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Moro Ready To Defend Territories Against U.S. Troops
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| U.S. military presence in Philippines is widely slammed as “unconstitutional” |
Report by IOL Correspondent, Kazi Mahmood
BASILAN, PHILIPPINES, Feb. 8 (IslamOnline) - A secret deal turned sour, the presence of American troops in Mindanao on Friday continued to draw flacks of criticism and threats from independence claiming forces in southern Philippines.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which vehemently opposed the arrival of the 600 strong force of the United States army warned that it would attack American troops if they violated the delimitations of territories in the region.
The MILF is the largest independence claiming movement in Mindanao, fighting for the establishment of a sovereign Islamic state. It controls a certain amount of territory in the region and has fought against Filipino forces for over 25 years.
U.S.-Filipino military exercise called Balikatan 2002, which is still awaiting the arrival of the bulk of participating U.S. troops, will move from Zamboanga City to southern island of Basilan in a week or two.
The joint operations between Philippine and U.S. troops against the Abu Sayyaf group was kept a secret deal by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who defended her decision to have U.S. soldiers in the country.
U.S. troops were initially sent to the Philippines to assist the local army in its fight against the Abu Sayyaf and to salvage remaining hostages still in the hands of the group. An American couple from Texas the “Burnhams” is still being kept prisoners in an undisclosed location on the island of Basilan.
The simple presence of the American soldiers has given rise to protest from senators and civil organizations as well as separatist movements. Observers said that U.S. participation in the war against the Abu Sayyaf group would further destabilize the situation in Mindanao where the bulk of the Muslim population of the Philippines resides.
In January, Madrassah’s in Muslim Mindanao enrolled thousands of young students who wanted to get training in Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) camps in Jolo, Basilan and Cota Batu city. The aim is clearly to better equip the Bangsamoro with warriors who would defend the Bangsamoro land (Muslim Mindanao) against joint Filipino and American aggression.
Earlier February, the MILF has decided to put its forces on full alert in order to guard themselves from possible attack during the “war games” that are currently being held in Mindanao.
The Bangsamoro people in general believe the “‘war games” is a camouflage attempt by the Arroyo administration to bring U.S. troops on Filipino soil in order to launch a massive onslaught against Muslim separatism.
In a bid to prevent an escalation of conflicts in the war torn region, Manila has called for a joint meeting between the MILF and the government to discuss American soldier’s participation in the country.
Today the government has finally assured senators that American soldiers participating in the joint RP-U.S. "Balikatan 2002" military exercises will not be allowed to engage in combat nor join patrols in Basilan.
Three ranking officials of the Arroyo administration said that even though the US has expressed reservations on the issue of command, U.S. soldiers might be placed under the leadership of Filipino military officials.
The government gave guarantees that the war games would comply with the law, would not infringe on national sovereignty and would be undertaken under existing treaties and not other secret agreements.
A draft written for that purpose gives the Philippines command of the exercise, bars U.S. troops from combat operations, fixes the U.S. presence at a maximum of 660 soldiers, prohibits permanent U.S. military facilities and limits training to Basilan island and nearby Zamboanga.
It also states that the war games can last no longer than six months and allows the Americans to fire back in self-defense. "U.S. forces at all levels shall comply with the operational instructions of the AFP unit commander and at no instance shall they operate independently within (Philippine) territory," Arroyo said.
At Malacañang, President Arroyo said the issue of command should not be a problem because U.S. troops will not be allowed to engage in actual combat anyway.
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