MILF rebs attack; 1 killed

PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines—Muslim rebels killed a civilian in a raid on a police station in Marawi City on Friday to free two arrested comrades despite a ceasefire and peace talks with the government, officials said.

The attack came as government negotiators held talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Malaysia with the aim of finalizing a peace pact to end decades of fighting.

Marawi police chief Supt. Christopher Panapan was seized by the rebels and used as a human shield while his brother-in-law identified only as Malik, a civilian, was shot dead, said local Army chief Col. Glen Macasero.

Panapan was later freed and turned over to local officials, said national police spokesperson Senior Supt. Reuben Sindac.

MILF spokesperson Von Al Haq confirmed the incident, saying members “rescued their two arrested brothers … and even killed one civilian, and the chief of police was abducted by them.”

He added that Panapan was handed over by the group of an MILF commander—who was not named—to members of the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) near Marawi City.

The joint ceasefire committees of the government and the MILF, the provincial government, the IMT and the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade were instrumental in facilitating the safe release of Panapan, he said.

Mechanisms working

Al Haq said negotiators, including Said Sheik, the former ceasefire chief of the MILF, talked with Panapan’s captors and secured his release from an undisclosed location.

“On the lighter side, this incident is proof that all ceasefire mechanisms are operating and are united (in peaceful endeavors),” he said.

About 50 members of the MILF stormed the Marawi City police station in Barangay West Marinaut around 12:10 a.m. Friday, disarmed the policemen on duty, shot and killed a civilian, and then sprung out two of their detained comrades before fleeing with the city police chief in tow.

The police identified the two arrested rebels as Johanne Cader and Mesron Borodan.

Macasero said the MILF rebels then fled with Panapan on two speedboats—which were waiting some 150 meters away from the police station—toward Nusa Island on Lake Lanao.

Army spokesperson Capt. Jefferson Somera said the attack was a clear violation of the ceasefire and the issue would be raised with the joint ceasefire monitoring committee.

However, Al Haq claimed the arrest of the two MILF members for illegal possession of firearms in October was also a violation of the ceasefire.

The MILF spokesperson also said the raid on the police should not affect the peace talks.

“This is a very isolated case. What is important here is the sincerity of both sides,” he said.

The government peace panel in Manila said that when the negotiators in Malaysia heard about the incident, they “immediately raised the matter to its MILF counterpart for urgent action.”

“What we are after is peace with justice. We will rely on the established mechanisms to ensure that the rule of law is followed and justice is duly served,” the panel added.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma deplored the attack. “These are the enemies of peace and the government is determined to use all its power to stop them from disrupting the peace process.”

He said the Armed Forces of the Philippines would do everything within its power to stop those trying to derail the peace talks.

Acts of desperation

“We view these attempts to disrupt the peace process as acts of desperation and we are determined to stop these acts.”

President Aquino and the MILF signed a preliminary deal in October 2012 outlining the broad terms for a peace treaty that is expected to be signed before he ends his six-year term in 2016.

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal has said that a final draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that will seal a final peace deal with the government would be finalized in April next year.

“(A)fter talking to some lawmakers in Manila, the BTC (Bangsamaro Transition Commission) has set April in 2014 as the timeline that the draft of the BBL will be finalized and immediately transmitted to the Philippine Congress for their deliberation,” Iqbal said in his statement at the opening of the 42nd round of exploratory talks that began on Dec. 4 in Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, unidentified armed men also stormed a police detachment in Carmen, North Cotabato, on Thursday evening.

A village watchman was killed while two others, including a police officer, were injured in the 8 p.m. raid that took place in Barangay Ugalingan, according to Gov. Emmylou Mendoza, the North Cotabato governor.  AFP with reports from Nikko Dizon and Michael Lim Ubac in Manila, and Richel Umel, Allan Nawal and Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao

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