos, one of his undersecretaries, to meet Malik Friday about development projects for the area as part of the peace deal signed by the MNLF in 1996.
Dolorfino told The Associated Press by cell phone that Malik was treating him and about 20 others, including 12 soldiers, as "guests." He said the soldiers were not disarmed.
"I will let the policy-makers handle this," Dolorfino said.
MNLF denial
Malik in a separate interview denied he was holding the general and the others hostage.
"Yesterday we requested them to accept our invitation to stay overnight to continue the discussions because we have to talk about many things," Malik said, referring to accidental clashes between MNLF rebels and government troops.
MNLF Spokesperson Abdurahman Jamasali said the earlier reports that members of a 25-man peace delegation, led by Santos and Dolorfino, were seized by an MNLF faction in the far-flung village of Bitan-ag was "totally false and totally untrue."
Jamasali said Santos and Dolorfino were holding a discussion with MNLF members when they were invited to stay longer to talk about forthcoming summit between the MNLF, the Philippine government, and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The three-day event is scheduled to begin on February 6, 2007, he said.
Dureza said the MNLF was under the impression that the tripartite talks to be held in Jeddah will be totally scrapped.
He explained that the government already set with OIC deputy secretary general Ambassador Sayed El Masri, who is now in Jeddah, the preparatory meeting for the tripartite talks in March.
"We also explained that we cannot call the tripartite meeting prior to the election because we would wish that the tripartite meeting will not be inflicted with the political environment that may not be conducive to a tripartite meeting," Dureza said in a television interview.
Dolorfino was reported to have confirmed that the delegation members were not held hostage.
"I'm okay. I'm not being held captive. We are treated as guests, my guards are not being disarmed," Dolorfino said.
The OIC brokered the peace talks between the government and the MNLF that paved the way for the signing of the Peace Accord in September 1996.
The MNLF, however, accused the government of not fulfilling the provisions of the agreement.
Nur Misuari, head of the MNLF panel, signed the Peace Accord with then President Fidel Ramos, ending decades of Muslim rebellion in Mindanao.
Under the peace agreement, the government was mandated to initiate economic development programs in Muslim areas in Mindanao. Part of the master plan was the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
Dolorfino said in a television interview that he told Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon "our situation is OK."
Dolorfino said his presence at the camp would push the OIC, which brokered the peace talks with the MNLF, and the government speed up implementation of the peace agreement.
Benjamin Loong, governor of Sulu province, which includes Jolo, said Dolorfino and the others have been in Malik's camp since 4 p.m. Friday. They were being given "VIP treatment" but were not allowed to leave.
He said Dolorfino, who has converted to Islam, and Malik are friends.
"General Dolorfino has been in and out of there," he said.
Malik is a supporter of Misuari, who signed the peace agreement for the MNLF but has been jailed for allegedly leading another rebellion several years ago.
Dolorfino heads the National Capital Region Command, based in Manila, and the government's ad-hoc group that conducts joint operations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, another rebel group fighting for Muslim self-rule in the south but has entered into peace negotiations and signed a cease-fire agreement with the government. (Ulysess Israel/AP/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (February 4, 2007 issue)
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