SOLDIERS DEAD: noy disPLEASED over army leadership in basilan
MASSACRE
MANILA,
OCTOBER 22,
2011 (TRIBUNE) By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan and Mario J.
Mallari - Instead of expressing outrage over the killing of the 19 soldiers in
an alleged misencounter with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), President
and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Aquino
yesterday voiced his displeasure and disappointment over the military leadership
in the area.
Aquino said he wants to get to the bottom of the details of the operation
which mobilized the Army's Special Force units to pursue an outlaw that has
links to the Abu Sayyaf Group but ended up clashing with MILF elements who
accused the military of encroaching on their territory.
Seemingly protective of the MILF and not expressing any outrage over the
massacre of 19 of the country's soldiers, Aquino rejected the option of
declaring an all-out war to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack
against the government troopers, some of them believed to have been executed.
"Would that (improve) the situation?" Aquino told reporters after the
commemoration rites of the 67th anniversary of Leyte Gulf landing in Palo, Leyte
as he stressed that "nobody will benifit" if the government declares an all-out
offensive against the MILF, insisting that the best way to deal with the problem
is through peace negotiations.
He said he does not want to jump to conclusions merely because of "one rotten
egg," in the MILF, as he argued that at this point, he has no factual details as
yet on what really happened between the government troopers and the MILF.
Aquino said he received a preliminary report of the incident Wednesday
afternoon and reiterated that he will meet with military and defense officials
to discuss the incident.
[PHOTO COURTESY OF MANILA BULLETIN - HONORING THE FALLEN The flag at
the Armed Forces headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo is at half-staff in homage to
the 19 Army soldiers who were killed in battle in Basilan last Tuesday.
President Benigno S. Aquino III is displeased with the clash in Basilan
that left 19 soldiers dead, but peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF), involved in the bloodshed, will proceed, the government said
Thursday.
"Ako, hindi talaga natutuwa at gusto kong malaman ang puno't dulo ng buong
operasyon na 'to (I'm really displeased [over the incident] and I want to know
about this whole operation from end to end)," said the President.
(Photo by MARK BALMORES)]
The President also expressed condolences with families of the victims.
The Department of National Defense (DND), however, yesterday admitted to the
demoralizing effect to the military ranks of the Basilan debacle that led to the
killing of 19 members of the Armyfs elite Special Forces (SF) during a 10-hour
clash with combined MILF and Abu Sayyaf rebels.
At a press briefing, DND spokesman Zosimo Jesus Paredes, however, stressed
that the government remains "very serious" in talking peace with the MILF
despite the clash in Al Barka town on Tuesday that also resulted in the wounding
of 14 members of the 13th and 19th Special Forces Companies.
"Everybody is practically demoralized, myself included, especially as these
are young officers "very demoralizing to the rank and file of the AFP," said
Paredes.
Of the 19 killed in action, four were junior officers.
"In spite of this, the peace process shall continue," added Paredes, taking
Aquino's line.
"The government stands pat with its commitment to continue with the peace
process," he added.
Earlier, the AFP admitted that it is "restrained" from conducting relentless
pursuit operations against the MILF perpetrators due to the ceasefire mechanisms
being observed in the area.
Instead of the pursuit operations, the AFP filed a formal protest against the
MILF before the peace panel.
According to Paredes, the DND was "shocked" over the incident which is the
biggest military setback in recent years.
"The defense department felt very badly about this. This was never expected
especially at that magnitude, we were all caught by surprise," said Paredes.
Meanwhile, an Army official yesterday called on the government to suspend
temporarily the ceasefire agreement with the MILF, to give way to the pursuit
operations against the killers of the 19 SF) troops in Basilan on Tuesday.
In a radio interview, Army spokesman Col. Antonio Parlade said he personally
would want to suspend the ceasefire with MILF in Basilan to pursue the MILF
perpetrators.
"If I were asked for my opinion, it's very clear that we need to pursue the
MILF (perpetrators), by temporarily suspending the cessation of hostilities
specifically in Basilan," said Parlade.
"I am sure this will not be the last time or last incident that such will
happen. I think this is the eighth or ninth time that every time we engaged Abu
Sayyaf, suddenly there are MILF rebels in the area," added Parlade, who is also
a member of the Army's elite Special Forces.
In 2007, 14 Marines were killed in an ambush also in Al Barka by the group of
Dan Laksaw Asnawi, who was also tagged in Tuesday's clash. Ten of the soldiers
were beheaded.
Parlade expressed hopes that higher authorities would decide to impose the
law in Basilan, stressing that the SF troops were out to serve a warrant against
wanted Abu Sayyaf man Nurhasan Jamiri, who was reportedly sighted in Barangay
Cambug, where the intense firefight erupted.
