The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) expressed
willingness to support law enforcement agencies tasked to serve arrest warrants
on 90 individuals that the Department of Justice will criminally charged for
the death of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members in Mamasapano, Maguindanano
last Jan.25.
AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, in
a media briefing Thursday, said the military was willing to support these
initiatives as true peace is accompanied by justice.
Cabunoc also expressed belief that the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) will not intervene in the arrest of its members
implicated in the death of the 44 SAF members in the mission that neutralized
Malaysian terrorist Zulkipli bin Hir alias "Marwan" last Jan. 25.
Aside from the MILF, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
(BIFF), along with private armed groups, were tagged as the perpetrators in the
violent incident.
He also said that the AFP will coordinate with the MILF
communities when conducting support operations for the arrest of these suspects.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=753564
This is another rash idea on par with the one conjured up by the PNP that led them to the believe that they could just waltz right into MILF and BIFM strongholds unannounced, start shooting people and not expect an overwhelming armed response, It is a naïve view. I would seem most likely that any attempt to arrest MILF participants in the Mamasapano incident could well be met with armed resistance and could subsequently lead to the breakdown of the government/MILF ceasefire peace process.
ReplyDeleteThe MILF leadership has already indicated that they will not turnover MILF members to the PNP. They have invoked the terms of the ceasefire/peace process to protect their own. It would be rash to assume that if the AFP/PNP simply announce their intention to arrest the participants in the Mamasapano incident that they would not be met with armed resistance from MILF commanders on the ground. The fighting could rapidly spread and might well lead to the breakdown of the ceasefire and deal the GRP-MILF peace agreement a death blow, at least in the short term.