THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will not surrender the combatants involved in the Mamasapano massacre because it has its own disciplinary board and justice system to address any wrongdoing, MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar said on radio dzBB Sunday.
He said a seven-man team had been formed to conduct an “internal probe,” the result of which would be discussed only by the central leadership.
“The seven-man team is just an ad hoc to conduct an investigation. But the result of the probe is for internal purposes only, internal to the MILF leadership,” Jaafar told dzBB.
Jaafar said if a crime is established, those responsible would be placed under military court martial of the MILF.
“We established our own military court in 2013,” Jaafar said, adding that Shariah courts were also established and manned by justices that have acquired their education from the Middle East.
He said the judges were educated in Muslim universities in Egypt; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait, Pakistan and Malaysia.
Jaafar appealed to all sectors to await the results of the MILF probe and that even the MILF officials were barred from making public statements so as not to be accused of speculation.
Although the probe had not been completed, Jaafar cleared his fighters of accusations of murder.
“The encounter was not intentional. And it was not a massacre. A massacre is one-sided, meaning the other party has arms and the victims were unarmed. In this case, all parties involved were armed. The SAF-PNP were armed, the MILF were armed and the other armed groups were armed. Many were killed in the SAF-PNP and many were also killed from the MILF. So there was an encounter. There was a battle, where all parties were armed. So definitely this is not a massacre,” Jaafar said.
Jaafar, also vice chairman of the MILF central committee, refused to say whether or not the firearms, Kevlar vests and personal belongings that were taken from the 44 fallen SAF troopers would be returned.
“These things will be discussed by the central committee or the leadership of the MILF. I ask the media to just await the result of the probe,” said Jaafar, even though he had said earlier that the investigation would be kept internal.
He also refused to name those who would constitute the MILF’s seven-man investigating team.
In the Palace, the President’s spokesman said government troops were prepared to thwart any possible retaliatory attacks from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters following last week’s clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines and all government troops are ready to fight any such plan to retaliate and ensure the safety of our people,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said.
“The Armed Forces is fully prepared for this,” he added.
While Operation Exodus left 44 elite Special Action Force commandos dead, the government said the mission to arrest or neutralize international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, has been accomplished.
However, many have raised concern that Marwan’s death, while still being verified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, might trigger retaliatory attacks from the BIFF.
AFP spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla Jr. said the military has added more checkpoints and increased visibility in the country’s southern region after the Mamasapano clash.
“Efforts are being exerted to bring normalcy to Maguindanao, especially,” Padilla said.
Capt. Jo-anne Petinglay, spokesperson of the 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao, said they are monitoring the movement of BIFF rebels.
Coloma said President Benigno Aquino III is determined to ensure that justice is served for the 44 elite cops, some of whom were killed pointblank and sustained several gunshots to the head.
“The President is fully determined to ensure that justice is served, to ensure that those responsible (for the carnage) are held accountable while pushing for the peace process,” Coloma said.
A spokesman for the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), meanwhile, said the disarmament of the MILF would remain “an illusion.”
Absalom Cerveza, spokesman of the MNLF, said whether the MILF could force its members to yield their firearms “remains to be seen.”
Government and MILF negotiators met in Kuala Lumpur last week to sign an agreement on the disarmament process.
But Cerveza said he doubted whether the accord would be followed, since most of the firearms in the possession of its members are privately owned.
“Most of the firearms were bought individually, and whether the MILF could force them to surrender those firearms remains to be seen,” Cerveza said.
Cerveza recalled that during the MNLF disarmament process in 1996, MNLF regulars did not surrender their firearms but were only made to return to camps in the hope the government would undertake the rehabilitation of its members.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/02/02/milf-won-t-surrender-combatants-sets-internal-probe-/
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