From the Philippine Star (Apr 1): Minor hurt in North Cotabato blast
The powerful bomb explosion in Midsayap, North Cotabato early Saturday blew up a roadside barbecue stall and left a 16-year-old passerby wounded. Philstar.com/John Unson
NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - A passerby was seriously injured in an explosion that rocked the town proper of Midsayap before dawn Saturday, the sixth in central Mindanao this week.
The 16-year-old Hisnon Midpantao, who sustained shrapnel wounds in different parts of his body, was rushed to a hospital in Cotabato City by responding policemen and local rescue volunteers.
Midpantao was on a pedicab passing by Quezon Avenue in Midsayap, North Cotabato when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted underneath a barbecue grill in a makeshift roadside vending stall went off, sending metal fragments with jagged edges flying to different directions with force.
Superintendent Bernard Tayong, chief of the Midsayap municipal police, said there is a possibility that the roadside bomb was to be set off after dawn Saturday when traffic is heavy but exploded prematurely.
Police and Army intelligence agents are also looking into the possibility that Midpantao could be the courier of the IED.
There are suspicions on why in a wee hour he was at the scene of the explosion, which is too far away from where he resides.
Probers said Midpantao is from Sitio Tubak in Aleosan town also in the first district of North Cotabato province.
Tayong urged Midsayap residents to avoid speculating on the incident and give probers enough time to determine who could have placed the IED along a major artery in the municipality.
Thirteen were hurt in a powerful blast near Midsayap’s Catholic cathedral during the last Christmas Eve, an incident that caused panic among local Muslim and Christian communities.
The latest IED attack in Midsayap was preceded by five bombings, from Sunday night until Friday morning, in different towns in nearby Maguindanao, a component province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Three enlisted members of the Philippine Army were hurt in two of the five bomb attacks in the province.
Sgt. Abraham Aduh and Private 1st Class Ernie Cabrera were hurt in a roadside bombing on Friday in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Aduh and Cabrera, who sustained shrapnel wounds in different parts of their bodies, are now both confined in a hospital. They both belong to the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion (IB).
Police investigators said the injured soldiers and companions were patrolling near the town center in Mamasapano when an IED exploded along the road, apparently detonated from a distance using a mobile phone.
A brief encounter ensued between responding personnel of the 40th IB from nearby detachments and guerillas of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) positioned near the blast scene.
The BIFF bandits scampered to different directions when more reinforcements, backed by Simba armored vehicles, arrived to help drive them away.
Another soldier, Cpl. Michael Madazza of the Army’s 38th IB, was wounded in a roadside IED explosion a day before the bombing in Mamasapano.
Madazza and his companions were on board a military KM 150 light truck passing by a stretch of the Cotabato-Isulan Highway in Barangay Labo-Labo in Datu Hoffer when a bomb was detonated along the thoroughfare by BIFF gunmen from a distance using a remote-controlled detonator
Army and police bomb experts have confirmed that the IEDs used in the attacks were identical with those the BIFF used in all of its recent bombings in the adjoining North Cotabato and Maguindanao provinces.
From the online publication the Davao Today (Mar 31): MILF forms an adhoc to study Moro radicalism
Moro Islamic Liberation Front First Vice Chairman and chairperson of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, Ghadzali Jaafar speaking to reporters during the commemoration of the third year of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro on March 29, 2017. A program was held at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Lanang, Davao City two days after the official date of the signing of the CAB. The CAB was signed on March 27, 2014. (Zea Io Ming C. Capistrano/davaotoday.com)
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has formed an adhoc committee to study the causes of Moro radicalism.
Ghazali Jaafar, MILF first vice chairman and chair of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, announced Wednesday that the MILF central committee has formed the adhoc committee which includes all intelligence units of the MILF.
“The purpose is to study the causes of Moro radicalism,” he said during the media forum coinciding the celebration for the 3rd anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Lanang here.
“After we discuss it, we are going to report the findings to the central committee and formulate a plan,” Jaafar said.
The Moro leader said even when there is a ceasefire between the government and the MILF, there are still groups who continue to wage war. He mentioned that there are “5 or 6” radical groups in Mindanao, including Maute, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and the Abu Sayyaf Group.
He said “there is no guarantee to stop this” unless an acceptable Bangsamoro Basic Law is passed.
“The guns of the Abu Sayyaf, BIFF, and the Maute are continuously firing and there is no guarantee to stop this… except merong Bangsamoro Basic Law na tatanggapin nila. Kapag ang BBL na ipapasa ng Congress ay hindi nila tanggapin, I doubt whether we can convince them, lalo na yung ASG,” Jaafar said.
Jaafar stressed “this Maute, BIFF and other groups…” are not members of the ISIS (Islamic State).
But he warned that ISIS can come in if the problem will not be solved since they are looking for funds to buy arms.
“I guarantee you hindi mga ISIS ito, but papasok yan dito kapag hindi natigil. Sapagkat yung mga ito naghahanap sila ng finance. Yung Maute naghahanap ng pera para makabili ng maraming armas para meron siyang panggastos sa operation nila. This is the reality of the situation (I guarantee you these are not ISIS, but ISIS could come in if this will not stop because these groups are looking for financial aid. Maute is looking for fund to buy arms and to spend for their operation),” he said.
“Unless a Bangsamoro Basic Law is passed into Law by the Congress of the Philippines we cannot implement the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and therefore no solution to the problem,” said Jaafar.
He assured the public that once a Bangsamoro government is put up “we can take care of ourselves.”
“Kaming bahala, sila brother IQ (MILF Peace Implementing Panel Chairperson Mohagher Iqbal) ang bahala dyan,” he said.
Signed on March 27, 2014, CAB is the negotiated political settlement between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF that served as the basis for the drafting of the proposed BBL. The BBL will pave the way for the creation of the political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
From Eurasia Review (Apr 1): Inspire, Enlist, And Execute: Islamic State’s Strategy In Southeast Asia – Analysis
Southeast Asia and Islamic State
Close to 800 persons from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines are among the foreign fighter network of the Islamic State (IS). The estimate is far larger than the number of Southeast Asians who had travelled to Afghanistan to be a part of the anti-Soviet Jihad. Some of these IS cadres are now in charge of the propaganda machinery that not only asks more people from the region to join the outfit, but exhorts those who cannot, to carry out attacks at home. Year 2016 saw a number of IS inspires terror attacks in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. With the authorities still in the process of giving shape to their respective national approaches to deal with the resurgence of Islamist radicalism, the IS seems to be making some significant gains within the region using a supportive ecosystem.
