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MILF to Assist Manila Government Against Abu Sayyaf
MANILA, June 24
(IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A spokesman for Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which says it's fighting for more rights for the neglected and oppressed Muslim community in the Philippines, said Saturday there was a strong possibility that the secessionist movement would help the government in its fight against the violent Abu Sayyaf Group.
Eid Kabalu said the issue of a joint government-MILF operation against the ASG could be discussed during the formal resumption of talks.
"We have long been making gestures that we want to help, but it looks like we were not given attention," Kabalu said. "With the revival of the talks, that possibility [of joint operations] could be discussed by the panel," he added.
The ASG is currently holding at least 23 local and foreign hostages on the island of Basilan. Some of the hostages were reportedly beheaded. Reports say that the Sayyaf group also killed American Guillermo Sobero.
President Gloria Arroyo suspended military operations against the MILF in February. She, however, maintained the all out war against the Abu Sayyaf group.
The government of Arroyo also said on Sunday that it is bound to appoint its own negotiators who would assist the army in their bid to seek the release of hostages. The MILF, in the past, maintained that the all out war against the Abu Sayyaf's should stop and that there should be negotiations.
Kabalu said MILF forces have abided by the suspension of military operations in areas where they operate. The latest gesture of goodwill by the MILF followed their signing of a formal peace agreement with the Philippine government on Friday in Libya .
In signing the agreement, the two parties acknowledged the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in pursuing an all-out peace policy in Mindanao.
The June 22, 2001 agreement urges both panels not only to implement but also to "strengthen" the GRP-MILF Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities dated July 18, l997.
The two parties also agreed to invite representatives of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to observe and monitor the implementation of GRP-MILF agreements, including the ceasefire accord.
The July 18, l997 ceasefire accord was virtually suspended when the military and MILF forces clashed in several areas in Central Mindanao last year, which led to the capture by government forces of major MILF camps, including Camp Abubakar, its erstwhile main headquarters.
The 16,000 strong MILF, in turn, ordered its forces in early April to halt all attacks on government troops to pave the way for peace talks.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose country has brokered previous agreements between the Philippine government and Moro rebels, agreed with Arroyo that the rebels should abandon their goal of secession in Mindanao.
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