[AP
PHOTO - In this photo taken Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011, Ameril Umbra Kato, seated,
the commander of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), the breakaway
faction of the largest Filipino Muslim rebel group, is interviewed by the media
inside his rebel stronghold in Maguindanao province in southern Philippines. On
Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011, the largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines, the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has given the radical Kato, with hundreds
of fighters, a final warning to stop a mutiny or face expulsion, which would
expose his breakaway force to possible military assaults. (AP
Photo/Nickee Butlangan)]
MANILA,
AUGUST 22, 2011 (BULLETIN)
By AP, GENALYN D. KABILING, and EDD K. USMAN — A radical guerrilla commander
said he has split from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's
largest Muslim rebel group, and formed his own with hundreds of fighters to wage
a war for a separate homeland.
As this developed, the National Democratic Front (NDF) proposed a truce
agreement a few days after President Aquino sought its sincerity in forging
peace with the government.
Ustadhz Ameril Umbra Kato told The Associated Press in a cellphone interview
Thursday from his jungle hideout in Maguindanao that he would not return to the
mainstream MILF, which has opened peace talks with the government and threatened
to expel him after he led a mutiny last December.
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding Chairman Nur Misuari advised
Kato to avoid starting a war with the government or other Muslim groups, saying
it is the Moro people who will suffer the most in the end.
"I have sent emissaries to our brother Ustadhz Ameril Umbra Kato. As usual as
a brother, although he is older than me by a few years, I just took the liberty
to advise him. 'Please, don't respond to the provocations from the other side.
It is our people who will be the loser in the end'," Misuari told Kato.
Misuari said Kato responded positively, but he said they (Kato's group) will
defend themselves if attacked.
Kato denied allegations by Philippine security officials that he has links
with al-Qaida-affiliated militants in volatile Mindanao and was involved in
deadly bombings and terrorist attacks.
He said his new group would be known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Front.
Its guerrilla wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, was organized last
January, a month after he broke off from the main Muslim guerrilla force over
differences with insurgent leaders.
"This is the true jihad, the true revolution," Kato said.
Kato, who has about 200 to 300 fighters according to his former comrades, did
not give details about his combat force or say what steps he would take next.
Kato, who is in his late 60s, said he left because his former group chose to
"waste time" by deciding to negotiate with the government for expanded autonomy,
instead of waging a battle for an independent Muslim homeland that would
liberate minority Muslims from crushing poverty and neglect.
"We've been going around and around wasting money and look where the peace
talks have brought us," Kato said. "The roots of the conflict have not been
solved."
Rebel spokesman Von Al Haq from the main Moro group expressed relief that
Kato finally has clearly indicated he wants to lead his own organization, but
warned "he will be accountable for his actions, which will no longer have any
bearing on the MILF."
"It's a process of elimination," Al Haq said. "At the end of the day, all
those who couldn't hold firm on our basic principles fall on the wayside."
The infighting within the main 11,000-strong rebel force underscores the
complexity of the Muslim unrest that has claimed more than 120,000 lives and
stunted growth in the impoverished but resource-rich south of the predominantly
Roman Catholic Philippines.
The main guerrilla force currently led by its chairman, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim,
split in 1978 from the MNLF, which dropped its secessionist bid for autonomy and
signed a landmark peace accord with Manila in 1996. Murad's group dropped its
bid for independence last year, but demanded a more powerful type of autonomy
with greater control over wider territory.
Murad's group said Kato, who used to head one of its largest and most
battle-tested commands, resigned last December, citing his age and poor health.
But Kato then formed a breakaway group and accused Murad's group of betraying
the Muslim cause by seeking autonomy, instead of independence.
"They did that without consulting the Muslims. They cheated," Kato said.
Malacañang welcomed the NDF proposed truce pact.
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Aquino administration has
always sought a ceasefire with the communist rebels to accelerate the peace
process.
"We welcome the call of Fidel Agcaoili for a truce. We have always asked the
NDF (National Democratic Front) for a ceasefire," Lacierda said.
Agcaoili, spokesman of the NDF peace panel, reportedly called on the
government to consider a truce pact and alliance. He did not state the duration
of the proposed ceasefire with the government.
Agcaoili likewise urged the Aquino administration to consider NDF's proposal
for the formal peace negotiations in Oslo next month.
"The GPH must exercise strong political will in addressing the roots of the
armed conflict. It must agree to carry out basic social, economic and political
reforms in the country," Agcaoili said in a statement.