Overview
In June 2016, the Islamic State (IS) launched a 20-minute video in which three men- a Filipino, an Indonesian and a Malaysian appeared together. Speaking in their native languages, they urged their countrymen to fight in Syria or the Philippines. Their subsequent message “If you cannot go to [Syria], join up and go to the Philippines”, however, represented a tweak in the outfit’s strategy which till then had focused on finding supporters and extricating them out of the region to either join its war efforts in Syria and Iraq or to simply be a citizen of the pure Islamic state carved out in the Levant region. The message was, thus, clear: ‘If you cannot get out of your country, stay put and act as a true IS agent’. Abu Abdul Rahman al-Filipini, one of the militants who featured in the video went on to pass the following instruction: “Kill the disbelievers where you find them and do not have mercy on them”. The IS had indeed sanctioned expanding its war theatre into Southeast Asia.
In 2016, in the months preceding and after the video was released, a number of attacks were carried out by the IS sympathisers in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The year, thereby, becomes a landmark year when the IS successfully executed all the three components of its overall strategy of expansion into the region: (i) Inspiring Muslims to sympathise with the IS; (ii) enlisting individuals or pre-existing radicalised groups for its future activities; and (iii) carrying out actual attacks. From here, the situation can only worsen, if the affected states do not attach seriousness to the challenge it deserves and evolve policies to strike at the heart of the IS growth.
Indonesia
On 14 January 2016, eight people were killed – including four militants – in a terror attack in front of the Sarinah department store in central Jakarta. It was the first ever attack in Indonesia and for the entire South-east Asian region for which the IS claimed responsibility. It was also the first major attack in Indonesian capital since the 2009 bomb attacks at Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels and the first in which armed gunmen shot at civilians. Seven months later, on 5 July, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up after he was stopped by officers from entering the local police headquarters in Solo city in Central Java.
While the overall strategy of the terrorists has been to target the police, they also have carried out attacks on churches. Both represent the IS war on non-believers as well as the state’s instrumentalities. An attack on a Protestant church in Samarinda in November 2016 killed a toddler, and an attack on a Catholic church north Sumatran city of Medan in August was allegedly inspired by the killing of a priest by IS militants in Rouen, France. In the Medan attack, 18-year old Ivan Armadi Hasugian, wielding a knife-and-axe and carrying home-made explosives, attacked an Indonesian priest during a service, causing minor injuries before being beaten and wrestled to the ground by parishioners.
On 21 December three suspects planning a suicide bombing on Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve were killed in an encounter with the police on Jakarta’s outskirts. Investigations revealed that the suspects were planning to stab police officers at a traffic post and then detonate a homemade bomb as crowds gathered. In December, one of the IS cells had plans to attack the Istana Merdeka, the presidential palace in Jakarta with a female suicide bomber, but the plot was foiled by the counter terrorism unit, Densus 88. In addition, couple of plots aimed at avenging violence against Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar were foiled. In November, for instance, Indonesian authorities detained a IS-linked militant for planning an attack on the Myanmar embassy there.
The number of alleged terrorists dealt with by Indonesian police in 2016 was more than double the previous year. Compared to only 82 terrorists in 2015, the year 2016 witnessed 170 terrorists being tackled by the police. Of the 170 cases, 40 militants were sentenced, six were returned to their families, 36 are facing trial, 55 are being investigated and 33 were killed. Similarly, 33 alleged terrorists killed by police in 2016 was also a steep increase from the seven killed in 2015. The 33 dead included the four terrorists in the Sarinah attack and Indonesia’s most wanted Islamist militant, Santoso, who was killed in a shootout in the jungles of Poso in Central Sulawesi in July. In December 2016, Indonesia’s police chief attributed the sharp rise to the influence of the IS and the defeats it is experiencing in the Middle East. Fraudulent transactions linked to terrorism had also doubled from 12 in 2015 to 25 cases in 2016.
Indonesian police claim that this sharp rise in terrorist attacks and plots are directed by Indonesians based with the IS. Authorities further believe that the IS has galvanised militancy in Indonesia again after a largely successful crackdown on terror networks there in recent years. Between 300 and 700 Indonesians are believed to have joined the group in Syria and Iraq over the past two years. In Hasakah province, Syria, they have combined with fighters from Malaysia to form their own unit, Majmu’ah al-Arkhabiliy, also known as Katibah Nusantara Daulah Islamiyah.
Bahrun Naim, a 34-year old software professional who fled to Syria in 2014 to join the IS is also believed to be a key mastermind of the attacks. According to the Indonesian anti-money-laundering agency PPATK Naim had used online payment services such as PayPal and bitcoins to transfer money to his comrades back home to fund terrorist activities. He used the smartphone messaging app Telegram, to send instructions. Similarly the role of jailed local cleric Aman Abdurrahman, who leads a group called Jamaah Anshar Khilafah (JAK) from prison has also been investigated. The man who carried out the suicide attack in Solo in July, Nur Rohman, is also believed to be a JAK member and to have links to Naim.
The police in response has undertaken Operation Tinombala in Central Sulawesi at capturing all members of the East Indonesia Mujahideen dead or alive. Fifteen alleged terrorists have been killed in Poso in 2016. Santoso, former leader of the EIM eluded capture for years and was seen as a symbol of resistance to the government until he was shot dead in July 2016. IS-inspired cells exist and are a continuing threat, influenced by leaders both at home and abroad.
Malaysia
An estimated 100 Malaysians are part of the IS’ foreign-fighter network in Iraq and Syria. While these people who have used a range of methods to escape the home country, were seen initially as posing no direct threat to Malaysia, such perception has changed rapidly in the past year. According to an estimate, between 2014 (formation year of the IS) and June 2016, the Malaysian police had foiled nine plots to carry out terror attacks in Malaysian soil. Between 2013 and January 2017, 268 terror suspects have also been arrested.
On 28 June, the IS carried out its first successful attack in Malaysia by exploding a grenade at Movida, a night club near national capital Kuala Lumpur. The attack injured eight people. 15 people were arrested in wake of the attack, including the two men who lobbed the bomb. Those arrested also included two policemen. One of the policemen was picked up for harbouring IS elements, while the other was arrested for involvement in robberies to collect funds for the outfit.
