Mohagher Iqbal at the House hearing on Bangsamoro Basic Law. FILE PHOTO BY LIRA DALANGIN-FERNANDEZ
Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) saved about 28 members of the Special Action Forces (SAF) from imminent death during the Mamasapano incident on January 25, 2015, Bangsamoro Transition Commission chairman Mohagher Iqbal told the Senate panel Thursday.
In his statement issued during the investigation of the Mamasapano incident that killed 44 SAF members, Iqbal said that “credit must be given where the credit is due.”
"Through the efforts of MILF, 28 SAF were rescued from imminent death that day," he said.
Iqbal said that the 28 SAF members were part of the first team that was holed up in an area one kilometer northeast of Tukanalipao.
“They were already being fired upon by unidentified armed groups. The 28 SAF are alive today because of the efforts of the MILF and finally, it is the will of God,” he said.
Iqbal said that MILF was not the only group present in the area. “The SAF fought other armed individuals belonging to different networks and groups - BIFF, private armed groups, local militias, etc.”
“The delicate task of finding out who did what, especially the reported atrocities, cannot immediately be blamed on the MILF. That would be unfair. We need to investigate,” he said.
On the part of MILF, Iqbal added that aside from their investigation, they push for a truly independent group that would conduct a fair and impartial investigation of the incident.
“While we cannot change the past, we can do something about the future. We can work together to make sure that something like this will not happen again. Thus, we are already investigating the conduct of our men during that encounter to see if anyone violated the rules of conduct,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iqbal denied institutional link with Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter and other armed groups in Mindanao since they don’t share the same goals and objectives.
“There is no truth to the allegation that we are conniving with each other,” he said.
He said that the peace process is important to them and to everybody.
“It has brought us the promise of a good life for our people – free from fear, want, and discrimination. It contains our hopes and our dreams – if not for us, for our children,” he said.
“We have waited for this opportunity for 17 years. We promised our people that peace will be our legacy. We seek your help in making this promise possible. We cannot do it by ourselves. We ask you to help us live in peace,” Iqbal said.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/104938/milf-rescued-28-saf-members-saved-them-from-imminent-death-in-mamasapano---iqbal
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