FROM BULATLAT.COM
Fidel V. Agcaoili: Irresponsible talk by GPH does
disservice to the Peace Talks Published on August 16, 2011 12
ShareThisEmail PRESS STATEMENT 16 August 2011
MANILA — The Government of the Philippines (GPH, formerly designated as the
GRP) has really gone berserk in its extremely irresponsible disinformation
campaign against the revolutionary movement in connection with the recent arrest
of four (4) Prisoners of War (POWs) and three detainees under the custody of the
New People's Army (NPA) in Mindanao.
The GPH wants to hide the fact that it still has more than 350 political
prisoners under its custody who have either been charged or convicted with
common crimes in violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human
Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and have suffered torture
while undergoing interrogation and in detention.
These political prisoners have been on hunger strike since 25 July 2011,
prompting Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, head of the National
Secretariat for Social Action-Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to call for the "immediate and
unconditional release of those whose arrests are deemed to be politically
motivated" and "have already served long and completely unjust sentences."
Among the political prisoners are the 13 remaining individuals protected
under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) whose
releases have long been overdue – before the second round of formal talks slated
in June 2011 as provided for in the 21 February 2011 Joint Statement signed in
Oslo, Norway between the GPH and the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDFP). The GPH is bound in solemn agreement to expeditiously
release all, if not most, of the 17 JASIG protected individuals by June 2011.
Moreover, the Aquino regime deliberately glosses over the fact that it has
been condoning the culture of impunity in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),
the Philippine National Police (PNP) and their paramilitary groups (Civilian
Armed Forces Geographical Units/CAFGUs and Civilian Volunteers
Organizations/CVOs). Such tolerance is manifested in the failure to bring to
justice the human rights violators under the Arroyo regime and to address the
continuing violations of human rights under its own rule.
Under the Aquino regime, human rights groups have already documented 50 cases
of extra-judicial killings and eight (8) cases of disappearances from 30 June
2010 to 31 July 2011 – the most recent of which involved three peasant
organizers in Negros Occidental last 19 July.
There have also been a spate of arrests of peasant and labor organizers –
most recently in La Union and Batangas – as well as surveillance, harassment,
threats and attacks on human rights groups and advocates. For example, it is now
deemed an "act inimical to national security" to render assistance to human
rights groups as evidenced by the resolution of the National Police Commission
signed by Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, depriving a local official of
administrative control over the police for helping a local human rights group.
Under Oplan Bayanihan, the Aquino regime continues the practice of the
previous regime's Oplan Bantay Laya in attacking communities and deploying
thousands of troops in areas suspected to be under the influence, control or
supportive of the revolutionary movement. These troops base themselves in
schools, health centers, church premises, barangay halls and civilian houses.
They conduct surveillance and interrogation of the populace under the guise of
census-taking and civic action. They actively recruit members into the CAFGUs
and CVOs and set-up Barangay Intelligence Network (BIN).
They harass, threaten, arrest and torture people, including children, who
oppose their presence and recruitment and protest their rowdy behavior during
their daily drinking sessions which often lead to the indiscriminate shooting of
work animals and houses. They molest local women, restrict the free movement of
residents and the flow of food into the community, thereby disrupting the normal
lives of the people during planting and harvesting seasons and the education of
schoolchildren. They act as occupying troops over these communities.
The Aquino regime should not begrudge the New People's Army (NPA) for having
the capability to arrest four (4) armed components of its counterrevolutionary
and coercive apparatus, and an abusive local official and his two bodyguards who
are deemed to have taken active part in military operations against the
revolutionary forces.
The NDFP is a legitimate national liberation movement and a co-belligerent in
the ongoing armed conflict in the country within the purview of international
law and international humanitarian law. As a principled revolutionary
organization, the NDFP represents 17 allied organizations and local organs of
political power that are present throughout the country in urban and rural areas
and in more than 120 guerrilla fronts with a mass base running into millions and
an armed force operating nationwide under the guidance of a central political
authority that functions within the framework of the Guide for Establishing the
People's Democratic Government.
As Atty. Padilla knows very well, the NDFP has acquired such status of
belligerency by dint of hard struggle since a long time ago against the
US-Marcos fascist dictatorship. He should ask Atty. Marvic Leonen of this fact
and point of international law. Such status was not bestowed by any entity
external to the revolutionary movement. Direct or implied recognition by any
foreign State merely enhances such status inherent in the people's revolutionary
government.
