Iqbal: MILF won’t release full report on Mamasapano debacle

Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

COTABATO CITY – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Saturday maintained that it can only provide the Department of Justice an executive summary of the result of its investigation on the Mamasapano incident.

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, issued the statement after Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she wanted to get hold of the MILF full report rather than just a summary.

“As of now, how I wish I would prefer the very report itself, because it contained all the details (of the incident),” she told Manila reporters on Friday.

But Iqbal said for the MILF, the full report was “for internal use” of the rebel group only.

“It’s the decision of the central committee that only the summary report will be given to all. The substance and quality of the summary is good,” he said.

Iqbal said it is not only the DOJ that will be getting the summary but the Malaysian government and the government’s peace panel as well.

“I hope they will understand us,” he said of the MILF’s decision not to release the report in full.

The MILF has formed a special investigation team to look into the Mamasapano clash, which killed 44 elite policemen, 18 MILF rebels and five civilians.

The MILF investigation was prompted by the uproar created by the incident, especially when videos of the encounter were uploaded on the Internet.

De Lima had said the MILF report could be useful as the DOJ team was looking into all sides of the incident.

Last week, the DOJ inspection team even tried to visit the clash site to get a first look at the area. With a report from Judy Quiros, Inquirer Mindanao