MILF forces said to be massing up as talks open
By BONG GARCIA JR. and ROMER SARMIENTO
TODAY Correspondents
ZAMBOANGA CITY - Just as the exploratory talks between the
government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) started on Thursday in
Malaysia, the military reported that rebel units continued to mass up and arm
its forces in some areas.
The exploratory talks aims to resume the stalled peace talks.
Military intelligence reports said an MILF unit is reorganizing
its forces in Zamboanga del Norte and another group is meeting with the Abu
Sayyaf in Basilan to strengthen their alliance.
A radio report also disclosed that a shipment of 400 high-powered
firearms, including 36 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, were unloaded in a
coastal
A report said around 350 MILF rebels led by Commanders Said Maing
and Hairon Hassan recently arrived in Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte. The two
leaders are reorganizing their group for deployment in different towns of the
province.
Maing, a former mayor of Sirawai, went into hiding to avoid
conviction in a case of illegal possession of firearms. He reportedly decided
later to join the MILF.
Before arriving in Sirawai, another group of rebels led by a
certain Commander Sibit were sighted in the hinterlands of Siocon, Zamboanga
del Norte, the report said.
The report said the rebels plan to burn the town halls of
Sirawai, Siocon and Baliguian and other atrocities in the three coastal towns.
The police and military have monitored movements of the MILF in some parts of
the nearby province of Zamboanga del Sur.
MILF and Abu Sayyaf commanders have allegedly met in Lamitan,
Tuburan, Tipo-Tipo and Sumisip. They are reportedly planning to launch attacks
against government targets.
Following these reports, the military and the police here in Mindanao
have strengthened security measures to thwart MILF plans to launch atrocities.
Prospects for the resumption of formal peace talks between the
government and the MILF are not yet clear, according to a Catholic bishop,
unless President Arroyo reconsiders her so-called “active defense” posture
against the Moro rebels.
Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez, chairman of the Episcopal
Commission on Social Action-Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines, expressed doubts on the outcome of the latest
talks.
“I doubt if formal peace talks would resume with the way things
are going on now. It’s impossible to talk peace at the negotiating table while
there is a raging war in the field. Formal peace talks can only be appreciated
if guns of both sides are silent,” he told Today in an interview.
Formal peace negotiations, according to the bishop, can only
happen if both sides display sincerity and trust that would build the
confidence necessary to achieve a “desirable atmosphere for cooperation.”
On the other hand, he urged the MILF to stop attacking military
positions and prove the rebels’ sincerity to resume peace talks.