Armed members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) escort civilians aboard a dump truck in Tangkal, a town in the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Norte, May 28, 2018. Richel V. Umel/BenarNews
A Malaysian-led contingent has been sent to help investigate an anti-drug operation that led to nine Muslim rebels being killed last month in the southern Philippines during a gun battle that occurred as negotiations for a promised self-rule region hurdled Congress, officials said Tuesday.
The international monitoring mission, led by Malaysian Army Maj. Gen. Mohd Nazir bin Haji Mami, is tasked with determining what occurred on May 25 between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and an elite anti-drug team in Matalam, a town in Cotabato province, officials said.
“For us, there was no coordination on the part of police and military. Their investigation is ongoing and we hope it will resolve the problem,” Mohammad Ameen, a senior MILF leader, told BenarNews, referring to the international team.
“I guarantee it was not drug related as what police were saying,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Malaysian commander appealed on both parties to remain calm while the investigation was going on, so as not to complicate negotiations for a proposed Muslim autonomous region, the centerpiece of a peace deal signed by Manila and the rebels in 2014.
“We will make sure that our investigation on the alleged shootout between the nine MILF members and the police shall be comprehensive,” he told a local radio station in Cotabato city.
Malaysia brokered the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels on the southern island of Mindanao. Malaysian participation has evolved to include monitoring of an interim ceasefire pact forged by the two parties about two decades ago.
Representatives from Libya, Brunei, and Japan are also included in the Malaysian-led mission, which also monitors the humanitarian, rehabilitation and development aspects of the peace process. The peacekeeping contingent also ensures the protection of civilians in areas where the MILF operated.
On May 25, members of an elite police team, backed by soldiers, were on a mission to arrest two notorious drug pushers in the village of Kilada when men inside a home engaged them in firefight, officials said.
Nine people inside the home were killed and police said they recovered several high-powered firearms, including sniper rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. No drugs were found, according to investigators.
The MILF said those killed belonged to an elite jungle fighting force under its Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) wing, which has been helping the army go against pro-Islamic State groups in the south.
But while they filed a “strong protest” against their counterparts, MILF officials said they were confident the incident would not directly affect the expected passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in Congress.
The BBL spells out the proposed autonomous region in the south, its scope and powers. Its passage is expected to bring peace Mindanao, the country’s mineral-rich southern third where many areas remain mired in poverty because of the insurgency.
The 12,000-member MILF dropped its bid for self-rule to settle for an expanded autonomy when it signed a peace deal with Manila four years ago.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives last week passed their respective versions of the law, but the lawmakers have come under criticism for allegedly watering down certain provisions.
President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to sign the bill into law by the time he delivers his State of the Nation address before a joint Congress in July.
The proposed law, partly seen by BenarNews, shows that much of the powers that the MILF had been pushing for, including those concerning land management, public utilities and basic regulatory powers, such as those related to the rights of indigenous groups, have been stripped.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.