What Bahrun Naim is to Indonesia, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi is to Malaysia. Hailing from Malacca, 26 year old Muhammad Wanndy travelled to Syria in January 2016 with his wife, also aged 26. Assessed to be based in Raqqa, Wanndy, operating under the assumed name of Abu Hamzah al-Fateh, claimed responsibility for the attack on his Facebook page. Muhammad Wanndy has used Telegram application effectively to direct attacks on prominent Malaysians, including Prime Minister Najib Razak and counter terrorism senior police officials. Another attempted attack on a Light Rapid Transit train in Setiawangsa is also attributed to his ‘terror by remote control’- technique. The fact that Wanndy has been able to recruit people online and direct attacks demonstrate a rapid growth of radicalism in Malaysia in support of the IS.
Two of the arrested for the night club attack were hiding in a hut in remote Kuala Krai in Kelantan in wait for new orders from Wanndy to attack a Johor entertainment outlet. An M67 grenade was recovered from them. Another man arrested in connection too had received orders from Wanndy and was to attack the police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, and government complexes in Putrajaya. Among the other chosen targets was a Hindu temple outside Kuala Lumpur. The suspects were planning to use grenades and firearms in the attacks.
Between 13 and 19 January 2017, four people, including three foreigners, were arrested in Sabah and Kuala Lumpur over their suspected involvement in a new IS cell based in the Philippines. The arrested included a 31-year-old Filipino man, two male Bangladeshi nationals aged 27 and 28, and a 27-year-old Malaysian woman. The unemployed woman had been recruited through social media into the outfit by the Filipino man on assurances of marriage. The Bangladeshi men were working in Malaysia as salespersons. Sabah is emerging as a transit point for IS cadres to crisscross between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines.
Malaysian police believe that the IS is attempting to use Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan in Sabah (see map) as a transit point for terrorists from Southeast Asia and South Asia, before they are smuggled into Mindanao in southern Philippines, a hotbed of Islamist insurgency. The cell was formed from an IS cell led by former University Malaya lecturer Dr Mahmud Ahmad, merging with the Isnilon Hapilon faction of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Mahmud Ahmad used his position as a lecturer to recruit cadres among his students has attempted to unify regional terror groups in Southeast Asia into a branch of the IS.
Continuing with the unravelling of the extent of IS penetration into the Malaysian society, between 27 and 29 January, another three persons were arrested. These included a security guard at Kuantan airport, with full access to aircrafts. Initial investigations found that he was not planning any terror attack, but had plans to go to Syria to join the outfit. Another person described to be of 38 years age had posted a plan to carry out an explosion in Kuala Lumpur in his Facebook page. The third person, an Indonesian with Malaysian residency, was attempting to flee to Syria to join the IS.
The Rohingya crisis in Myanmar has created another push factor for IS symapthisers to plan attacks in Myanmar. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has in the past raised concerns that tens of thousands of Rohingya who are seeking refuge in Malaysia may be exploited and radicalised by the IS. A suspected Indonesian IS follower, who worked as a factory worker in Malaysia since 2014, and was planning to head to Myanmar to carry out attacks was detained in Malaysia in December 2016. He was among seven people arrested for suspected links to IS. He was also involved in a plot to smuggle weapons to Indonesia’s Poso region, on Sulawesi island.
Philippines
In Philippines, the IS is riding on the efforts of the existing Islamist separatist movements and individuals like Mahmud Ahmad with an Afghan and al Qaeda past. The alliance is also strategic for it has infused a new lease of life to some of the existing groups who were once struggling for survival. The Basilan based faction of the ASG led by Isnilon Hapilon and the minor Maute group, led by three brothers Abdullah, Omar and Otto Maute, that has been behind years of unrest in the southern part of the country, have declared allegiance to the IS in January 2016. Other groups include the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Ansar Khilafah, Jamaat al Tawhid wal Jihad, and factions within the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. As a result, southern areas of Basilan, South Cotabato, Sulu, Sarangani, Lanao del Sur, and the northern province of Isabela have transformed into IS’ operational areas.
On 2 September 2016, the Maute Group carried out a bombing at a street market in Davao city, the hometown of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, killing 14 people and wounded dozens. Duterte was in town for a visit. In the wake of that bombing, Duterte put a nationwide “state of lawless violence” in place, leading to an increase in the presence of the military and police around the country. In November the Maute group went on to occupy parts of a municipality in Lanao del Sur province, took over an abandoned town hall and raised the IS flag in the town, necessitating a military operation. Although at least 11 members of the group were killed in the operation, it was a major operation by the group. Mountains of Lanao del Sur has witnessed some of the recent attacks by the IS.
Hapilon, also known as Abu Abdullah, is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s most wanted list for his role in the kidnapping of 17 Filipinos and three Americans in 2001 and carries a bounty of US$5 million. He is recognised by the Philippines military as the IS chief for country and consequently has become the target of some of the intense military operations in recent times. In January 2017, for instance, 15 IS militants were killed in air and artillery strikes in the mountains of Lanao del Sur. The military also claimed to have fatally injured Hapilon. According to the Philippine military sources, Hapilon had moved to Central Mindanao in a bid to unify extremist groups such as the Maute and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and to make central Mindanao the base of the group’s activities, overcoming the limitations of operating in smaller islands such as Basilan and Jolo.
CT Moves: Kinetic operations plus
National measures initiated by these three countries to stem the growth of IS-inspired radicalism include launching kinetic operations to eliminate the terrorists; strengthening the legal framework; and also, evolving a counter-narrative to the IS’ version of Islam. In Indonesia, where police have campaigned aggressively against jihadists, killing or imprisoning many leaders, attempts have been made to tighten the existing anti-terrorism laws: to more clearly define terrorism and make it illegal to join militant groups like IS, enable police to detain people who support terrorist groups, and to enable them to hold terror suspects for longer periods. The PPATK too has attempted to tighten its scrutiny of financial transactions from overseas in order to curb terror funding.
In Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte in January 2017 admitted that he could no longer contain ‘extremist contamination’ and appealed to the country’s Muslim separatist groups – the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front – to deny sanctuary to militants with links to the IS. This declaration of vulnerability, however, was intended at masking his own preferred way of dealing with all form of ‘illegal’ activities. Duterte went on to warn that a war to checkmate the IS would be an eventuality which would put civilians in danger and there can be no respect for human rights while such an effort is unleashed. Duterte has floated the idea of suspending the writ of ‘habeas corpus’ in response to violence and lawlessness in the country.
