MILF: AFP hawks ruining peace deal



Manila--Muslim MILF leader Hadji Murad on Thursday accused “hawkish” Philippine officials of trying to sabotage peace talks.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chairman Murad Ebrahim welcomed President Arroyo’s move this week to rein in military units operating in rebel-held areas in Mindanao to salvage the talks but said some officials were undermining these efforts.

Heavy clashes near Midsayap town in Maguindanao last week left 17 MILF rebels and a soldier dead. The MILF said the fighting erupted when troops advanced into rebel-held areas in violation of an earlier agreement to pull back.

The violence was another obstacle to resuming peace talks, which have been stalled since late last year over demands by Murad’s group for economic control of what they claim are ancestral lands.

The truce is being monitored by a small team of Malaysian, Libyan and Brunei monitors.

The MILF central committee is “to keep combatants in place” in conflict zones because there are “spoilers of the peace process” among the government ranks, Murad said in a statement.

“On the part of MILF, war is not being stepped up. But the MILF will keep a short list of those intent at breaking the peace, including hawkish military officers and policymakers,” Murad said.

He did not name those on the list or say what the MILF intended to do about them.

Earlier this week, the President reminded military field commanders to be “constantly aware of the strategic implications of tactical actions in the proximity of MILF areas.”

She ordered the defense department to devise a plan that ensured all levels of the military understood the peace negotiations.

But Murad on Thursday said a “prolonged cessation of hostilities” could only be achieved when troops are stripped of their powers to patrol civilian Muslim communities.

Troops often “disregard the preventive measures” to avoid violence, leading to fighting, Murad said.

“I have no doubt about keeping up the struggle to mobilize the population through a principled level of negotiation,” he said. “Peace will reign when the military solution is contained and . . . violations are not repeated.”

Military and government officials were not immediately available for comment, but the military brass earlier this week began withdrawing from Midsayap villages.

The MILF also hit back at claims it is involved in manufacturing of drugs to raise cash.

Meanwhile, the head of the US antidrug task force in Southeast Asia, Rear Admiral Paul Zukunfit, said Wednesday that millions of dollars generated by drugs may be finding its way into the hands of communist and Muslim rebels in the Philippines.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the report that they were engaged in any drug-related activities.

“One, it is unIslamic and two, we remain faithful to a government truce that also calls on us to help track down criminals,” he said.

“The MILF totally denies this report. We are in fact trying to help contain this problem in local communities,” Kabalu said.

The Philippine National Police spokesman, Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao, told local radio Thursday it was an established fact the communist New People’s Army “operates” marijuana plantations in the northern Cordillera highlands.

“What we are trying to confirm now is if manufacturers of shabu [the banned stimulant methampethamine hydrochloride, or ice, which is the most widely available illegal drug in the Philippines] provide funds for the secessionists and other groups,” he said.



--AFP