MILF accuses gov’t of violating ceasefire

ILIGAN CITY — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) accused the government yesterday of violating the ceasefire agreement in its pursuit operations against fugitive Indonesian bomber Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said government troops in the hunt for Al-Ghozi have engaged guerrillas in armed encounters in the remote areas in Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao provinces. "By all indications, the AFP is using Al-Ghozi as a pretext to launch military operations against the MILF," he said.

MILF chief for military affairs Aleem Mimbantas, however, claimed he had ordered field commanders to give way to the government troops’ pursuit operations to avoid armed confrontation. "But you may fire your guns if the government troops encroach on MILF positions and don’t be aggressive because the Almighty loveth not the aggressors," Mimbantas said.

The government earlier assured the military will comply with the ceasefire agreement with the MILF in searching for the Indonesian fugitive in rebel-held areas.

The assurance was made even as the MILF had warned that a massive military hunt for the Indonesian fugitive could trigger fighting and threaten planned government-rebel peace talks.

The MILF protested the deployment of soldiers near the front’s strongholds in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.

The members of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP)-MILF peace panel have respectively asked the Coordinating Committees for the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) to strengthen and assert the role of the local monitoring teams in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

"The strengthening of local monitoring teams is vital to prevent and defuse tension in order to provide a condition for the normal course of the peace negotiation," Mimbantas said.

The GRP-MILF panel have agreed to call to a meeting as soon as possible all local monitoring teams to the CCCH headquarters at Crossing Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao to assert their role in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

The military has intensified its manhunt after Al-Ghozi was reportedly spotted in MILF-controlled areas surrounding the town of Kabuntalan in Maguindanao.

Soldiers manning checkpoints along strategic thoroughfares crossing Central Mindanao have extensively been inspecting all vehicles passing through, aware that they could be awarded with medals and corresponding citations if they can recapture Al-Ghozi.

The government has offered a P10 million reward for the recapture of the Indonesian fugitive.

Maguindanao’ s provincial peace and order council, chaired by Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan, has also pledged to pay an "earnest amount" to any informant who could lead the police or military to Al-Ghozi’s location.

"The soldiers hunting him down are so enthusiastic that they have been virtually leaving no stone unturned in finding Al-Ghozi," remarked Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

But the MILF reiterated that nowhere in Kabuntalan can the military find Al-Ghozi.

"It’s very impossible for us not to know if he is there because we can get confirmations from supporters if he is indeed there (in Kabuntalan)," Kabalu said.

Al-Ghozi escaped together with Abu Sayyaf suspects Abdulmukim Edris and Omar Opik Lasal from their detention cell at Camp Crame in Quezon City last July 14.

Edris was later killed by soldiers on Aug. 7 at a road checkpoint in Sultan Naga Dimaporo after he supposedly tried to grab a soldier’s weapon. -With John Unson and Lino dela Cruz