Malaysia has added to the capacities of the force centric operations by setting up a new Regional Digital Counter-Messaging Communication Center (RDC3) with assistance from the United States with the objective of winning the ongoing battle against the IS and convincing the world that Muslims have nothing to do with the group’s hateful ideology. Malaysia along with Singapore has also joined the U.S.-led ‘Global Coalition to Counter IS’. The RDC3 is similar to the one the US launched together with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in July 2015, and is designed to counter the IS social media strength and sophistication and present a more positive alternative to the vision the group has outlined. New legislations to counter the IS also include the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and the National Security Council Act, a move that has been criticised by human rights groups.
The US assistance is seen as a major capacity building factor among the security agencies in Southeast Asia. A study published in 2015 by the Combating Terrorism Centre at West Point noted that the United States had provided $441 million in security assistance to the Philippines, mostly for its military, and $262 million to Indonesia, mostly for its police.
However, several challenges remain that continue to create an enabling ecosystem for Jihadist radicalism to grow. Notwithstanding the fact that the IS growth has been dependent on the efforts of a tiny fringe for the moment, prisons, slums and youth bulge of Southeast Asia remain important part of an ecosystem that breeds radicalism. Even though most Southeast Asian Muslims reject terrorism, the IS seem to be succeeding in attracting a number of persons to its fold, without necessarily looking at creating a mass support base.
In Malaysia, the army has been a worrying source of recruits. The country’s defence minister told parliament in 2015 that at least 70 former members of the military volunteered for the IS. In Indonesia, where the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the al-Qaeda-inspired group responsible for previous attacks has largely splintered, active recruiting appears to have led to a soaring of the JI’s cadre strength to about 2,000. According to estimates, some 800 militants have been imprisoned and 100 have been killed in security force operations since the Bali bombings. But with the deradicalisation and reforms process failing, hundreds of them – some with significant battlefield experience – when released after their prison term in the coming years may form a core of the IS growth in future. About 40 percent of the 400 militants released as of December 2016 have returned to their radical network.
*Bibhu Prasad Routray is Director, Mantraya. This Special Report is published as part of Mantraya.org’s “Islamic State in Asia” project.
References:
Amanda Hodge and Nivell Rayda, ” Indonesia: ‘Terror attack’ at Catholic Church in Medan”, The Australian, 29 August 2016, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/indonesia-terror-attack-at-catholic-church-in-medan/news-story/deba5460f36c55f73e153e28068af6dc
Caleb Weiss, “The Islamic State grows in the Philippines”, FDD’s Long War Journal, 24 June 2016, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/06/islamic-state-officially-creates-province-in-the-philippines.php
Christopher Woody, “11 ISIS sympathizers have reportedly been killed in a siege in the southern Philippines”, Reuters, 28 November 2016, http://www.businessinsider.in/11-ISIS-sympathizers-have-reportedly-been-killed-in-a-siege-in-the-southern-Philippines/articleshow/55655641.cms
Jonathan Edward, “Abu Hamzah, the face of terror, is unmasked”, Malay Mail, 5 July 2016, http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/abu-hamzah-the-face-of-terror-is-unmasked
“Malaysia arrests 4 for alleged involvement in new Islamic State cell in Philippines”, Channel News Asia, 24 January 2017, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/malaysia-arrests-4-for-alleged-involvement-in-new-islamic-state/3460588.html
“Malaysian militants plan to start ISIS faction in South-east Asia”, Straits Times, 15 November 2015, http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysian-militants-plan-to-start-isis-faction-in-south-east-asia
“Malacca man behind terror plots in Malaysia” The Straits Times, 15 August 2016, http://www.straitstimes.com/world/malacca-man-behind-terror-plots-in-malaysia
Marc Lourdes, “Islamic State launches first successful attack in Malaysia”, CNN, 4 July 2016, http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/04/homepage2/islamic-state-attack-malaysia/
“Militant Bahrun Naim used PayPal, bitcoin to transfer funds for terror attacks in Indonesia”, Straits Times, 9 January 2017, http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/militant-bahrun-naim-used-paypal-bitcoin-to-transfer-funds-for-terror-attacks-in
Prashanth Parameswaran, “Malaysia Hails New Center to Counter Islamic State Messaging”, Diplomat, 27 July 2016, http://thediplomat.com/2016/07/malaysia-hails-new-center-to-counter-islamic-state-messaging/
Rohan Gunaratna, “Philippines: an Emerging Islamic State Base in Southeast Asia?”, Benar News, 30 January 2017, http://www.benarnews.org/english/commentaries/asia-pacific-threat-update/is-gunaratna-01302017142823.html
Dr. Bibhu Prasad Routray
Dr. Bibhu Prasad Routray served as a Deputy Director in the National Security Council Secretariat, Government of India and Director of the Institute for Conflict Management (ICM)’s Database & Documentation Centre, Guwahati, Assam. He was a Visiting Research Fellow at the South Asia programme of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore between 2010 and 2012. Routray specialises in decision-making, governance, counter-terrorism, force modernisation, intelligence reforms, foreign policy and dissent articulation issues in South and South East Asia. His writings, based on his projects and extensive field based research in Indian conflict theatres of the Northeastern states and the left-wing extremism affected areas, have appeared in a wide range of academic as well policy journals, websites and magazines.
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Apr 1): Soldiers find explosives, grenade after clash with NPAs in Albay GUINOBATAN, Albay—Government troops have recovered several improvised explosive devices with denoting wires and a hand grenade after an encounter with suspected New People’s Army (NPA) members in Bololo village here on Friday afternoon, military said Saturday.
Brigadier General Claudio Yucot, Commanding Office of 901st Infantry Brigade based in Villahermosa in Daraga town, said the soldiers under 83rd Infantry Battalion were conducting a patrol when they discovered an encampment site supposedly used by the rebels.
While on the site, more or less 15 rebels opened fire at the soldiers which led to a firefight.
“The exchange of fire between the NPA led by Ramon Adonis aka ‘Ambo’ and government troops only lasted for ten minutes,” Yucot said. No one was killed or hurt on both sides
From MindaNews (Apr 1): CPP says ceasefire declarations should be reciprocal
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Saturday said it did not issue a declaration of interim ceasefire Friday, after the Philippine government (GRP) announced it will not issue a similar declaration.
