Friday, April 20, 2007 No more pursuit operations against Malik: military By Ulysses E. Israel
THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shifted its military tactics from that of aggressive pursuit operations against Moro rebel leader Ustadz Habier Malik to that of defensive stance, a top regional military commander said Thursday.
Lieutenant General Eugenio Cedo, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, told reporters the orders given to him by AFP chief General Hermogenes Esperon is: "To occupy Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) camp in Bitan-ag, take defensive stance and no more pursuit operations against Malik."
The order to stop pursuing Malik was seen as a major shift from the earlier announced orders by Esperon to hunt down the renegade MNLF commander.
The conflict has caused concern that it could trigger widespread clashes that could jeopardize the fragile peace settlement between the government and the MNLF, which signed a Peace Accord in 1996.
But when Cedo was pressed to answer why the sudden change, he said: "The priority of the military is to pursue the high valued targets in Mindanao."
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo earlier ordered the military to go after Malik following the mortar attacks against a military detachment and town hall in Panamao, Sulu launched by Malik and his men, which left two Marine soldiers and a child killed.
The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) has appealed to the military and the MNLF to stop the fighting.
Lawmakers from Mindanao Senator Aquilino Pimentel and Representative Douglas Cagas of Davao del Sur also asked the government to resolve the conflict outside military action.
Also, Jimmy Labuan, MNLF vice chairman has voiced the willingness of the MNLF to discuss how to avert future clashes if a tripartite meeting will be held under the auspices of the OIC.
Labuan said MNLF would thresh out with the government ways on how future clashes could be prevented but always stressed that OIC should play as mediator in any negotiation.
