Ceasefire with MILF, return to peace talks urged

By Gabriel S. Mabutas

 

Sen. Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. (PDP-Laban) yesterday urged the government to forge a ceasefire with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) before proceeding with Palarong Pambansa (National Games) in Tubod, Lanao del Norte.

 

Pimentel made the proposal following the decision of the organizers of Palaro, with Malacañang's blessing, to postpone the national games from May 4-11 to May 18-25.

"A ceasefire between the government and MILF will relieve everyone of the lingering fear that the separatist rebels may disrupt the Palaro. It will enhance the success of the athletic event," he said.

The senator from Mindanao said the restoration of the ceasefire agreement, forged by the government in Tripoli, Libya, in 2001, should be worked out by both sides when they hold another exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia scheduled in the second week of May.

Unless the truce is forged, Pimentel said he is afraid that the Palaro may be imperiled which may force organizers to look for another venue or hosting province where the games will be free of security problems.

 

Ceasefire

 

 

Senators urged the government yesterday to go back to the negotiating table with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and forge a ceasefire to draw up a lasting solution to the ongoing conflict in Mindanao, which has already taken toll on the lives of numerous individuals, including innocent civilians.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, Senate national defense committee chairman Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., and Senators. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Gregorio Honasan said that the government is left with no other remedy to the conflict, than to negotiate anew with MILF for a lasting peace package.

Drilon said that peace process should resume right away unconditionally, and the government should initiate a ceasefire to pave the way for it.

Magsaysay called on the Department of National Defense (DND) to draw up a lasting solution to the continued attacks being launched by the MILF on government forces and civilians.

He said the loss of innocent lives and the injuries inflicted especially on civilians in recent gunbattles between the two opposing forces should be the last thing to happen in the continuing conflict.

"We received reports that the MILF still wants to talk peace with the government. I strongly urge our defense officials, as well as our peace advisers and advocates, to sit together and look for a more lasting solution to the continuing skirmishes," the senator said.

 

Bishops

 

 

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued an urgent appeal yesterday asking President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Hashim Salamat to order a ceasefire in Mindanao following the MILF attack on Siocon in Zamboanga del Norte.

In an open letter which CBCP President Archbishop Orlando Quevedo wrote and addressed to Mrs. Arroyo and Salamat, the archbishop and the other bishops that compose the CBCP permanent council, condemned the unconscionable killing of many innocent civilians in Zamboanga del Norte and Lanao del Sur, including the bombing of mosques in Davao, which he said causes religious conflict.

Quevedo, who is also the archbishop of Cotabato, enumerated different reasons why there should be a ceasefire - to enable more than 120,000 refugees to finally return to their homes once they are assured of peace; by resuming peace talks between the government and MILF, a more substantive peace agenda will be created; and lastly, a ceasefire will create compassion to all the victims of war, especially the innocent civilians. (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)

 

Angara

 

 

Sen. Edgardo J. Angara said yesterday the bloodshed in Siocon, a town of Zamboanga del Norte, where at least 22 people were killed and 38 others were wounded, was a sad indication of the "failure of will" to promote development in Mindanao.

"The Mindanao problem is worsening, and I think this is a result of the failure of will. Generations of leaders have failed to formulate appropriate policies and to deliver the necessary funds for the development of infrastructure and support services in Mindanao," Angara said.

He said there has been no consistent and sustained effort to pursue economic development and promote peace in Mindanao.

"The past generation of leaders have swung from one policy to another. One day they would sit to talk peace, another day they would declare total war. One leader would initiate a development program with multi-billion funds, then another would scrap them and would initiate another program, not certain if it could be completed. There has been no consistency," he said.