At a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, AFP-Peace Process Office (PPO) chief
Col. Dickson Hermoso also admitted that the ceasefire mechanism, Ad Hoc Joint
Action Group (Ahjag) between the government and the MILF, is not working in
Basilan.
"At the present yes because of what happened recently," replied Hermoso when
asked if the ceasefire mechanism is not working in Basilan.
Hermoso said that the Ahjag and the Coordinating Committee on Cessation of
Hostilities (CCCH) are working in Central Mindanao region and other areas in
Basilan "except for that particular part of Basilan."
The last missing soldier, Pfc Michael Natividad, has already been rescued
safely by the Scout Rangers along the shore in Barangay Boje Lebung also in Al
Barka.
"He was found swimming for his life near the seashore. He was very weak and
suffered minor wounds," said AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr.
This brought the government casualties to total 19 killed in action, four of
them officers, and 14 wounded.
"A supreme sacrifice indeed in the pursuit of peace," said Burgos.
Burgos said that the military deployed the 4th SF Battalion and the 4th Scout
Ranger Battalion (SRB) in Al Barka to continue the ongoing scouring operations
and "stabilize the situation and prevent movements of armed elements."
According to Burgos, the military already lodged a formal protest against the
MILF while criminal charges of murder and frustrated murder would be filed in
the coming days.
Burgos particularly lamented the "cold blooded" killing of six soldiers who
were initially captured by the rebels. Their bodies were recovered away from the
encounter site.
[PHOTO - Wounded soldiers from Basilan province are assisted by
their fellow troopers as they land at the southern port city of Zamboanga,
Philippines on Tuesday Oct. 18, 2011. Philippine troops are battling Muslim
guerrillas in fierce fighting in volatile Basilan province that has killed at
least 15 combatants.]
There were reports that at least one of the six was mutilated but Burgos said
that such information is still being verified.
But Parlade, in a broadcast interview, confirmed that the bodies of the six
soldier bore hack wounds.
Burgos also said that 11 of the slain soldiers will be flown today to Manila
from Zamboanga.
"They will be given appropriate military honors in Fort Bonifacio," said
Burgos.
At the same time, Britain's top diplomat to the Philippines yesterday ruled
out a military solution against Muslim rebels who had killed 19 soldiers in a
clash in Basilan.
Ambassador Stephen Lillie stressed that a political settlement to the
conflict that is feared to derail peace talks with between the government and
the MILF must still prevail.
"Incidents like this underline the urgency of a political solution to the
conflict in Mindanao," Lillie said in an e-mail statement sent to the Tribune.
The clash Tuesday night in Basilan between government troops and MILF
guerillas has set concerns on the future of peace talks, which is currently on a
standstill after both sides failed to reach an agreement concerning a rebel
demand for a Muslim sub-state during negotiations in Malaysia last August.
The military and the MILF are currently observing a ceasefire in connection
to the ongoing peace negotiations.
But the MILF accused the military of violating the truce and attacking its
men in Basilan. The AFP claimed it is not targeting the MILF but suspected Abu
Sayyaf militants. Five rebels were also killed in the firefight.
"I was concerned to learn of this violent incident and loss of life and I
hope that all measures can be taken to prevent similar incidents occurring,"
Lillie said.
The UK is a major player in the Mindanao peace process. It is a member of the
International Contact Group (ICG), a group of countries and foreign
non-government organizations acting as an advisory body and guarantors to the
peace process.
Despite the incident, Lillie said the UK "strongly supports the peace process
in Mindanao" and as a member of the ICG "will continue to assist that process
wherever we can."
Unfazed by the major armed encounter, Philippine government officials are
optimistic that the talks would continue with the rebels.
Officials said the government panel in Malaysian-brokered talks with the MILF
is preparing for a meeting with its counterparts next month in Kuala Lumpur.
The MILF, which used to be part of a larger secessionist group, has been
combating government troops in the Southern Philippines since 1969, in one of
Asia 's longest-running insurgencies. A final peace agreement between the two
sides is expected to end more than 40 years of Muslim rebellion in Southern
Philippines that has claimed at least 120,000 lives, brought massive destruction
to property, and crippled the region's economy. With
Michaela P. del Callar
from xinhua
Basilan massacre of Philippine troops big blow to peace talks
with Moro rebels 10-20-2011 17:10 BJT By Alito L. Malinao
[PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILSTAR - Gov't won't
retaliate against rebel attack (philstar.com) —
President Benigno Aquino III says he will not resort to an army assault on
Muslim guerrillas who killed 19 army soldiers in fierce fighting in the south.