Atty. Padilla should be reminded that there are two governments in the
Philippines. One is the revolutionary government of workers and peasants based
in the countryside and the other is the reactionary government of big compradors
and landlords represented by Mr. Aquino in Manila. The NDFP Negotiating Panel
has always declared that it represents the revolutionary organs of democratic
political power, together with the CPP as the ruling party, the New People's
Army as the main armed component of people's state power, the mass organizations
and the broad masses of the people.
Since its founding and in the course of decades of practice, the NPA has
treated POWs well in accordance with the 1969 Basic Rules of the New People's
Army, international humanitarian law, the CARHRIHL and within its capabilities
and circumstances. These have been publicly attested to by former POWs
themselves, such as Gen. Victor Obillo, PA Major Eduardo Montealto, P/Major Rene
Francisco, P/Major Roberto Bernal, among others, and by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Let me also assure Atty. Padilla that the people's court of the democratic
people's government is guided by the principle of fair administration of justice
in observing the rights of individuals to due process. This is provided for in
Part III on the Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens in the Guide for
Establishing the People's Democratic Government. Atty. Padilla has nothing to
fear for the POWs and the detainees in the criminal justice system of the
revolutionary movement.
The NDFP is committed to pursue the peace negotiations with the GPH to bring
about just and lasting peace in the country by addressing the roots of the armed
conflict. It has even offered truce and alliance with the Aquino regime provided
it firmly stands up for national sovereignty, democracy and social justice on
the basis of the NDFP ten-point proposal for a Concise Agreement for an
Immediate Just Peace issued on 27 August 2005. What the GPH should do is to
respond to the NDFP proposal instead of engaging in irresponsible provocative
talk that threatens to terminate the peace negotiations.#
Disclaimer | What you are read is either a press release/ statement or a
manifesto. These materials do not go through our editorial process and do not
reflect our policy or position. It is now August 2011, yet only four of the 17
have been released. So I ask Atty. Alexander Padilla, Chairman of the GPH
Negotiating Panel: which side is delaying the resumption of the second round of
formal talks? The GPH should immediately comply with signed agreements and not
engage in dilatory tactics in an attempt to exert pressure on the NDFP.
BULATLAT.COM.
FROM THE MANILA TIMES
MILF chief can dream on – Palace
[Photo
shows renegade Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander Ameril Umbra Kato during
a clandestine interview with journalists in Mindanao.
PHOTO BY ROMY ELUSFA]
WHAT was not offered could not possibly be received.
But the leader of the country's reputedly biggest separatist group can dream
on, Malacanang said on Friday as it denied offering the position of
Officer-in-Charge of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim.
"No offer was made. I can categorically state that no offer was made by
President Benigno Aquino 3rd to Chairman Murad," according to Palace spokesman
Edwin Lacierda.
Lacierda said that the government has not heard from the MILF about the
status of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) Chairman Ameril Umbra Kato.
Kato, who was earlier declared by the MILF as insignificant and a lost
command, has announced the formation of his own BIFF, which he said would press
the struggle for an independent Mindanao in southern Philippines.
He was said to have broken away from the MILF as he did not approve of peace
negotiations between the Aquino administration and the rebel leadership,
including Murad's proposal for a "sub-state" instead of an independent Muslim
homeland.
The MILF chairman presented the proposal to President Aquino during their
August 4 meeting in Tokyo to speed up the peace process between the two sides.
When asked how Kato's BIFF could affect stalled peace talks that are set to
resume in Kuala Lumpur on August 22, Lacierda said that this will be tackled by
the government and MILF panels.
"We confer officially with the other side of the peace panel. Insofar as
having received any official communication from the MILF as to the status of Mr.
Umbra Kato, we (are) yet to receive an official communication," he added.
"It means that we will not deal [with or] get information through media. We
will recognize that, or at least the peace panel will not recognize that, until
it receives official communication from the MILF and the (government) peace
panel. We would like to get confirmation from (the panels) as to the official
status of Umbra Kato, notwithstanding his [Kato's] unilateral statement (that he
was not buying the sub-sate proposal)," Lacierda said.
The government, the Palace spokesman added, will ask the MILF to clarify
reports on Kato's group being a splinter one and its implications where national
security is concerned.
"We will certainly raise the issue and we will wait for their response to
clarify what has been coming out in the media," Lacierda said.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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