Biazon calls for suspension of peace talks with MILF

COTABATO City, Philippines—House defense committee chairman Rodolfo Biazon called on the government Thursday to suspend the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the wake of Tuesday’s clash in Basilan that left 19 soldiers dead.

Speaking over a local radio station here, Biazon, also former national defense chief, said that instead of talking with the rebels, the government should concentrate on hunting down those involved in the Al-Barka clash.

“We have to suspend the talks,” he said.

Biazon also said an investigation into the reported link between the MILF and the terror group Abu Sayyaf should be conducted.

Military officials said some of the rebels involved in the Al-Barka clash were colluding with the Abu Sayyaf, a charge that the MILF has repeatedly denied.

“Let us first make it clear what’s the connection of the MILF to the Abu Sayyaf,” Biazon said.

But government chief negotiator Marvic Leonen said in a statement posted on the website of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process (OPAPP) that the Al-Barka encounter was isolated and should not affect the talks.

“The fighting has already stopped. We are certain that this is an isolated incident. This armed confrontation was not intended by both government and MILF,” he said.

Leonen also said an investigation should be conducted on the clash so that the government could get a clearer picture of what happened.

“We are confident that the current mechanisms for monitoring violations of the ceasefire agreement are in place and are effectively working. With the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as well as the ceasefire committees, we hope to be able to get a clearer picture of the causes of this incident,’ he said.

But Biazon said the clash was not isolated.

“We have 19 soldiers’ dead and it’s not an isolated case,” he said.

Biazon said that in 2007, MILF rebels also clashed with soldiers in Al-Barka. Fourteen of the soldiers were later found to be mutilated and beheaded.

Mohaqher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, maintained that the two Al-Barka encounters were prompted by uncoordinated military actions and that the rebel group should not be faulted for it.

He also said the MILF would not surrender Dan Laksaw Asnawi and his men, who were being sought for their alleged role in the 2007 beheadings.

“Why are we going to surrender them? It was the military who attacked their position. Beside, they are covered by our existing truce,” Iqbal said.

Leonen said the latest Al-Barka encounter could be tackled when the peace panels meet in Malaysia next month.

A Malaysian official assigned with the International Monitoring Team (IMT) said they were working doubly hard to restore order in Basilan.

“We are doing our best to restore peace in that island province. We have rules and procedures to follow under the signed ceasefire agreement between the MILF and the Philippine government,” Major Gen. Dato Mahdi Bin Yusof, IMT head of mission, said.

He said the IMT’s intervention would be fair and would not jeopardize the government’s peace process.

“The team would be free to verify the bloody incident and act decisively that would help restore peace and the stalled peace negotiations. Certainly, the IMT investigation hopes to know what constitutes the ceasefire violation,” Yusof told reporters Wednesday.

Meanwhile, close to 900 families from five villages of Al-Barka in Basilan had fled their homes following the clash.

Lilia Bucoy, Basilan social welfare officer, said the villages deserted by residents were Kailih, Cambug, Macalang, Danapan and Lunuan.

In her report to Pombaen Karon-Kader, social welfare secretary for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Bucoy said the fleeing residents sought refuge with their relatives or government buildings in Batobato, Apil-apil, Magcawa, Guinanta, Bohetambak and Bucalao villages.