The Mamasapano River, where it all began. FILE PHOTO, DENNIS ARCON, INTERAKSYON.COM
Both the government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) through its Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) committed possible violations of the ceasefire agreement during the January 25 clash in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao, the International Monitoring Team (IMT) in its verification report said.
While Oplan Exodus, which was carried out to serve warrants of arrest on two international terrorists, was a "valid law enforcement operation" of the Philippine National Police, ceasefire protocols were not observed during its planning and execution, the IMT noted.
A neutral body tasked to assist in the monitoring of the implementation of the ceasefire agreements between the government and the MILF, the IMT was authorized to conduct a verification mission on the Mamasapano incident.
It submitted its report to the government peace panel on April 5. The findings and recommendations were presented to the media in a news conference Monday, April 6 by the government peace negotiating panel led by its chairperson Miriam Coronel Ferrer.
Among its pertinent findings, IMT stated that:
**There was no evidence to show the MILF, as an organization, provided sanctuary or assistance to international terrorists Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan and Basit Usman, the main subjects of the operation. However, this does not dispel claims that some members of the MILF might have had knowledge of the whereabouts of Marwan and Usman.
**There was probable cause to assume that the PNP-SAF opened fire, resulting in the death of two BIAF members when they tried to cross the bridge in Mamasapano as supported by the bullet marks and blood stains on the bridge. This indicated a full firefight rather than a mere uncoordinated movement.
**The BIAF's actions can be seen as a response to the non-coordinated movements which cannot be categorized as a violation of the ceasefire agreement. However, the BIAF's entry into the cornfields that led to an armed clash with the 55th Special Action Company may be considered a violation of a provision of the ceasefire agreement.
**There was no sufficient evidence that the BIAF were the perpetrators of the summary execution against the SAF.
The IMT recommended that the government "coordinate and initiate the use of the conflict preventive mechanisms available when launching law enforcement operations in known MILF areas."
It also recommended the assignment of a higher ranking PNP officer to the coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities, which oversees the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
It suggested that the MILF-BIAF strengthen its command and control among its ranks as well as the circulation of intelligence in its organization. The IMT also said that PNP and BIAF combatants found to have committed crimes be penalized according to pertinent laws.
Area fully controlled by MILF
For her part, the government chief peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer disclosed that the IMT had acknowledged in its "Mamasapano Verification Report" that the area where the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers, 17 fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and 3 innocent civilians perished in a whole day gun-battle is an area that is fully controlled by the MILF.
Ferrer said the IMT pointed out that the encounter was in an area controlled by the BIAF of the MILF.
The IMT was established in 2004 to monitor the peace process and help resolve hostilities that may endanger the ceasefire mechanisms on the ground as agreed upon between the government and the MILF.
"The encounter site is accepted to be an MILF- controlled area, particularly in Tukanalipao which is under the BIAF. It's a mixed community, though, where armed groups are also present. It has a population of more than 20,000. Of this number, more than 1,000 have arms roaming freely with their firearms on them, mingling with each other. Meaning, the area has more or less 19,000 civilians," Ferrer said.
In the Senate hearings, senators such as Bongbong Marcos and Alan Peter Cayetano had accused the MILF of coddling terrorists who live inside their "territories" and are "peacefully co-existing" with them.
The MILF through its chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal denied they coddle terrorists.
Ferrer, in a news briefing at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas Center on Monday, said the government peace panel received a copy of the report on Sunday and President Aquino still has to be briefed on its contents.
"He (Aquino) has not been informed yet, but we have a security cluster meeting this afternoon in Malacanang," where, she said, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) will brief the President on the report.
Ferrer dismissed as speculation the idea that the briefing was meant to set the tone on the issue as the House of Representatives is to resume on Tuesday it investigation.
Ferrer said the IMT encountered some problems during its probe on the incident.
"They told us, they were not granted access to the site where the firefight occurred due to security issues, particularly in Barangay Tukanalipao," Ferrer explained.
She said the IMT was also not able to interview any of the SAF men involved in "Oplan Exodus."
"They relied mostly on the proceedings and documents from the hearing made by Congress, the PNP's Board of Inquiry (BOI) and the MILF report," Ferrer said.
"The PNP has the authority to serve warrants against the suspects," Ferrer said, quoting from the IMT report.
But the PNP-SAF was to blame for the bloodshed for ignoring ceasefire protocols.
"With reference to ceasefire protocols, this was not observed by Oplan Exodus," Ferrer said.
As a result of not coordinating its operation with the ceasefire mechanisms on the ground, the PNP-SAF suffered such a big number of casualties.
Surprisingly though, Ferrer said the IMT found that the MILF may be providing sanctuary to criminals but there was "no evidence to show they did this as an organization".
"Maybe some members may have known the whereabouts of Marwan and Usman but not the MILF as an organization," she said.
But the MILF entry into the cornfield where they finished off the SAF men was also considered by the IMT as a violation by the MILF rebels.
BELOW IS THE REPORT OF THE IMT:
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/108307/mamasapano--imt-finds-possible-fault-on-both-govt-milf-sides
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.