Misuari held incommunicado

Malacañang has ordered tighter security on detained rebel leader Nur Misuari following reports that the erstwhile chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is in close contact with his supporters involved in clashes with government forces in Jolo, Sulu.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Misuari is being kept incommunicado, or out of contact, at his detention cell at the police training camp Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna following an apparent breach of security.

Ermita said security forces are keeping a tight watch on Misuari following reports that he has been communicating with followers in Jolo and coordinating the armed conflict by telephone.

"We believe he (Misuari) has no way now to get in touch with his men because they are being driven far, far into the mountains of Jolo and that is why they do not have any more telephone contact," Ermita said.

Misuari’s armed supporters, on the other hand, reportedly are being surrounded by over 3,000 government troops preparing to storm their mountain hideout in Panglima Estino, located near Panamao and Luuk towns in Jolo.

Armed Forces Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza said troops are now closing in with mortar and sniper positions set up around the rebels who have retreated to the mountains after five days of clashes that left over 60 dead.

Braganza predicted the situation will be over "in a few days."

"We are in control of the situation now as we have confined the rebels," he said.

Braganza said there are still pockets of resistance as sporadic gunfire flared in the mountainous jungle where the renegades led by Habier Malik and Julhambre Misuari are holed up.

"Sporadic firefighting continued as our forces penetrated the area where the lawless rebels escaped," he said.

Braganza claimed Misuari’s followers have apparently run out of ammunition and food supplies.

The fighting broke out last Monday after armed supporters of the jailed rebel leader attacked government troops in Panamao in what they claimed was retaliation for a previous military operation against Abu Sayyaf bandits in which local civilians, including children, were killed.

The military said the fighting has left at least 24 soldiers dead — including the head of the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. Dennis Villanueva — as well as 40 rebels.

Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, chief of Task Force Comet hunting the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo, said the wife and two children of an MNLF commander were killed in crossfire during a clash on Feb. 1 which also left two soldiers dead.

Leading the troops in Jolo, Dema-ala made his mandate clear: "By all means, destroy the group."

"The important thing is to continue on until we get them," he said.

He said Misuari loyalists were using the incident as an excuse to battle government forces.

The government has also said the gunmen wanted Misuari, currently in jail on charges of rebellion, to be moved to a prison in Jolo.

Misuari founded the MNLF in the early 1970s to fight for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao. A faction split with Misuari in 1978, forming the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

In September 1996, Misuari led the MNLF in signing a peace treaty with the government. He later became governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), but was removed from power in November 2001.

In protesting his ouster, Misuari led his followers in taking over 100 people, including children, hostage in Cabatangan Complex in Zamboanga City in November 2001 before managing to escape.

The erstwhile MNLF chairman was captured in Malaysia a year later and repatriated to Manila to face charges of rebellion.

Many of his armed followers still maintain a stronghold in Jolo. They have been accused of supporting the Abu Sayyaf, a group linked by the Philippine and US governments to the al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden.

Ermita said the government has reason to believe that even behind bars, Misuari has been leading his loyalist MNLF faction fighting government forces in Jolo.

"There is that possibility because we have reports coming directly from the members of the central committee of the MNLF and they are wondering why Misuari was even allowed to talk with his commanders," Ermita said.

"And they were really surprised and that is why the Philippine National Police (PNP), which is guarding Misuari, are no longer giving him the opportunity to talk with his people in Jolo," he said.

Solicitations

Despite the clashes, the government said this will not affect its continuing peace accord with the MNLF.

Ermita added that it would not affect the holding of ARMM elections in August.

"So we hope nothing more of this kind will happen so that by August, the elections in ARMM take place (in which) President Arroyo’s 10-point agenda on automated elections will be tested that we can use in the coming 2007 elections," he said.

Despite the assurances, some military and local government officials have reported the Misuari renegades are soliciting support and help from civilians and comrades outside Sulu.

One of the senior MNLF negotiators, Absalum Cervesa, expressed apprehension that if the hostilities are not properly contained, they could spill over since MNLF members still respect Misuari as their leader.

Dema-ala, for his part, confirmed some leaders of the Misuari faction have sought help from civilians.

"But nobody came as the civilians are very angry at them," Dema-ala said.

"They (the civilians) even suggested we finish off the group," he added.

Likewise, Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Affairs Secretary Jesus Dureza said the Misuari renegades are calling for reinforcements and ask for ammunition.

"The people there were very angry against the group," Dureza said after coming back from Sulu.

The Misuari rebels reportedly burned two civilian houses and fired at the mosque in Barangay Siit, Panamao after they failed to overrun a military outpost of the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion, Dureza said.

According to Dureza, a rebel group led by Malik told the barangay captain and the villagers that they would just pass by the village but ended up attacking the military camp instead.

He said villagers have expressed apprehension that the rebels will just return to power if the military concedes to a ceasefire.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman arrived in Jolo with Presidential adviser on peace process Teresita Deles yesterday.

Soliman said President Arroyo sent them to meet with the provincial governor and local officials "to see what else could be done" to help thousands of people displaced by the fighting.

The Red Cross administrator for Sulu, Preciosa Chiong, said 1,300 families have fled their homes but most have moved in with relatives and friends.

She said a boatload of relief supplies was sent overnight Friday to Luuk town near Panamao, the scene of recent clashes.

Deles stressed the fighting will not affect talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and that the MNLF is continuing to uphold its 1996 peace accord.

The MILF said they will help the government in preventing further bloodshed in Jolo.

‘Goodwill Gesture’ By MILF

For their part, lawmakers welcomed the MILF offer to act as a "go-between" between the military and armed followers of Misuari.

"More lives can be wasted if we don’t sit down and talk. The only way we can resolve this conflict and prevent it from spreading all throughout Mindanao is to bring everyone to the negotiating table," House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles said.

Nograles agreed with suggestions that a truce should be negotiated immediately to prevent further bloodshed.

He said the MILF offer was a "good sign that a permanent peace agreement between the government and this Moro rebel faction is within sight."

"This is a very beautiful gesture of goodwill (by the MILF). I think we should welcome the mediation initiative."

He said the gesture made by the MILF shows the urgent need for the peace process to succeed in order to fast-track progress in Mindanao.

Nograles stressed, however, that any positive developments should not be construed as weakness on the military’s part.

"It also should not mean any troops pull out from the areas of conflict until after the civilians are already out of harm’s way. Any ceasefire talks should not mean weakness of the military to suppress violence but to get civilians out of harm’s way," he noted. — With John Unson, Roel Pareño, Delon Porcalla, Jaime Laude, AFP