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Saturday, September 06, 2008
MILF may revamp own peace panel
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) chief peace negotiator said Friday that the rebel group may follow the example of the government and will also revamp its own peace panel.
Mohagher Iqbal, head of MILF negotiating panel, said the MILF Central Committee is calling for a meeting to decide whether to follow the government action and revamp its own panel or not.
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Iqbal said whatever their decision, he hoped that civil society groups in Mindanao would continue supporting the peace process between the MILF and the Philippine government.
He said the MILF remained committed in ending the decades-old conflict in Mindanao despite the recent outbreak of violence in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte.
Iqbal made this statement in a phone interview with Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao (INPeace Mindanao) Friday.
But as soon as Igbal disclosed MILF's plan to revamp its own peace panel, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced that at least a thousand troops have been rushed to Mindanao "to protect communities and help in the relief effort."
Military spokesman Brigadier General Jorge Segovia said two infantry battalions will be redeployed to Mindanao.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo disbanded recently the government's peace negotiating team with the MILF and ordered peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon to review all existing agreements with the rebels.
In the 11-year history of the Philippine government-MILF peace talks, this is the second time a peace panel has been disbanded. The first was in August 2000 when the Moro rebel group disbanded its peace panel following the "all-out war" waged by then president Joseph Estrada.
Meanwhile, Amirah Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro, denounced the AFP Task Force Mindanao assertion that the Army did not impose a food blockade in five conflict-affected towns in Lanao del Norte.
"Arbitrarily, sine-set up nila ang security measures. Alam naman natin na ang PNP (Philippine National Police) at DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) ina-armasan nila ang mga civilians at nagiging vigilante groups," Lidasan said.
Lieutenant General Cardozo Luna, chief of the AFP Task Force Mindanao, said the Army is limiting the movements of aid workers in Lanao del Sur, citing security information that roque MILF rebels are allegedly planning to kidnap them.
Luna advised aid agencies to deliver their humanitarian aid to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), which will in turn distribute the aid to the evacuees.
But Lidasan said it is not a guarantee that the relief goods will reach the civilians.
"Ang nangyayari, ang mga relief goods ay mapupunta doon sa mga paramilitary troops or armed civilian volunteers," Lidasan said.
Lidasan said they have already sent a letter to DouDou Diene, United Nations (UN) rapporteur on racial discrimination, to report on the food blockade and other human rights abuses allegedly committed against the Muslims in Mindanao.
The UN resident office in Manila rejected press reports that aid agencies had accused the military of blocking food aid.
"Dispatches of food support for displaced families have been unhampered amid recent hostilities and increased security precautions being taken by UN staff and its cooperating partners," the UN's World Food Programme said. (Cong Corrales/Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (September 6, 2008 issue)
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