SULTAN KUDARAT – The Philippines
The fighting killed 44 members of
the Special Action Force and also 17 MILF members, including 3 civilians and
several Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Mamasapano town.
The police commandos had killed
Malaysian bomber Zulkifli bin Hir in a top secret operation deep inside an MILF
territory, but were ambushed by rebels that sparked daylong clashes that even
President Aquino – who authorized the anti-terror mission - failed to stop.
The MILF submitted its report to
the Malaysia-led International (Ceasefire) Monitoring Team on March 22. The IMT
is also composed of representatives from Japan ,
Indonesia and Brunei , and supported by the United States
The MILF launched its own probe
into the January 25 clashes after lawmakers accused the separatist group of
breaking the truce it signed with the Aquino government when its forces killed
members of the elite Special Action Force in the remote village of Tukanalipao
“This report was submitted to the
Head of Mission of the International Monitoring Team,” said MILF Vice Chairman
Mohagher Iqbal, who is also the Front’s chief peace negotiator. “It’s a
comprehensive report.”
He said the IMT will also forward
the report to Kuala Lumpur being the facilitator
of the peace talks between the MILF and the Philippines
A copy of the 38-page report
furnished by the MILF to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner, also blamed
police authorities for the clashes, saying the commando operation was not
coordinated with the MILF despite an agreement between the cease-fire
committees of both groups; and that it violated the truce.
Iqbal said: “What happened in
Mamasapano on that fateful January 25 was a violation of the cease-fire
agreement by the Philippine government because there was no prior coordination
with the MILF as far as the SAF (Special Action Force) operation was
concerned.”
The report also denied that MILF
members mutilated or beheaded police commandos, and said members of the Special
Action Force even used the slain bodies of policemen as shield during the
fighting.
While the report blamed the police
for the fighting, the MILF also acknowledged that its commanders from the 105th and 118th Base
Commands failed to detect the presence of Zulkifli and Filipino terrorist Basit
Usman, who hid near their base and even used a thatched house in Pembalkan
village previously owned by an MILF member – Ustadz Baguindali – who died in
2008; and their failure to detect the entry of police commandos in the
area.
“The MILF and civilian residents
in Mamasapano did not know that Basit Usman and Marwan were in their community.
The house in which Marwan was found and killed belonged to Ustadz Baguindali,
who had died in 2008. The MILF did not know that Marwan and Usman had moved
into Barangay Pembalkan. When Marwan was killed, he was with the group of Basit
Usman, in the vicinity where the BIFF and the break-away group (Justice for
Islamic Movement) of Mohammad Ali Tambako (who was captured recently in General
Santos City) are based,” the report said, adding, the area is 3 kilometers away
from the MILF combatants in Tukanalipao village.
The report said the MILF had in
2005 ordered both Zulkifli and Usman to leave MILF camps and communities after
both men were tagged as “terrorists.” The MILF denied it coddled Zulkifli or
protected Usman. “This policy of cleaning its ranks of terrorists has not changed
and is the very reason why the (Philippine) government has continued
negotiating peace with the MILF,” it said.
It said the MILF will not
surrender those involved in the fighting with police commandos because it has
the sole to impose sanctions on its members.
In the end, the report recommended
to the MILF to file a protest with the Aquino government against the Special
Action Force for violating the cease-fire agreement. And for the government to
further investigate PO2 Christopher Lalan, of the Special Action Force, for
killing four MILF members who were shot dead in their sleep inside a mosque in
Tukanalipao village, and a civilian Mohammad Ambilang.
It said new security mechanisms
must be immediately put in place by both the government and MILF peace panels
to prevent future clashes between security and rebel forces.
The report was prepared by the
MILF Commission headed by Ustadz Said Abdusalam whose members included Hussein
Muñoz, Toks Ebrahim, Von al-Haq and Ustadz Abu Ubaidah Agkong.
Many groups were demanding
President Aquino’s resignation over his failure to prevent the fighting. Aquino
called the daylong clashes between commandos and rebels as a “misencounter”
between friendly forces.
The MILF signed a peace accord
last year, but the peace process is yet to be completed with passage of
Bangsamoro Basic Law now pending in Congress following the carnage. Lawmakers
shelved the BBL until investigations into the deadly clashes between Special
Action Force and MILF is completed. The BBL is important in crafting a new
Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao .
Aside from the multi-sectoral
groups demanding Aquino to step down, lawmakers also wanted him to resign –
accusing the President of covering up the deadly clash despite being told by
the Special Action Force about the fighting. There were also rumors of a coup
d’état and widespread demoralization among members of the police and
military.
The Mamasapano clash drew
widespread condemnation and is now threatening not only the peace process, but
the presidency as public outcry for Aquino’s weak leadership continues to mount.
http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2015/03/milf-releases-mamasapano-clash-report.html
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.