Arrest of Muslim cleric won’t affect peace talks – MILF

COTABATO CITY , Philippines   â€“ The arrest of a radical Islamic cleric popular for his guerilla exploits will not cause the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to embark on any illegal action.

Superintendent Jovit Culaway, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief, said the MILF has assured authorities that the arrest last Sunday of Imam Wahid Tundok will not result in any illegal action.

Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, said the central committee has ordered the 118th Base Command, which Tundok headed, to stand down since the incident is being investigated by the joint ceasefire committee comprised of representatives from the MILF, the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police.

CIDG agents and Marines arrested Tundok at a checkpoint in Cotabato City as he was on his way home to Datu Saudi town in Maguindanao from the MILF headquarters in Darapanan in the same province.

Tundok is wanted for arson and other criminal offenses.

Jaafar said they will uphold the primacy of the government-MILF peace process in dealing with Tundok.

Tundok’s arrest will not in any way affect peace talks between the government and the MILF, Jaafar said.

Culaway said Tundok’s arrest was based on a warrant issued by a local court.

They learned of Tundok’s route from informants, he added.

He and his men recovered unlicensed assault rifles from Tundok’s bodyguards, Culaway said.

Tundok had led dozens of attacks on military positions in 2000 and 2003, and also in 2008, after the aborted Aug. 5, 2008 signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain. 

Before Tundok was  arrested, MILF commander Yusoph Kusain alias  Commander TMX was killed when CIDG agents tried to arrest him in Datu Paglas town in Maguindanao.

Kusain opened fire at the arresting policemen, who were forced to neutralize him.

Two policemen were reportedly wounded in the shootout and one of them died later in hospital.

Police and Army intelligence sources said some MILF officials had known about the warrant for the arrest of Kusain.

However, nobody turned him in until he was killed for resisting arrest last week, they added.

Kusain was implicated in bombings in Central Mindanao in recent years.

On Thursday, MILF spokesman Von Al-Haq said they are set to file a formal protest on the operation that resulted in Kusain’s death, as a serious violation of the 1997 government-MILF ceasefire pact. The operation was initiated without prior coordination with the MILF ceasefire committee, he added.

The MILF and the government are supposed to cooperate in the interdiction of criminals and terrorists in flashpoint areas in the south as stated in the 1997 ceasefire accord.

However, the MILF ceasefire committee never acted on the warrant for the arrest of Kusain for his alleged involvement in bombings.

The MILF also did not turn in Tundok for prosecution despite the criminal cases against him pending in a local court.