MILF cease-fire starts, military wary
As the June 1 deadline expired for the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) to surrender the suspects in the attacks against civilians, the government
came short of declaring the MILF a “terrorist organization,” but warns its
leadership to reveal where their forces are located and whether they are in
cahoots with criminals or terrorists.
“[They] must reveal where its forces are located, tell us the
intention of these forces, and show that they are not mixed with criminals or
terrorists,” the President said in a statement before embarking on a five-day
state and working visit to Korea and Japan, respectively.
The 10-day cease-fire declared by the MILF took effect Monday,
but the government said troops would keep pursuing rebels blamed for recent
attacks in
“Some of our members are going back to their families,” rebel
spokesman Eid Kabalu said through telephone, adding that he hopes the
cease-fire would lead to a final settlement. “A lot of people are clamoring for
peace, but the ball now is in the government’s hands.”
President Arroyo initially welcomed the insurgents’ cease-fire
announcement but later questioned its sincerity when clashes continued between
the rebel and government troops.
“It may be a ploy to allow a reconsolidation of troops and
resources, to strengthen links with terrorists, to beef up plans of attack upon
civilians,” Arroyo said in a statement Monday.
Arroyo said aerial and artillery bombardments would continue
unless the rebels show sincerity, but she added that the military “will not
fire upon MILF groups that raise the white flag, come out in the open and
peacefully return to the fold.”
Presidential adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita and Maj.
Gen. Roy Kyamko, chief of the Armed Forces South ern Command, said in separate
interviews that the “punitive actions” against “embedded terrorists” will
continue. “Whatever the policy [of the government] is, we will follow,” Kyamko
said.
As of Monday morning, Kyamko said “I have not come across any
reported skirmishes with the MILF.”
Kabalu said that as of Monday morning “guns have been silent and
we have not monitored any fighting. Our forces are following the declaration
honest to goodness and the government forces so far are cooperating.”
Kabalu expressed hope that the declaration of cease-fire will
hold until the 10-day time frame, and that it will not be sabotaged.
“[Government leaders] say we are not sincere, now it is their time also to show
their sincerity,” he said.
Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim, MILF peace panel chairman, said that the
“first gunfire would not be coming” from the MILF. “We assure you that our
fighters would comply with the cease-fire order,” Murad said in Filipino. But
Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief information officer, said in a separate telephone
interview that MILF fighters will retaliate if soldiers fire at them during the
cease-fire period.
Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, Armed Forces vice chief of staff, said
that the military would watch in the next 10 days as “the MILF was the one that
declared it.”
“We will see what happens to their unilateral cease-fire. The
government has no obligation [to complement] because it is unilateral,” Garcia
said.
In an interview with Today, Iqbal warned that an intervention by
a “third force” is possible to sabotage the peace efforts of MILF. “We cannot
discount the possibility that a ‘third force’ may sabotage the cease-fire and
blame it to the MILF,” Iqbal said.
“There are lot of armed groups in Mindanao, and there may be
among of them who may sabotage [the peace effort]. But we hope that they will
not do that to pave way for the peaceful resolution of this Mindanao problem.”
Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander,
has instructed military commanders in the region to remain on alert. “We cannot
allow our guards to be down. We will closely watch if the MILF cease-fire would
be fully implemented by the rebels. Rest assured that the military is ready to
respond to any untoward incidents,” Senga said.
The 10-day cease-fire, according to Murad, was designed to give
the government time to comply in letter and spirit the March 28 joint
communiqué signed by representatives of both sides in Malaysia.
Among the key points in the minutes of the March 28 joint
communiqué the MILF wanted to be implemented are the commitment of the
government to withdraw from all the areas they occupied in the so-called Buliok
complex, and to work for the dropping of all the criminal charges against MILF
chairman Hashim Salamat and other ranking rebel leaders. K. Bacongco, J.
Vicente, B. Garcia, R. Sarmiento, R. Mercene and AP