MILF accuses military anew of violating ceasefire

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) accused the military yesterday of using the manhunt for escaped Indonesian terrorist Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi to launch attacks on rebel-controlled areas in Maguindanao and Zamboanga Sibugay provinces.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the military is virtually swarming its troops in rebel areas using the Al-Ghozi manhunt as a pretext for the continuing military campaign against the MILF.

Kabalu said the presence of the troops might trigger hostilities which could be seen as a violation of the July 19, 2003 ceasefire agreement.

In that agreement, he said, at least 46 camps or bases of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the armed wing of the MILF, were recognized.

But while some MILF commanders remain skeptical over the ceasefire, Kabalu said the MILF fulfill their commitment by yielding to the military to avoid armed encounter.

Kabalu said if the military pushes further, MILF might resort to defending their positions in the areas identified in the ceasefire agreement.

"This (the presence of the military in rebel controlled areas) really saddles the resumption of the formal peace talks," Kabalu said.

Kabalu said they became suspicious after the military manhunt for Al-Ghozi suddenly shifted to Kabuntalan, Sultan Kudarat and Datu Piang towns in Maguindanao, and Midsayap and Pigcawayan towns in North Cotabato.

Al-Ghozi was reported to have sought refuge in Sultan Naga Dimaporo and Maigo towns in Lanao del Norte last August, he added.

On the manhunt for the Indonesian fugitive, Kabalu said there is the possibility that Al-Ghozi could have been killed or captured.

"A move to place Al-Ghozi in jail is gaining ground among Philippine authorities as a gift for the upcoming visit of US President George Bush in Manila," he said.

President Arroyo earlier said a military dragnet is closing in on Al-Ghozi.

She said the government "is not pegging a date" for the capture of Al-Ghozi, but the hunt will be focused, intense and relentless.

Mrs. Arroyo said she will visit the remote town of Tungawan in Zamboanga Sibugay next week to check on the progress of the manhunt.

Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko said the President will inspect the troops in Tungawan to assess the military operation to capture Al-Ghozi.

Kyamko said government troops clashed with a band of armed men who were believed to be rebels giving sanctuary to Al-Ghozi in Tungawan three weeks ago.

Kyamko said there is no major troop movement in Tungawan, where Al-Ghozi was reported to have landed with a security escort.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Narciso Abaya believes that Al-Ghozi is hiding on the border of Zamboanga City and Zamboanga Sibugay province.

Al-Ghozi was serving a 17-year jail term for explosives possession when he escaped last July 14, along with Abu Sayyaf cohorts Abdulmukim Edris and Omar Opik Lasal, from Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Edris and an MILF commander Mahmud Ismael were later killed after they allegedly tried to wrest the firearms of soldiers who had captured them.

Al-Ghozi has also been separately charged along with Jemaah Islamiyah operations chief Hambali for a spate of bombings in Metro Manila in 2000.

Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, is now in US custody after he was arrested in Thailand by US Central Intelligence Agency agents and Thai police last month.

As this developed, the military confirmed one member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was killed in an encounter with MILF rebels in Kabacan, North Cotabato early Friday.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling said the fatality Modti Taguigaya and three other MNLF members clashed with the military at Sitio Kalakat in Barangay Kayaga.

A number of MILF rebels were also killed during the firefight but the reports remained unconfirmed, the military said.

Meanwhile, MILF vice chairman Ghazali Jaafar welcomed the assistance of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to rehabilitate and develop conflict areas in Mindanao through the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA).

The USIP is a non-government organization tapped by the US State Department to assist in the peaceful solution of the problem in Mindanao.

Jaafar said he has no problem with the presence of US troops in Mindanao as long as they are "to assist in the peaceful solution of the Bangsamoro problem."

However, Jaafar stressed that US troops are not welcome if they will support the government’s thrust of crushing the Bangsamoro movement.