He says he will continue peace talks with the rebels. Aquino is
seeking answers on why a platoon of army special forces incurred such heavy
losses in the daylong fighting Tuesday on southern Basilan island. Some
officials have called for tougher action against the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front, which was involved in the deadly clash. Some urged Aquino to order an
offensive against the rebel group, which is engaged in talks with the
government. Aquino said Thursday that breaking a cease-fire with the rebels and
resuming outright war would not do anybody any good.]
MANILA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The already shaky peace negotiations between the
Philippine government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
were dealt with another big blow after the massacre last Tuesday of 19 soldiers
in the hands of heavily armed Moro rebels in Al-Barka, Basilan in Southern
Philippines.
Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, who reopened talks with both the
Moro rebels and the communist New People's Army after he assumed the presidency
in June last year, expressed disappointment over the military's failure to
prevent the bloodbath.
President Aquino said he would take up the issues involving the MILF with the
military top brass in a command conference Friday.
Despite the one-sided encounter in which government forces were outnumbered
by MILF guerrillas, Mr. Aquino brushed aside calls to revive an all-out war
against the Muslim secessionist group.
"Nobody gets any benefit from war," Aquino said as he expressed condolences
to the families of the slain soldiers.
But Representative Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the committee on national
defense of the House of Representatives, called on Thursday the government to
immediately suspend peace talks with the MILF.
In an interview with a local radio station in Cotabato City, Biazon, who was
a former chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said that instead of
talking with the rebels, the government should concentrate on hunting down those
involved in the Al-Barka clash.
Biazon also called for an investigation into the reported link between the
MILF and the terror group Abu Sayyaf.
Abu Sayyaf, a notorious kidnap-for-ransom gang in Basilan and Sulu, has links
with Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah and Al Qaida.
The military said some of the rebels involved in the Al-Barka clash were
colluding with the Abu Sayyaf, a charge that the MILF has repeatedly denied.
Biason, also a former senator, said the Al-Barka clash was not isolated,
adding that in 2007, MILF rebels also clashed with soldiers in Al-Barka. In that
encounter, 14 soldiers were later found to have been beheaded.
He also said the MILF has refused to surrender Dan Laksaw Asnawi and his men,
who were being sought for their alleged role in the 2007 beheadings.
Asnawi was among those involved in the beheading of 14 Marines during a 2007
clash. Asnawi was arrested in the aftermath of the beheading but escaped from
the Basilan provincial jail in December 2009 with 30 other inmates.
The MILF has confirmed that Asnawi was the MILF commander under the 114th
Base Command in Basilan.
Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, said that the MILF will not surrender
Asnawi and his men. "Why are we going to surrender them? It was the military who
attacked their position. Besides, they are covered by our existing truce," Iqbal
said.
Iqbal said that the two Al-Barka encounters were prompted by uncoordinated
military actions and that the rebel group should not be faulted for it.
According to Iqbal, during the encounter, the military lost 22 men, not 19,
while only six MILF guerrillas were killed.
Iqbal said the Al-Barka encounter showed that the military had no regard for
the peace process and the agreement on the cessation of hostilities which the
Philippine government and the MILF have signed. Its implementation is being
supervised by an International Monitoring Team headed by Malaysia.
Malaysia is also the facilitator of the off-and-on peace negotiations between
the government and the MILF.
A Malaysian official assigned with the IMT said they were working doubly hard
to restore order in Basilan.
"We are doing our best to restore peace in that island province. We have
rules and procedures to follow under the signed ceasefire agreement between the
MILF and the Philippine government," Major Gen. Dato Mahdi Bin Yusof, IMT head
of mission, said.
Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer, head of the Western Mindanao Command
(Westmincom), said the military was not at fault, saying that the encounter took
place outside of the MILF's "area of temporary stay". He said the MILF should be
held liable for what occurred on Tuesday.
Practically belying Biazon's assertion, government chief negotiator Marvic
Leonen said in a statement that the Al-Barka encounter was isolated and should
not affect the talks.
"The fighting has already stopped. We are certain that this is an isolated
incident. This armed confrontation was not intended by both government and
MILF," he said.
"We are confident that the current mechanisms for monitoring violations of
the ceasefire agreement are in place and are effectively working. With the
assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as well as the ceasefire
committees, we hope to be able to get a clearer picture of the causes of this
incident," Leonen added.
Leonen said the latest Al-Barka encounter could be tackled when the peace
panels meet in Malaysia next month.
Since the l970s, the 12,000-strong MILF has waged a rebellion for an
independent state in Mindanao. The rebellion has left about 150,000 people dead
and untold suffering to both the Muslim and the Christian population in
Mindanao. Editor:Wang Xiaomei |Source:
Xinhua
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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