Peace advocates seek transparency in RP-US military exercises

COTABATO CITY - Peace advocates have urged for "transparency" in the joint RP-US military training in Carmen, Cotabato province, accusing the Army’s 6th Infantry Division of keeping it under wraps.

Dubbed Balance Piston 07-03, the training began three weeks ago and focuses on small unit maneuver tactics, marksmanship and life-saving techniques in combat situations, and community relations.

The training, which is being held at the 200-hectare Camp Lucero in Carmen, involves a battalion-size contingent from the Army and more than a dozen US military instructors.

Carmen, a community of mixed Muslim and Christian settlers, is covered by the ceasefire between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"We have a peace process in Central Mindanao between the government and the MILF so it is important to be transparent with the ongoing RP-US military training in Carmen," said Ustadz Mohalidin, who is involved in low-level peace-building activities in the newly created Shariff Kabunsuan province.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, Army’s 6th Infantry Division spokesman, has denied assertions by peace advocates and various non-government organizations in Central Mindanao that the 6th ID has been trying to keep the war exercise a secret.

Sources from the MILF said a certain Maj. Otto Liller is handling the team of US servicemen training Filipino soldiers inside Camp Lucero.

There have been two joint RP-US military exercises in Carmen between 1994 and 1996, both declared open to media coverage and observation by peace advocacy groups.

Ando said the soldiers undergoing training in Carmen now belong to the Army’s 75th, 37th and 7th Infantry Battalions, all assigned in hostile areas against the MILF. – John Unson