ZAMBOANGA CITY, 27 August 2004 — While state prosecutors prepared to withdraw criminal charges against leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the separatist group yesterday began its campaign to explain the progress of its peace talks with the government to its members.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said thousands of their fighters trooped yesterday to a jungle base in the southern province of Lanao del Sur for a briefing on the ongoing peace talks. He said the massive information campaign is meant to educate their fighters and supporters about the peace process. “This will show the MILF’s sincerity in the peace talks. We will educate our members on how to sustain the peace process because this will further sustain the peace talks on the ground,” he said.
More than 5,000 fighters were present during yesterday’s briefings conducted by MILF peace negotiators inside the jungle of Munai town. The rest of the MILF’s fighters, estimated by the group at 70,000 and by the military at 12,000, are to have their turn in the coming days in different places.
The information and education campaign is said to be the biggest gathering of separatist forces ever for the MILF, which the late Moro leader Hashim Salamat founded when he and his followers split from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) of Nur Misuari in 1977.
The MNLF signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996 and many of its leaders have either become politicians or leaders of non-government groups.
Officials welcomed the MILF’s efforts and assured that the military is doing the same.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines welcome the efforts of the MILF to disseminate information about the peace process to their members. The military is supporting the government peace talks with the MILF and the Armed Forces will continue to support the peace process in the south,” military spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero said.
In Manila, the Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to drop charges of multiple murder and frustrated murder against 185 MILF leaders and members, who are accused of participating in two bomb attacks last year that killed 38 people in the southern city of Davao in 2002
President Gloria Arroyo’s adviser on the peace process, Teresita Deles, said the cases against the 185 guerrillas were weak and that the government thought they could be withdrawn to foster peace talks. The order to rescind the charges is expected to take effect in a few days, she said.
However, charges against five other guerrillas would not be withdrawn because of strong evidence against them, said Deles, adding that the government wouldn’t drop all criminal cases just for the sake of the talks.
“We will not violate the laws and we will not shortcut justice,” Deles told The Associated Press.
“It just so happened that what they were asking for is consistent with the findings of the justice department that the cases were weak and could be withdrawn,” she said.
Kabalu called the move “a positive development” and said peace talks could resume once the charges had been dropped.
“With this, if it’s proven to be true, we see no more hindrances to the resumption of formal peace talks,” he said.
Kabalu said the government has also mostly met the rebels’ demand to withdraw troops from a MILF stronghold that the military captured in a major offensive last year.
Malaysia, which is mediating the peace talks, announced this week that it will send at least 60 armed observers in the southern Philippines to monitor the truce between the two sides.
The team would be composed mainly of military and police officers, including diplomats, said Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datu Najib Razak. “This team is our contribution to the peace process in the Southern Philippines,” said Najib.
