BIFF leader vows to fight after peace pact

From the Daily Tribune (Mar 30): BIFF leader vows to fight after peace pact

A day after his former comrades in arms signed a treaty to end 42 years of bloodshed in Mindanao, a senior leader of the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) vowed to continue pursuing independence.

“We want independence... through armed struggle,” Abu Missry Mama, also the spokesman for the BIFF, told Agence France Presse on a visit to his rural stronghold in the South.

Mama’s former comrades in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a peace treaty last Thursday that is expected to see them gain power under a self-rule setup in the Muslim-populated southern areas.

Mama, 62, is the public face of the BIFF, which split from the 10,000-member MILF in 2008 amid a row on how best to advance the interests of the 10 million Filipino Muslims.

The Muslim rebellion that began in 1972 left tens of thousands of people dead and consigned the area of the proposed autonomous region to brutal poverty and lawlessness.

“The MILF has its own way and we have mine too,” said Mama.

He added he fought for the MILF and was now the number-three leader of the BIFF under its founder Ameril Umra Kato, who the military said has been incapacitated by illness.

The BIFF founder was accused of leading his men in attacks across the south in 2008 that left more than 400 persons dead and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The farming region is dotted by small military camps and checkpoints.

Small military units and motorists have been frequent targets of deadly BIFF attacks as the group sought to disrupt the peace process, somehow withstanding repeated government assaults against it.

As he presided over the peace treaty signing in Manila last Thursday, President Aquino vowed that armed opponents of the pact “will be met with a firm response based on righteousness and justice.”

After more than 50 of its members were killed in a major military operation in late January, the BIFF has about 460 guerrillas left, military spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala told AFP.

“We have diminished their threat but we are still monitoring them because of the possibility that they will continue to spurn the peace,” Zagala said, adding they were now led by a man named Mohiden Animbang, alias “Karialan.”

Zagala said Mama was apparently an alias and the man was considered by the military as a BIFF spokesman.

Mama said the BIFF would only consider peace talks if the government would allow the creation of a separate Muslim nation, something Aquino has ruled out.

“There would be no condition in the talks. They just have to leave our homeland,” Mama said.

But Malacañang urged naysayers to give peace a chance in Mindanao after the Philippine government and the MILF signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) this week.

In a radio interview, deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte yesterday said those doubting the peace pact should look into the documents agreed by both sides.

“We invite you to look at the annexes or the documents that we have put up online in the interest of transparency. This will be the basis of the crafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law that will hopefully be passed by Congress,” she said.

“And let’s give it a chance. There are so many groups that are supportive of this peace deal. Let’s give it a chance,” the Palace official added.

Meanwhile, addressing the concerns of the employees of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) who fear they may lose their jobs once a new Bangsamoro political entity is established, Valte said the stakeholders considered their welfare during the negotiation for the peace agreement.

Prior to this however, ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman assured government workers in the autonomous region that they will be retained in their positions.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/biff-leader-vows-to-fight-after-peace-pact