So what, Moro rebs tell Communist Party of the Philippines
By DJ Yap, Dona PazzibuganPhilippine Daily Inquirer
So what if the United States may be dipping its finger in the peace process?
The secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) should understand the Muslim insurgents’ perspective on the peace talks.
Reacting to a CPP statement suggesting that the United States had exerted pressure on President Benigno Aquino III to meet secretly with MILF chair Murad Ebrahim on Aug. 4, the MILF said it saw nothing wrong with the US being involved in the peace process, assuming the CPP claim is true.
“Indeed the United States has the moral responsibility to help solve this unfinished Moro question. They must rectify the errors of their past misdeeds,” the MILF said in an editorial posted in its website on Tuesday.
“Had they separated the Moro province from Luzon and the Visayas, there would have been no such thing as the Moro problem or the struggle for the right to self-determination in Mindanao that has resulted in so much bloodshed and destruction,” it said.
The MILF said it was “pragmatic in seeking support, both domestic and international, that would prop up our chances of success.”
Talking to or engaging the Americans does not make you a puppet, it said.
“On the contrary, it shows not only creativity but also maturity and more importantly self-confidence, strength of character and belief that what you profess or stand for is the correct thing,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said the communist New People’s Army (NPA) has been launching attacks practically every day in response to the counterinsurgency campaign in the countryside.
There were five attacks by the NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, in the past week, prompting countermeasures from the police, said PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr.
He cited recent incidents in Masbate province, where a police station was attacked and bomb was discovered in another, as well as rebel offensives in Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur and Bukidnon.
Last Monday, a bomb was recovered from a concrete wall of Masbate’s San Fernando police station, Cruz said. The day before, NPA rebels posing as Army soldiers attempted to overrun the Mobo police station in the same province, wounding three policemen.
One soldier was also killed in an ambush a few hours later, following the attack.
“This latest incident of CPP/NPA hostility, as well as the recent incidents in Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, and Bukidnon could all be part of the CPP/NPA strategy as contained in the order of the CPP/NPA Central Committee to all NPA guerrilla fronts to launch at least one tactical offensive every three months,” Cruz said.
He said this “translates to roughly five tactical offensives every week throughout the country.”
PNP Director General Raul M. Bacalzo ordered all regional directors to strengthen defenses of all “soft targets” and avoid being caught flat-footed in case of an enemy attack.
Police units were also instructed to mobilize the barangay information network and other intelligence sources in the community.
Bacalzo said it was necessary to focus on isolated police outposts and government installations in the wake of the recent hostilities.
The PNP chief commended the Mobo police station led by Senior Insp. Leus A. Prima for putting up a brave stand against an “overwhelming enemy force” that staged the early morning assault on Sunday.
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Tags: communist New People’s Army (NPA) , Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) , MILF chair Murad Ebrahim , Muslim insurgents , peace process , Peace Talks , Philippine National Police (PNP) , President Benigno Aquino III , Secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
