MILF admits Siocon attack a tactical mistake

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front admitted yesterday having committed a "tactical blunder" when it attacked Siocon town last Sunday, but said the action should not justify declaring the MILF as a terrorist organization.

In a report on the rebel website, Muhammad Ameen, identified as secretary to the office of MILF chairman Hashim Salamat, said classifying the MILF as a terrorist organization "has long been overdue and expected."

Ameen said the government was just "waiting for the right moment and this opportunity has come when the MILF committed a tactical blunder with the death of (34) civilians in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, last May 4."

Mohaqer Iqbal, chief MILF spokesman, was quoted as saying in the same rebel website that the civilians were caught in a crossfire.

"The tragedy in Siocon is an isolated case and should not be made the yardstick to condemn the MILF," Iqbal said. "We did not order the shooting of the civilians."

On the other hand, angry villagers and former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) from various towns in North Cotabato and this province are gearing up for possible attacks from marauding MILF guerrillas.

The military said mercenaries and former separatist guerrillas have also joined the hunt for the MILF leaders following the P50-million bounty put up by the government for their capture.

This developed as hostilities erupted anew late Wednesday when five MILF guerrillas were killed while four others, including two villagers, were wounded in a gunbattle with government troops and militiamen in Talayan town, this province.

Former MNLF combatants have started rearming themselves after MILF rebels swooped down on a farming community in Kabacan, North Cotabato killing three former rebels Wednesday.

Last Sunday, some Christian villagers angry over a spate of MILF attacks retaliated by raiding a small Muslim settlement at the edge of Maigo town in Lanao del Norte, leaving a six-year-old girl dead.

Col. Agustin Dema-ala, commander of the Army’s 301st Brigade, said the running gunbattles in Barangay Tamar in Talayan was precipitated by the intrusion of more than 50 MILF rebels to loot the farming village.

Dema-ala said the rebels approached Barangay Tamar from three different directions and raked with automatic weapons fire the house of the village chief apparently to scare the villagers and drive them away, unaware the barangay officials and some of the villagers were also armed with high-powered rifles.

The rebels opened fire on responding soldiers, provoking an hour-long gunbattle that ended after the attackers fled leaving their three dead comrades. Two more fleeing MILF rebels were killed by pursuing soldiers and villagers.

Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said local leaders are now trying to defuse tension by convincing MNLF forces in Kabacan and surrounding towns to allow authorities to go after the rebels.

A Muslim leader claimed the attack came less than a week after MNLF members in Kabacan refused to provide support for the MILF rebels in their area.

"The MILF rebels had also tried to borrow from them (MNLF) firearms, but they refused because there is an existing peace agreement between the government and the MNLF," the 50-year-old Muslim preacher said, referring to the peace pact signed with the government in 1996.

The military said MILF rebels continued their rampage by targeting civilian areas and vital infrastructures.

Maj. Gen. Cristolito Balaoing, 4th Infantry commander, said the rebels torched several school buildings and a wet market in Pinduhunan, Munai, Lanao del Norte last Tuesday.

"The burning was part of the MILF’s retaliation to the civilians whom they suspected of reporting to us their positions," Balaoing said.

He claimed Maranao civilians angry at the MILF for their atrocities helped by pinpointing the positions of the rebels.

Balaoing revealed they were able to pinpoint possible positions of the three MILF leaders – commanders Yahyah Lucsadato, Bravo and Minsupala – tagged responsible for the spate of attacks in the province.

The terror tag

The MILF attacks have left at least 83 people dead and hundreds wounded since March.

The Siocon attack last Sunday prompted President Arroyo to call off the three-day peace talks with the rebel group in Malaysia scheduled this weekend.

Mrs. Arroyo has warned the MILF that peace negotiations will not resume unless the rebels renounce the use of terrorism.

The government has put up a P50 million reward for the capture of Salamat and other rebel leaders over the attack.

The government said it considered declaring the MILF as a terrorist group, but decided against it for the time being. Mrs. Arroyo had ordered former defense secretary Renato de Villa to study the implications of putting the terror tag on the MILF.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, however, denied they were targeting civilians or engaged in terrorism.

"We are fighting for freedom. The MILF is fighting a legitimate cause in Mindanao and we are recognized by the international community. We are not terrorists and we are only fighting for our freedom. We have not harmed innocent people," Kabalu said.

He charged that the government was stepping up attacks on the MILF as part of discrimination against the country’s Muslim minority.

Senior rebel spokesman Iqbal also challenged the government to declare the MILF a terrorist group: "So be it. What is important is that the MILF is a legitimate revolutionary organization fighting for a just cause."

Let the Yanks in

As the MILF goes through the offensive, lawmakers called for diplomacy in solving the conflict with the MILF.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. suggested the United States should broker the peace talks between the Philippine government and the MILF.

Pimentel said he has filed a resolution calling for the US to "broker peace in Mindanao."

He said Mrs. Arroyo should not abandon the peace process and instead ask for the Americans to "intervene" and act as an "honest broker."

US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone had said the US Congress is prepared to support a "serious" peace process between the Philippine government and the MILF by providing more development assistance in Mindanao.

Administration Sens. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Robert Barbers, for their part, said the government must utilize Muslim religious leaders to resolve the conflict. They also warned the government against putting the terror tag on the MILF.

The Bishops-Ulama Conference said they are ready to play the role as third party mediator "in any peace negotiations." – With Bong Fabe, Ann Corvera, Benjie Villa, Roel Pareño, Katherine Adraneda, Artemio Dumlao, AFP