MILF welcomes U.S. 'meddling' in peace talks

By ROMER S. SARMIENTO
TODAY Correspondent

KORONADAL CITY - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Wednesday junked calls by US President George W. Bush to renounce terrorism, but welcomed the possible entry of Washington in peace negotiations.

Chiding Bush for asking the MILF to abandon terrorism, Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief information officer, told Today in a cellular-phone interview that the MILF is a revolutionary movement fighting for a legitimate cause.

“I’m sorry but we cannot heed the calls of President Bush for the MILF to renounce terrorism. The MILF does not engage in terrorism. We are not terrorists, but revolutionaries fighting for the rights of the Moro people to have their own place in Mindanao,” Iqbal said.

Bush, in a joint press conference with President Arroyo on Tuesday at the White House, warned the MILF that should it continue to use terror and force, the US will involve itself, if invited, under the realm of the Philippine Constitution.

“That group [MILF] must abandon the path of violence. If it does so, and addresses its grievances through peaceful negotiations, then the United States will provide diplomatic and financial support to a renewed peace process,” Bush was quoted as saying.

Iqbal claimed that the MILF does not use “terror” in advancing its bid, but that it follows a “strict policy of sparing civilians” from its offensives.

He qualified, however, that they can’t help civilians getting caught in the crossfire because of the “confusion” brought by the hostile condition on the ground between military and rebel forces. An apologetic MILF previously admitted that its troops committed a tactical blunder in a May 4 attack on Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, which left scores of civilians dead.

Iqbal said the MILF would not oppose a possible meddling by the US in the Mindanao problem if it would lead a stop to hostilities on the ground.

“Any individual, group or state that can peacefully contribute to the resolution of the Mindanao conflict is always welcomed by the MILF,ö said Iqbal, who reiterated that the Front is committed to a peaceful political settlement of the Mindanao problem.

But Iqbal warned the Bush government not to duplicate the mediation efforts of Malaysia, which has long been involved in the settlement of the Mindanao conflict.

The MILF chief information officer said that the Bush government should just reinforce ongoing mediation efforts of Malaysia but not replicate or set the tone for the peace process.

“Malaysia is doing very well in its mediation efforts between the MILF and the government. The US, in case of possible involvement in the peace process, should not muddle this condition,” Iqbal said.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, meanwhile, warned the US military not to involve itself in actual combat fighting, along with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, with the Moro rebels.

“In case US troops would join Philippine soldiers in fighting the MILF, we have no other recourse but to defend ourselves and fire our guns at the enemies. We cannot just sit there and wait for death to come,” Kabalu said.

As the military offensives against “embedded terrorist cells” within MILF units entered the fifth day Wednesday in several parts of Mindanao, Iqbal disclosed that senior rebel leaders “are seriously studying declaring a cease-fire.”

Earlier, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines appealed to the government and the MILF to declare a truce and go back to the negotiating table.