In a statement, the CPP said he issuance of ceasefire declarations “was supposed to be done reciprocally as agreed upon by the NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) and GRP in the their March 11 statement Joint Statement.”
The CPP said it was willing to comply with this agreement, but “GRP President Duterte said he had to consult with national security and military officials about issuing a reciprocal ceasefire declaration.”
“It can only be surmised that he heeded the advise of AFP officials on the matter,” it said.
The statement added the CPP “fully supports” the fourth round of peace negotiations on April 2-6 despite the non-issuance of ceasefire declarations by either side.
The talks next week will tackle socioeconomic as well as political and constitutional reforms.
The CPP said it expects agrarian issues to be “fully addressed in the talks” as “the most pressing social justice issue in the country.”
In the same statement, the CPP accused the military of committing attacks against civilians, adding more of these could happen “in light of “Duterte’s non-declaration of ceasefire.
It cited the evacuation of 36 families from Barangay Banglay in Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental on March 29 after soldiers of the 58th Infantry Battalion entered the village and encamped there.
It also alleged that soldiers of the 28th and 66th IB killed a peasant resident of Tagbinonga, Mati City, Davao Oriental, after they encountered the NPA in the area.
“The peasant was on his way to the town center to sell copra when he was waylaid by AFP soldiers. In press releases, the AFP claims the peasant was a member of the NPA (New People’s Army), something which his family disputes,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, in a statement Saturday, National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana hit the NPA for burning equipment and properties of companies that “refuse to succumb to their extortions [sic].”
“They do these to companies who build roads, export produce, transport people — activities that help generate employment and wealth for Filipinos,” Lorenzana said.
“They have also attacked and ambushed military and police personnel who were doing their constitutional duties and killed military personnel on home leaves.
“They did these nefarious acts after they have asked for the resumption of peace talks and after they have announced that they will go on a unilateral ceasefire,” he added.
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Apr 1): Soldier wounded in clash with NPA rebels in Northern Samar
A soldier was wounded in an encounter between government troops and communist rebels in Las Navas town, Northern Samar on Friday morning.
The soldier, identified only as Private First Class Capunong, was given first aid treatment in the camp before he was airlifted to a hospital.
This was the second attack by the New People’s Army (NPA) in the province in a span of two days.
On Thursday, a band of communist rebels attacked an army detachment in Silvino Lobos town and wounded a mother and her three young children who lived nearby.
According to Major Almirante Mijares, civil military operations chief of the 803rd infantry brigade, the encounter happened around 11:15 a.m. on Friday at the boundaries of Barangays Osmeña, Lakandula and Cuenco in Las Navas town, some 80 km from the capital town in Catarman.
Two platoons composed of 37 soldiers from the 8th Infantry Division Reconnaissance Company (8IDRC) led by First Lt. Edison Mata Jr. were conducting pursuit operations in the area when they found some blooded bandages along the way.
Minutes later the government troops discovered an NPA camp that could accommodate 50 persons according to the military report.
A 50-minute firefight ensued after which the rebels retreated to different directions.
The soldiers recovered from the NPA camp 1 Garand rifle with scope and 1 Harris handheld radio.
From the Philippine Star (Apr 1): NPA rebels torch construction firm equipment in Kalinga
In this photo taken Nov. 23, 2016, members of the New People's Army communist rebels with face painted to conceal their identities, stand in formation during ceremonies before a news conference held at their guerrilla encampment tucked in the harsh wilderness. AP/File photo
Communist guerillas reportedly torched down a backhoe of a construction firm in remote Pinukpuk town in Kalinga early dawn Friday.
Kalinga police said residents saw armed men believed to be New People's Army (NPA) rebels roaming around Sitio Bacwet, Pinukpuk between midnight until around 2 a.m. Friday.
A burst of gunfire was reportedly heard before razing down the backhoe parked near a house in the village.
Policemen who responded to the gunfire allegedly seized at least 10 spent shells of M16 rifle where the gunfire was heard.
Kalinga police director Senior Superintendent Brent Madjaco believed the burning was perpetrated by NPA rebels taking cues from the group's threatening business establishments in the area before the incident.
Earlier in February, communist guerillas torched two dump trucks of the Philex Mining Corporation in Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet.
From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 1): Defense chief tells business companies not to give in to NPA extortion rackets
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has urged businesses not to give in to the extortion rackets of the New People's Army (NPA), following a series of NPA attacks against companies that refuse to give in to their demands.
"I, therefore, call upon all peace-loving Filipinos to resist these thugs, these terrorists who have brought nothing but misery to the Filipino people in the past 48 years. Let us resist their extortions because giving in will make them strong and perpetuate their criminal acts," he said in a statement Saturday.
The NPA extortion rackets and attacks against police and military units, going about their lawful business, came in wake of the announcement of the rebels' political leadership that they are resuming peace talks and a unilateral ceasefire with the government this April.
"Fellow Filipinos, in the past weeks, the Communist Terrorists who call themselves the New People's Army went on a rampage, burning equipment and properties of companies that refuse to succumb to their extortions. They do these to companies that build roads, export produce, transport people -- activities that help generate employment and wealth for Filipinos," Lorenzana stressed.
By committing these atrocities, the NPAs have shown themselves to be anti-progress and anti-poor, the defense chief added.
"We at the Department of National Defense share in the vision of President Rodrigo Duterte of building a nation worthy of Filipinos and Filipinos worthy of a nation. The path to real, lasting peace is indeed not without its struggles, thus it is important that we stay committed to this goal, and to let our actions reflect our intentions," he said.
The series of unprovoked attacks against military and civilian targets last February prompted the government to suspend its peace talks and ceasefire with the rebels.
"We stand by the President’s decision to resume the peace process but we likewise should call on the Communists to show their commitment both in words and in deeds," he added.
Posted to MindaNews (Apr 1): Statement of the Secretary of National Defense on the NPA’s recent actions against the Filipino nation
Fellow Filipinos, in the past weeks, the Communist Terrorists who call themselves the New People’s Army went on a rampage, burning equipment and properties of companies who refuse to succumb to their extortions. They do these to companies who build roads, export produce, transport people–activities that help generate employment and wealth for Filipinos.
