GMA issues new ‘warning’ to MILF rebels

By RECTO MERCENE
TODAY Reporter

The June 1 “deadline” for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to renounce terrorism or be tagged a terrorist organization and face continued military assault has passed, but the administration apparently forgot what it was all about.

Now, the President had warned its leadership to reveal where its forces are located and whether they are in cahoots with criminals or terrorists. Or else? Again?

President Arroyo, before leaving for Seoul said, “[the MILF] must reveal where its forces are located, tell us the intention of these forces and show that they are not mixed criminals or terrorists.”

And shortly after, her spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said the threat to brand the MILF a terrorist group would have to take a back seat while the government tries to resolve whether the rebel group is actually interested in signing a peace accord. “The higher issue is whether the MILF would be interested in signing a final peace agreement that would put an end to the decades-old conflict.”

The President also assured the rebels that the Armed Forces would not fire on them if they come out in the open and peacefully return to the fold.

Mrs. Arroyo said, however, that those that “remain underground and committed acts of terrorism would be interdicted and subjected to punitive actions.”

The President’s call came a week after the MILF unilaterally declared a 10-day cease-fire starting Tuesday to enable the government “to withdraw its forces out of its territory.”

But Malacañang said it would only withdraw its forces after assuring itself the MILF had stopped committing atrocities, especially against civilians, and what are considered as “soft targets.”

“The MILF will have to convince the people of its sincerity,” said the President, adding that the declaration of a short cease-fire does not necessarily signal a sincere desire for peace.

She added that it may be a ploy to allow a reconsolidation of troops and resources and to strengthen links with terrorists and to beef up plans of attack against civilians. “To allow this would only place our people in grave peril. It is not enough for the MILF to simply silence its guns for a while.”

House Defense committee chairman Prospero Pichay said the MILF, on the other hand, urged the rebels “not to impede the Armed Forces’ drive to bring to justice terrorist groups responsible for a wave of attacks that have felled over 200 innocent civilians since the start of the year.”

“It’s so easy to pinpoint the government and the military as the culprits for the suffering of our people in the refugee camps. But we should put the blame squarely on the MILF for this state of affairs, especially after their elements began to go after civilian targets,” he said on radio.

He added the MILF leadership should show sincerity in their desire for lasting peace by surrendering those who perpetrated the terror attacks.

Pichay accused the MILF of fighting soldiers in April in order to defend the outlaw group Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang hiding in its former redoubt, the so-called Buliok Complex near the Liguasan Marsh.