New Brunei ceasefire monitors arrive in South

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Accompanied by their deputy defense minister, Hadji Mohd Yasmin Bin Umar, 10 members of the Brunei Royal Armed Forces arrived here yesterday to replace their compatriots who have completed their year-long monitoring of the ceasefire in Mindanao.

The contingent, to operate under the Malaysian-led international monitoring team, was met at the Awang airport here by Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema and Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon.

Esperon said the new batch of soldiers from Brunei will be assisted by the joint ceasefire committee of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in performing their duties as members of the international monitoring team, which has been helping oversee joint security arrangements in potential flashpoint areas.

The monitoring team is composed of soldiers from Malaysia and Brunei and civilian representatives from Libya.

Malaysia, Brunei and Libya are member-states of the Organization of Islamic Conference, which is helping broker the government-MILF peace talks.

The foreign group has been monitoring the military-MILF ceasefire since September last year in areas often rocked by hostilities between MILF and government forces.

The chief of the Brunei contingent in the monitoring team, Lt. Col. Hadji Aminuddin Abidin, of the Brunei Royal Armed Forces, will be replaced by Lt. Jublee Bin Hadji Bangkol.

Last week, the Malaysian government replaced the head of its contingent, Maj. Gen. Dato Zulkifeli, who has completed his year-long duty as one of Malaysia’s representatives to the monitoring body.

Zulkifeli, who was the overall chief of the monitoring team, was replaced by Maj. Gen. Pahlawan Soheimi, also of the Malaysian Army.

Esperon, who was here yesterday to tour the areas covered by the 6th Infantry Division, the biggest Army unit in Central Mindanao, said he has directed all of his officers and soldiers to support extensively the foreign team’s ceasefire monitoring thrust.

Esperon, who served as commander of the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade in Carmen, North Cotabato from 2000 to 2002, said soldiers in Central Mindanao have religiously been adhering to the ceasefire.