Peace panels downplay MILF split

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Negotiators from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government are confident that the breakaway of Ameril Ombra Kato and his followers from the MILF will not derail talks to resolve the armed conflict in Mindanao.

“Kato has declared that he is not against the peace process and will continue to abide by the ceasefire agreement,” Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, told some 100 participants of a multisectoral dialogue here on Monday.

Before he left the MILF, Kato led the 105th Base Command of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the rebel group’s armed wing. He later formed the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

“Splits are a reality in revolutionary movements throughout the world. But it has not hindered efforts by involved parties to conclude political settlements like in Sudan and Northern Ireland,” Iqbal said.

On Saturday in Manila, government peace panel member Miriam Coronel-Ferrer tried to downplay Kato’s formation of the BIFF.

Ferrer said she was worried that the media was “making a mountain out of a molehill” with the Kato issue while missing the larger picture of the peace process “which is now in its crucial stage.”

She spoke before a journalists’ forum on reporting conflict and humanitarian emergencies organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Iqbal said the peace process “has sufficient mechanisms to rein” in Kato. For one, he said, the International Monitoring Team, which oversees compliance with the truce between the MILF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, could become an effective tool should Kato become a threat to the peace process.

He also cited the possibility of calling in the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), a body tasked with going after criminals entering rebel strongholds.

But he immediately added that that there was no need to use these mechanisms to subdue the renegade rebel leader.

The BIFF only has about 100 armed men, Iqbal said as he belittled Kato’s capability to launch serious attacks.