‘Salamat real target of offensive’

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A representative of a Muslim organization has claimed Hashim Salamat, the reclusive chieftain of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is the primary target of aerial attacks in Butig town in Lanao del Sur since Thursday.

"And since it has been reported in the media that Hashim Salamat is now based in Lanao del Sur, we strongly believed that it is him who is the real target of this recent attack on Butig," Drieza Lininding, youth representative of the Muslim Multisectoral Movement for Peace and Development (MMMPD), told The STAR.

Lininding claimed even Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes had admitted their real target was Salamat in the military operation at the Buliok complex in Pikit, North Cotabato last February.

Lininding claimed the military was only using the cover of hunting the men identified with arrested Rizal Day suspected bomber Saifullah "Muklis" Yunos, who are reportedly hiding in areas near Camp Bushra in Butig.

MMMPD chairman Datu Abdullah Lacs Dalidig Al Haj also said in a separate interview that Yunos has no men in Lanao del Sur.

"The MILF said Muklis Yunos is not a member of the MILF nor a commander. So he has no men under him because he is not a commander of the MILF. The military is only making this all up, including Yunos’ (supposed) rank," he told The STAR.

Maj. Gen. Cristolito Balaoing, commanding general of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division leading the offensive against the rebels, claimed the aerial bombardment in the area targeted Yunos’ men.

Balaoing said they resorted to the air strikes to flush them out from the area, a thickly forested part of the mountains of Butig located in a deep ravine which cannot be reached by artillery bombardment.

The MMMPD condemned the attack on Butig, saying it only added to the hardship of the Bangsamoro civilians in the town.

Dalidig claimed the military should not extend its operations in Lanao del Sur, saying that the MILF did not commit atrocities in the province.

"Why is the AFP interested in the area? Because it is the only province of the Muslims which is really not affected by the war," he stressed.

The MMMPD said they could not understand why the military launched the attack on Butig when the MILF had already declared a unilateral ceasefire on Wednesday.

"We appeal for the military to be sincere and the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) to reciprocate the unilateral ceasefire declared by the MILF," Dalidig said.

Balaoing replied that the military, particularly the 4th ID is still waiting for instructions from the Armed Forces headquarters regarding the declaration of unilateral ceasefire by the rebels.

"If this request for ceasefire is true, will (Commander) Bravo and (Commander Yahoo) Luksadatu be covered by the ceasefire?" he asked.

The three MILF commanders have been tagged behind the attack of Maigo and Kolambugan towns which left 13 people dead and 17 others wounded last April 24.

Meanwhile, the intense bombardment of suspected terrorists’ positions in Butig has destroyed a mosque, razed 10 civilian houses, and wounded at least one civilian, an MILF official said.

Jannati Mimbantas, former training director of Camp Bushra, the second largest enclave of the MILF, said that the aerial bombing that started early Thursday resulted in the destruction of a Muslim prayer house and houses and of residents.

Feeling the heat

Lt. Col. Francisco Simbajon, chief of the Army’s 4th ID civil military affairs unit, said the rebels are now feeling the pressure of the military offensive.

He said lack of food, fatigue, demoralization and being constantly on the run, have prompted some 100 MILF rebels to send surrender feelers to the military.

Simbajon claimed guerrillas under the command of Commander Bravo Macapaar in Lanao del Norte have sent surrender feelers to the military the other day even as punitive and selective action against them continue.

Simbajon said the declaration of unilateral ceasefire will not prevent military operations as the warrants of arrest for the MILF leaders are still in effect.

Simbajon said the rebels who wanted to surrender might be considered for acceptance into the government rebel returnee program.

He said surrendering rebels will undergo scrutiny and evaluation by a special military committee at the same time, will be verified by the recipient military unit and vouched by the town officials to determine if they are bona fide MILF guerrillas.

"This is to prevent supposed rebels who have surrendered before from availing the program a second time," he said.

During the recent surrender of about 97 MILF guerrillas here, the rebel returnees said they were tired of being on the run while fighting the government forces in the mountains, away from their families and loved ones.

In a related development, Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. has reiterated his proposal to tap the services of religious leaders in Mindanao to monitor and investigate peace agreement violations in the event a temporary ceasefire is forged between the military and the MILF.

Guingona said the Inter-Faith Peace Commission (IFPCom) was prepared "to work with like-minded groups in undertaking an independent monitoring of the cessation of hostilities in Mindanao once this is mutually agreed upon by both the government and the MILF."

"We are glad that the MILF, in its May 28 declaration of a unilateral 10-day truce starting on June 2, 2003, said that its action is in response to the earnest call‚ of inter-faith groups and peace advocates for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of peace talks," Guingona said.

Guingona, however, expressed his concern on the latest MILF attack which left 11 people dead in Carmen, North Cotabato last Thursday.

Guingona said the incident "is yet another tragedy that runs counter to the need for confidence-building measures that will show the sincerity of the MILF in wanting to re-open peace talks with the government."

But the MILF said the Carmen incident was a mere "communication failure" even as it announced the gradual waning of maneuvers in the run-up to the unilateral truce beginning June 2.

"Most of our units in the field have not been informed yet that the MILF is gradually minimizing its tactical maneuvers to pave the way for the implementation of the ceasefire. The MILF is a big organization and its forces are scattered all over Central Mindanao and neighboring regions so we need time to inform our members of this peace overture," MILF military affairs chief Al Haj Murad told reporters in Cotabato City via mobile phone. –With Lino de la Cruz, Sammy Santos, John Unson