They have also attacked and ambushed military and police personnel who were doing their constitutional duties and killed military personnel on home leaves.
They did these nefarious acts after they have asked for the resumption of peace talks and after they have announced that they will go on a unilateral ceasefire.
They are anti-development, anti-progress and anti-poor.
I, therefore, call upon all peace-loving Filipinos to resist these thugs, these terrorists who have brought nothing but misery to the Filipino people in the past 48 years. Let us resist their extortions because giving in will make them strong and perpetuate their criminal acts.
We at the Department of National Defense share in the vision of President Rodrigo Duterte of building a nation worthy of Filipinos and Filipinos worthy of a nation.
The path to real, lasting peace is indeed not without its struggles, thus it is important that we stay committed to this goal, and to let our actions reflect our intentions.
We stand by the President’s decision to resume the peace process but we likewise should call on the Communists to show their commitment both in words and in deeds.
President Rodrigo Duterte would only agree to a bilateral ceasefire deal with communist rebels if four conditions are met, including the abolition of the "revolutionary tax" and the release of all their prisoners.
This, Undersecretary Nabil Tan said, was Duterte's reminder to government negotiators who are set to resume their peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front on April 2, Sunday.
"The President has instructed to reiterate to the government panel the terms for a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the CPP-NPA-NDF," Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Saturday quoted Tan as saying.
Tan enumerated the following terms:
There should be a clear parameters or Terms of Reference for the Ceasefire;
The government shall not recognize any territorial claims of the CPP-NPA-NDF;
The CPP-NPA-NDF should cease the collection of revolutionary tax and the conduct of extortion and extraction and arson;
and The CPP-NPA-NDF shall release all prisoners.
The peace negotiations is scheduled to resume its fourth round of talks from April 2 to 6, after a successful backchannel talks in Utrecht.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, chairperson of the GRP peace panel, earlier said the Duterte administration would not reciprocate the unilateral ceasefire earlier promised by the communist rebels.
"Right now, there is no reason to declare a unilateral ceasefire because our President is more interested in obtaining a bilateral ceasefire agreement," said Bello, chairperson of the government peace panel talking peace with the National Democratic Front.
The CPP had earlier said it would issue a unilateral ceasefire not later than March 31, although eventually the month ended without the group issuing one.
The NDF, however, expressed their willingness to be "flexible" on the nature of bilateral ceasefire that is desired by the GRP. The NDFP also expressed its desire to have a bilateral ceasefire deal crafted during the fourth round of peace talks.
From DWDD AFP Civil Relations Service Radio Website (Mar 31): Top Military Doctor Bows Out
CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City – After serving 30 years in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Commander of the AFP Medical Center (AFPMC), Brigadier General Mariano Mejia will bid farewell to the military profession Friday, March 31 in a ceremony at the AFP Grandstand.
Lieutenant General Mayoralgo Dela Cruz, The Inspector General, AFP will preside over the retirement ceremony and testimonial parade this afternoon in honor of BGen Mejia and his outstanding accomplishments.
“As Commander of the AFP Medical Center, BGen Mejia took on the challenge of bringing the unit into greater heights by ensuring the highest quality of healthcare services to all AFP personnel,” said Colonel Edgard Arevalo, AFP Public Affairs Office Chief.
Colonel Patrick De Leon, the current Deputy for Administration, AFPMC will serve as Acting Commander, AFPMC.
Conserving AFP’s Fighting Strength
“In line with the ongoing military operations against terrorist groups and other security threats, BGen Mejia through the First Forward MEDICS provided Personnel, Medical, and Logistic Support to bring about its mandated function of conserving the fighting strength of our troops,” Colonel Arevalo added.
Under BGen Mejia, the AFPMC deployed Forward Medical and Surgical Rotators to Military Hospitals in Zamboanga City, Cotabato City, and Jolo, Sulu. The teams consist of Medical Corps and Nurse Corps Officfacilities. ers who augmented the medical services in military treatment.
A
side from medicines, equipment was also sent to Camp Teodulfo Station Hospital in August 2016. A fully-equipped Field Ambulance KM 451 and a Mobile Surgical/Laboratory/Diagnostic Van were flown via C130 aircraft to Jolo, Sulu.
Seasoned Military Doctor
Brigadier General Mejia first assumed the highest position in the AFPMC in an Acting capacity on August 8, 2016. He held this position concurrently as The Surgeon General, AFP. He officially became the Commander, AFPMC on December 9, 2016.
Aside from being a brilliant military doctor, he is also a Scout Ranger and was assigned to different military treatment facilities particularly in Visayas and Mindanao.
Among BGen Mejia’s previous positions were Commanding Officer at Camp Nakar Station Hospital, Southern Luzon Command in 2007; Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo Station Hospital in 2008; Philippine Army General Hospital in 2009; and as the Army Chief Surgeon in 2012.
An adopted member of Philippine Military Academy “MATIKAS” Class 1983, BGen Mejia’s is a Diplomate, Fellow and Former National Chancellor of the Pathology of Philippine Academy Specialists, Inc.; completed the Chemical Defense Course at the Australian Royal Army Engineers New South Wales; and a Senior Executive in National Security from National Defense College of the Philippines.
“The AFP leadership salutes BGen Mejia for his remarkable service to the organization and his dedication in leading the AFP Medical Center in providing better healthcare and medical services to our troops, especially those in the field who continue to risk their lives to protect our country,” General Eduardo Año, AFP Chief of Staff said.
From DWDD AFP Civil Relations Service Radio Website (Mar 31): 1 NPA killed, 2 soldiers hurt in Mati encounter; 2 other NPA surrenders
MAWAB, COMPOSTELA VALLEY PROVINCE – Combined troops of 28th and 66th Infantry Battalions engaged in a firefight with members of the NPA in Brgy Tagbinunga, Mati City, Davao Oriental (DOR) on Thursday, March 30. Two soldiers were hurt while troops recovered the dead body of an unidentified NPA rebel while a rebel who escaped from the encounter site gave himself up to another group of soldiers. On the same day, a minor female NPA member returned to the folds of law through the 701st Infantry Brigade stationed in Sitio Magay, Brgy Don Martin Marundan, Mati City.
