Kato prefers talks, not fighting, to settle rift with MILF leaders

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines – Ameril Umra Kato said Friday he considered peaceful dialogue the best option to resolve the differences between him and the leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Kato, who now heads the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement and its armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, made the statement after the MILF said it might consider force in subduing him.

“I still prefer to talk with Hadji Murad [Ebrahim],” Kato said in Filipino by phone. He said his group had no plans of slugging it out with MILF forces.

“We would not initiate attacks,” Kato said, adding it would be a different story if MILF forces attacked him.

“We will welcome them in any form whether through force or negotiation,” he said.

In a statement on its official Website, the MILF admitted that the Kato issue “remained the most contentious agenda” during the August exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur.

“In the plenary session on the 22nd of August, the MILF peace panel explained that the Kato issue is not a simple matter of declaring him ‘lost command’ and then in doing so would create a much bigger problem,” the MILF statement said.

The MILF said the Kato problem “is multi-dimensional: it has ingredients of social, political, religious, military, psychological, and personal; and therefore, requires multi-dimensional approach.”

The MILF said it told the government panel that it would resolve the Kato issue as it considers it “an internal problem.”

The MILF said the government wanted a timeframe for resolving the Kato issue but did not promise anything.