Various sectors in South hail dropping of raps vs Murad

COTABATO CITY — Various sectors in Mindanao are elated about the dropping of murder charges against Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chieftain Al-Haj Murad in connection with the Oct. 10 deadly bombing in Makilala, North Cotabato.

Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema, secretary-general of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), described the move of the Department of Justice as "appropriate and very sensible."

"That was a very good move by the government. That will surely reinvigorate the cordiality of the peace talks between the government and the MILF," Sema told The STAR.

The business community in Central Mindanao also welcomed Murad’s exclusion from those charged in the Makilala attack, which left six people dead and seriously wounded 32 others.

"Now we can look forward to the resumption, hopefully very soon, of the stalled government-MILF talks," said businessman Antonio Santos, former chairman of the Mindanao Business Council.

Kidapawan City prosecutor Al Calica announced here the other day that the evidence of the police against Murad was circumstantial and that there was no probable cause to prosecute him in court for the Makilala bombing.

Calica, head of North Cotabato’s Anti-Terrorism Task Force, said his seven-page order dated Nov. 6 removing Murad’s name from the murder complaint was the result of a "thorough and careful evaluation of the evidence."

Calica said he earlier had received a directive from Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to "review and further evaluate the facts presented" against the suspects in the Makilala bombing.

"Categorically, Secretary Gonzalez did not state in that order that I should drop Murad’s name from the complaint sheet. There was no pressure, whatsoever," Calica said.

Speaker Paisalin Tago of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said Calica saved the government-MILF talks by removing Murad’s name from the murder complaint.

"That action is pro-peace, pro-people and most importantly, augurs well to the peaceful efforts of resolving the so-called Mindanao problem," he said.

Tago said any perceived violations of the ceasefire such as bombings are best resolved peacefully by the government and MILF negotiating panels.

"How can we expect the MILF to push through with the peace talks if its chairman has a pending criminal case in court? The DOJ deserves to be praised for removing Murad’s name from the list of suspects in the bombing," he said.

The MILF and the government have been negotiating peace since Jan. 7, 1997. The talks, however, gained momentum only about three years ago with the participation of Malaysia as a third-party negotiator.