The soldiers engaged in a 20-minute firefight a group of 40 NPA rebels belonging to Pulang Bagani Company (PBC) 6 in Sitio Bukadan of Brgy Tagbinunga. An IED explosion injured Pfc Jouie Oliveros and Pfc Anatoly Lechoncito who both suffered shrapnel wounds. The wounded soldiers were immediately airlifted to Camp Panacan Station Hospital, Davao City while the cadaver of the NPA rebel was brought to Padilla Funeral, Mati City.
An NPA member named Ricardo R. Bisaya alias Jonas, who is from Tarragona, DOR and was part of the group encountered by the troops surrendered to 28IB at Brgy Don Salvador Lopez, Mati City a few hours after the encounter. He averred that he surrendered for fear of his life after seeing several of his comrades hit during the encounter.
Reports have also reached 28IB that a number of families from the three Barangays of Don Salvador Lopez, Buso and Tagbinunga of Mati City have evacuated into safer areas. The Local Government Unit of Mati City, police and military are closely working together to facilitate and provide the immediate needs of the affected families.
Meanwhile, in a separate report from 701st Infantry Brigade, a minor female NPA identified by her alias as Shena, 14 and medic of PBC 6 returned to the folds of law. It may be recalled that her mother Leonila appeared before the Davao City media and appealed for the NPA to return her daughter who was recruited to join the rebel group last January 2017.
Major General Rafael Valencia, 10ID commander, lauded the bravery of the soldiers, prayed for the fast recovery of the wounded soldiers and expressed his support for the peaceful resolution of the armed conflict. “The 48 years of insurgency have only brought miseries to the Filipino people,” he added. “It is now time for the communists to abandon the armed struggle and pursue their political objectives through peaceful means,” MGen Valencia concluded.
From DWDD AFP Civil Relations Service Radio Website (Mar 31): UPDATE | 25 more firearms seized in continuing focused military operations in Sulu Province
File Photo – firearms in Capual Operations
Camp Navarro, Calarian, Zamboanga City — Soldiers of the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion under the Joint Task Force Sulu seized seven more firearms following a clash with an unknown Lawless Group at Brgy Capual, Omar Municipality, Sulu Province at 2 pm yesterday (March 30, 2017).
The members of the Scout Ranger Company led by CPT Rusell Bawat, while on blocking position encountered an estimated ten (10) armed Lawless elements who engaged the soldiers in a 20-minute firefight. As a result, the lawless elements withdrew leaving behind seven firearms and assorted ammunition.
After scouring the immediate vicinity, the rangers recovered high-powered firearms and ammunitions. As of 1:30 in the afternoon today, March 31, 2017, a total of twenty-five (25) firearms were recovered by the troops.
“We have pushed these bandits out of their comfort zones, and we intend to keep it that way,” says Col Cirilito Sobejana, the Commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu-based in Busbus, Jolo, Sulu.
“We will continue to have them running until we get them and their firearms,” Col Sobejana added.
From DWDD AFP Civil Relations Service Radio Website (Mar 31): TRADOC conducts Combined Arms Training Exercise
Capas, Tarlac- The Philippine Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), conducted a thirteen-day Combined Arms Training Exercise (CATEX) to sustain the war fighting competencies of soldiers held at Fort Ramon Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija which ended on March 29, 2017.
Three hundred eighty-nine (389), officers and six hundred eighteen (618), enlisted personnel who are students of different career courses from various schools under TRADOC took part the CATEX. In addition, 161 Candidate Soldiers from 7th Division Training School, 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army also participated the exercise.
TRADOC has institutionalized the said exercise as part of the curriculum for all officers and enlisted personnel career courses as the Philippine Army capacitates soldiers to operate in a joint inter-agency, inter-governmental and multi-national environment.
The exercise includes military operation in urban terrain; battle drills and situational exercises; field training exercises; live fire exercises of 105 howitzers and mortars; and command post exercise.
Philippine Navy students also took their part in the exercise while the Philippine Air Force performed close air support, troops insertion and casualty evacuation exercises.
TRADOC Commander Brig. Gen. Casiano C. Monilla congratulated the exercise directorate and participants for a job well done. He emphasized the significance of interoperability and soldier’s
competency in combined arms operations.
“As maneuver leaders, you should be able to integrate capabilities from other AFP branches into operations”, Brig. Gen. Monilla said.
Brig. Gen. Monilla commended the officers and men of TRADOC, concerned schools and units such as Combat Arms School; Combat Support School; Combat Service Support School; Army Leadership Development Center; The Armor School; The Intelligence School; and Tactical Operations Group 3, Philippine Air Force for their active involvement throughout the CATEX.
The CATEX is in compliance with the directive of higher headquarters geared to infuse in each and every participant realistic scenarios measuring their preparedness facing real life combat.
From DWDD AFP Civil Relations Service Radio Website (Mar 31): FOCUSED OPERATIONS | Seven more firearms seized in Sulu Province
Headquarters Western Mindanao Command, Camp Navarro, Calarian, Zamboanga City (DWDD) – Soldiers of the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion under the Joint Task Force Sulu seized seven more firearms following a clash with an unknown Lawless Group at Brgy Capual, Omar Municipality, Sulu Province at 2pm yesterday (March 30, 2017).
The members of the Scout Ranger Company led by CPT Rusell Bawat, while on blocking position encountered an estimated ten (10) armed Lawless elements who engaged the soldiers in a 20-minute firefight. As a result, the lawless elements withdrew leaving behind seven firearms and assorted ammunition.
After scouring the immediate vicinity, the rangers recovered the following High Powered Firearms (HPFAs) and ammunitions: one (1) M16 with SNs: RP 897526; three (3) M14 w/ SNs: 1108615, 1016529, 496574; two (2) M1 Garand w/ SNs: 2171440, 2950559; one (1) M203 GL w/ SN: 09893; five (5) M14 ammo magazines; ten (10) M16 ammo magazines; seven (7) M1 Garand clips; one hundred (100) rounds 7.62 ctdg; fifty (50) cal 30 rds; and, six (6) 40mm rounds.
“We have pushed these bandits out of their comfort zones, and we intend to keep it that way,” says Col Cirilito Sobejana, the Commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu based in Busbus, Jolo, Sulu.
