TO PROTECT PEACE TALKS
Palace advises ‘calibrated response’ vs MILF
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 19:43:00 07/02/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The military should undertake a "calibrated response" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to preserve the gains of the peace process, even as government troops and secessionist rebels continued to battle each other in central Mindanao.
Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, who was former presidential peace adviser, said peace talks with the MILF must be protected as he encouraged the military to use the mechanisms of a four-year old ceasefire agreement with the rebel group to resolve the hostilities in Mindanao.
"We do not want to squander the gains of the peace process so a calibrated response must be adopted by the military. The military has to take appropriate steps to protect civilians from harm amid the resurgence of violence, even as we emphasize the primacy of the peace process," Dureza said in a news conference Wednesday.
"These are not ordinary incidents. You have the MILF there, and then you also have other groups [who stand to lose if a peace agreement is signed]. You have kidnap for ransom groups, you have the Abu Sayyaf, you have groups that are out to sabotage the talks," he pointed out.
The MILF used a 51-millimeter mortar to bring down a transmission tower in Barangay (village) Dalingaoen in Pikit town. A bomb was also planted in another tower but failed to explode.
On Tuesday, a 30-minute firefight in Aleosan town in North Cotabato broke out between government troops and MILF rebels, the second clash in less than a week.
Over the weekend, at least 200 MILF rebels in full battle gear made their presence felt in the border towns of Midsayap in North Cotabato and Datu Piang in Maguindanao, forcing thousands of villagers to flee to the town centers.
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