MILF attacks army detachments, 5 killed

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Military officials said Moro rebels on Thursday attacked two army positions in the southern Philippines, killing at least five civilians, a day after announcing a unilateral 10-day cease-fire starting next week, the military said.

Soldiers also retrieved the bodies of five rebels killed in a clash after 70 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas fired mortars and rocket-propelled grenades at the army detachments in Carmen town, said Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, commander of the army’s 6th Infantry Division.

He said at least five residents were killed when the rebels set fire to 10 houses nearby. No soldiers were hurt, Senga said. “It appears that the MILF leadership has no control over [its] men in the field,” Senga said. “This makes the cease-fire dangerous not only for us but most of all for noncombatants.”

Despite the MILF’s latest attack, Senate President Franklin Drilon endorsed President Arroyo’s counteroffer of a “permanent cease-fire” to the MILF and told the cynics in the government to take advantage of the rebels’ initiative.

“What can the MILF rebels do in 10 days that they cannot do without a cease-fire?” asked Drilon, who has been advocating for the resumption of the peace process in Mindanao on the grounds that the decades-old conflict cannot be resolved with a military solution. He added, “It is a welcome opportunity for us to resume the peace talks between the government and the MILF.”

Opposition Sen. Teresa Aquino Oreta said the Arroyo administration must take advantage of the truce to revive the stalled peace process, provided that negotiations are conducted “within a deadline to ensure that the rebels do not use the lull as a mere opportunity to regroup and mount offensives against the government later on.”

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu acknowledged the rebels were responsible for the latest attacks, but said the five killed were civilian militiamen and were considered combatants. He said two rebels and several soldiers were also killed.

“If there were houses burned, that’s because they are situated beside the detachment and are owned by soldiers or [civilian militia],” he said.

“The attack clearly shows that the MILF is insincere in its declaration of a 10-day soma and that the rebel group is logistically disorganized. Unlike the AFP, it could take weeks before the cease-fire is coordinated within the scattered ranks and members of the MILF,” Senga said.

Lt. Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, chief of the military’s 4th Civil Relations Group, doubts the sincerity of the unilateral cease-fire declaration by the MILF, citing past incidents in which the secessionist group violated an agreement and used it to consolidate its forces.

“If the MILF is sincere about the truce, then it should first stop the senseless killings and renounce terrorism,” he said.

“It must show sincerity by complying with the demands of the government without any preconditions,” Covarrubias added.

He challenged the MILF to turn in the members responsible for the series of attacks on Mindanao. Otherwise, he added, “punitive action” will continue until those accused of bombings are brought to justice.

The military had asked the rebels to surrender the 95 people -- including the top five Front leaders -- accused of various crimes in court the day after the rebel group declared the unilateral cease-fire.

The top five MILF leaders sought by the government are chairman Hashim Salamat, vice chairman for political affairs Gadzali Jaafar, vice chairman for military affairs Ibrahim al-Haj Murad, spokesman Eid Kabalu and Aleem Aziz Mimbantes.

The group Mothers for Peace led by Margie Moran and Irene Santiago are calling on the military to cease its ongoing offensive operations against the separatist group.

“Secretary Reyes and Secretary Gonzales promised us that if the MILF declared a cease-fire, then the military would follow,” says Floirendo. “We expect that, as officers and gentlemen, they will honor their promise.”

Floirendo added that Mothers for Peace will be taking part in the monitoring of the cease-fire in order to ensure that it is successfully implemented. “We hope that this could be the seed of peace that all mothers have been waiting for.”

“I truly hope this new development would pave the way for a lasting peace in Mindanao, one that is based not on force but on justice. Without justice, there can be no peace,” said Floirendo.