(UPDATE 2) Government nixes Ramadan truce with MILF
Operations only vs Kato, Bravo--Palacec
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:09:00 08/28/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The government rejected calls halt offensives against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, even as Malacañang stressed continuing military offensives in Mindanao will be against only two rebel commanders accused of attacking civilian communities.
In Malacañang, gave assurances on Thursday that government forces "will take into account with great sensitivity" the month-long fasting observed by Muslims worldwide but would not allow this to be used by the targeted rebels as an excuse to escape the law.
"The observance of the holy month of Ramadan will be taken into account with great sensitivity by law enforcement elements as they enforce the law against those who have committed violations of the law,” Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said after emerging from a meeting of the National Executive Committee’s executive committee in Malacañang.
“We will, however, not allow Ramadan to be used as an occasion to escape responsibility," Dureza stressed.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. also said the secessionist rebels could not use the religious event as a "shield."
"A total ceasefire is unacceptable because of the fact that we have a law [to enforce]," Teodoro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo.
Teodoro also warned that if it is proven that the MILF leadership connived with what government has tagged “renegade” rebels, they could be branded as terrorists, even at the expense of the peace process.
Even as he was saying this, the military resumed air strikes against the MILF’s 105th Base Commander under Ameril Ombra Kato in Maguindanao province. And in Lanao del Norte, troops overran a rebel camp under MILF commander Abdurahman Macapaar alias Bravo.
Colonel Marlou Salazar, commander of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, which is involved in operations against Kato, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) that the air strikes were carried out between 8-8:30 a.m. against rebel positions in the Liguasan Marsh near Guindulungan town.
"There was also sporadic fighting,” Salazar said. “Kato's men are sniping at our men. We have enough men on the ground so the rebels cannot retake their camps, which we overran."
Kato led MILF fighters who occupied several villages in North Cotabato, triggering the current round of hostilities, which broke out shortly after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against the signing of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and secessionist group.
Government forces are also pursuing Bravo, who led rebels who attacked five towns in Lanao del Norte, which left around 40 people, mostly civilians, dead, about week after Kato’s men were driven back.
Asked if there would be restrictions on offensives during Ramadan, Teodoro said: "I think there will be tactical adjustments. It will depend upon the commander operating in one area."
"But it also depends on how the fugitives will use Ramadan to shield their actions…I mean, what they have done are un-Islamic. How do you expect them to conform to Islamic norms when they have slaughtered people?" Teodoro said.
Nevertheless, the defense chief said ground commanders were expected to "balance" their tactics with the "sensibilities" of the civilian communities.
Teodoro said if evidence points to connivance between Kato, Macapaar and the MILF leadership, the entire rebel organization could be declared terrorist.
Earlier, the MILF dismissed government descriptions of Kato as a renegade, saying the rebel commander and his men had merely defended themselves against allegedly unprovoked attacks by government militias.
Asked if the government was willing to sacrifice the peace process by branding the MILF as terrorists he said, “If the evidence shows it, then the evidence will point out, too, that they have not been sincere in the peace process all along."
"I mean, [the] question [of proving] sincerity and good faith now lies squarely on the shoulders of the MILF. I mean, coddling criminals is not a sign of bona fide [sincerity] in anyone's book," he added.
Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao
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