COTABATO CITY, 25 October — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is not withdrawing from the peace talks with the Philippine government contrary to some reports, the separatist group said yesterday.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu issued the clarification as he reiterated the group’s “commitment to have the Mindanao problem resolved through peaceful political settlement.”
Earlier reports quoted Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, as saying they might abandon the peace talks if government troops continue their attacks on MILF positions.
But Kabalu yesterday said what Murad wanted to emphasize in a press statement issued on Monday was the “negative impact” of the military’s offensive actions on the peace effort.
Murad was concerned that the offensive actions would disturb the humanitarian, rehabilitation and development programs that are to be implemented in war-ravaged areas of Mindanao, the spokesman said.
Talks on withdrawal by the MILF from the peace talks started to crop up amid military offensives at Sultan Gumander and Pualas in Lanao del Sur and at Nonongan in Lanao del Norte, Kabalu noted.
But he said the MILF will opt to lodge a complaint against the military for violating the cease-fire agreement it signed last year with the government.
The Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) is scheduled to meet on Oct. 30 at the Seagull Beach Resort in Davao City to discuss, among other, the reported violations on the agreement.
“The effective implementation of the cease-fire agreement is necessary to be able to transform normalcy on the ground conducive to bring about meaningful development in the conflict-affected areas in Mindanao,” Kabalu stressed.