From DWDD AFP Civil Relations Service Radio Website (Mar 31): ATIN ITO | PHL Flag Raised at Amianan
MANILA (DWDD) – Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas Ramon Alcaraz (PF16) Officers and Men, led by Commanding Officer, Cdr Jeff Rene S. Nadugo PN(GSC), raising the Phiippine Flag in the nothernmost Island of the Philippines, Mavulis, Amianan. NPAO / MCAG
From DWDD AFP Civil Relations Service Radio Website (Mar 31): SEMINAR | Philippine Navy Strategic Sail Plan 2020 CGEA, Quezon City
CGEA, Quezon City (DWDD) – Blazing the trail of transformation and good governance requires the sustained enhancement of the organization’s capacity to create, implement, and assess its strategy for development.
Today, the Philippine Navy commences its second Strategic Planning Seminar that will train its new pool of strategic planners as it sets to craft a new vision and strategy for 2028 and even beyond. For the second time, the Seminar is conducted In partnership with the National Defense College of the Philippines. NPAO / MCAG
Rear Admiral Gaudencio Collado Jr AFP, the Chief of Naval Staff, officially opens the PN Strategic Planning Seminar 2017.
The second batch of new strategic planners who will undergo the 3-day Philippine Navy Strategic Planning Seminar 2017.
Captain Ernesto Baldovino, the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff for Education and Training, is the lead staff for the Philippine Navy Strategic Planning Seminar 2017, together with the Center for Naval Leadership and Excellence, Philippine Navy and the Office of Naval Strategic Studies.
The current Deputy Director General of the National Security Council, retired Rear Admiral Vicente Agdamag, gives the first lecture on the draft National Security Policy 2017-2022.
Posted to the Moro National Liberation Front-International Information Office Facebook page (Mar 30): Photo: Ustadz Abdulkarim Tan Misuari, Vice Chairman, MNLF Central Committee
Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Mar 31): Stakeholders seek passage of BBL, say billionaires will come to Mindanao to invest their money
Various stakeholders comprising Muslim businessmen, religious leaders and sultanates sought on Wednesday, March 29, the passage of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law to attain long lasting peace and genuine political autonomy in Mindanao, a report by Manila Standard said.
At a news conference in Quezon City, they also called on Christians and Muslims to unite, and urged lawmakers to approve the bill.
Allan Balangi of 1Bangsa called on the Senate and Congress to give much attention to the approval of a new Bangsamoro enabling law that maybe crafted by the expanded Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC).
On his part, Royal Sultanate Faizal Benaning Bansao of Batangas said with President Rodrigo Duterte’s executive order that expanded the BTC from 15 to 21 members, the draft BBL could be passed into law “on the last week of May or before the President’s 2nd State-of-the-Nation Address in July]”.
The crafting of the enabling law is part of the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in March 2014, Manila Standard also said in its report.
Bansao stressed that, “Any changes in the BBL enabling law must be anchored on a win-win solution. We will meet halfway to fine-tune it”.
“We will police our own ranks once a Bangsamoro Law is passed. Muslims are not the problem, but they are the solution”, Bansao empahasized.
Datu Raisonel Magangcong of the Federation of Bangsamoro Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines said their Muslim brethren in Metro Manila and the other parts of Luzon as well as overseas Filipino Muslims would choose to go back to Mindanao once the proposed BBL would be passed and implemented, and that Mindanao’s overall economic development would be attained.
“Billionaires will come to Mindanao to invest their money,” he said.
Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Apr 1): “Set aside differences and push for common good”: Moro Political leaders
ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman and Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu, hope the leaders of the revolutionary fronts will set aside their differences and push for the common good of the Bangsamoro, given the unique situation where the President is a Mindanawon with Moro blood, the Senate and House Speaker are both from Mindanao, and as Dureza said, the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice, also has roots in Mindanao, Mindanews online report said.
Hataman told MindaNews that the challenge for the MILF, MNLF, and the other Bangsmoro leaders is to take the opportunity now that the President is a Mindanawon with Moro blood.
Several times, Pres. Duterte had vowed to address the historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro.
I do not understand, maybe because I am younger, but what does the MNLF want that is not in accord with what the MILF wants? What does the MILF want that is different from what the MNLF wants? In the end, we’re still Bangsamoro, right?, he said.
Hataman reiterated that if what will make them unite is for him to resign tomorrow as ARMM Governor, he would do so. “I will resign tomorrow if that can make them unite”, he told Mindanews.
I know the ARMM’s limitations. I feel the ARMM is not the solution to the problem of the Bangsmaoro but there are opportunities that we can do for the Bangsamoro to benefit from while the ARMM is there. But definitely, this is not the ultimate solution), Hataman said.
Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu said he hopes the MNLF and MILF leaders “talk properly” for the sake of the Bangsamoro.
He said he is bothered by leaders calling the others as “traitors,” as Misuari said of the MILF and the other factions of the MNLF in November.
“Once upon a time, they were for us and hopefully now, they will still be for us”, Mangudadatu told Mindanews.
Propaganda statement posted to the National Democratic Front Website (Mar 31): NDFP willing to be flexible regarding bilateral ceasefire
NDFP Media Office
Press Statement
Fidel V. Agcaoili
Chairperson, NDFP Negotiating Panel
31 March 2017
The GRP’s last minute announcement not to restore its unilateral ceasefire constitutes an unexpected departure from the March 11 backchannel agreement where both parties agreed to simultaneously reinstate their respective unilateral ceasefires before the start on April 2 of the fourth round of peace talks. The NDF and the GRP agreed to this measure in the interim in order to move the talks forward and improve the atmosphere for negotiations after the impasse last February.
Because the GRP negotiating panel is coming to the Netherlands for the fourth round of formal talks, the NDFP negotiating panel is willing to be flexible and is open to discussing with its counterpart what kind of bilateral ceasefire agreement is desired by the GRP in place of the unilateral ceasefire.
The NDFP believes it is possible at the soonest time to have a bilateral ceasefire agreement that conforms to the position that simultaneous and reciprocal declarations of unilateral ceasefire can be agreed upon and bound by the Joint Statement at the end of the fourth round of formal talks.
The NDFP is one with the GRP in desiring to resolve the serious concerns that have been raised in relation to the previous six-month unilateral ceasefires, mindful that addressing these issues is crucial to ensuring that any ceasefire agreement in the future would be more effective.
Meanwhile, both parties will continue to hammer out a single joint ceasefire document that will take a longer time to forge in conjunction with the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER) and the amnesty and release of all political prisoners as listed by the NDFP.
The NDFP is fully prepared to craft a draft common agreement with the GRP on socio-economic reforms before the end of the year.###
