Government to finish off Sayyaf in Basilan by yearend

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines   – Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro ordered yesterday the military to finish off the Abu Sayyaf before yearend.

Speaking to reporters in Zamboanga City, Teodoro said the offensive against the killers of the 23 soldiers in Basilan last week will continue through Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, which starts any time this week.

“These are terrorists (Abu Sayyaf and armed supporters) who don’t recognize Ramadan,” he said.

“As soon as possible is our time table,” he said.

“It should be done before yearend. It should be done because if election period comes again we have another problem. I think it’s logical it should be done before yearend.”

Teodoro said the military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan has been dragging on because of changes in government policies.

“At this time I can say we have sufficient stocks of ammunition for any eventuality in Basilan,” he said. “More than ever we are driven to finish the problem once and for all.”

Lt. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command chief, told The STAR yesterday more troops will be sent to Basilan to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf.

“We shall be pulling out troops from areas where there is an existing SOMO (suspension of military operations) and bring them to Basilan,” he said.

Troops in central and northern Mindanao, where military operations have been suspended, will reportedly be deployed in Basilan.

Dolorfino said the Abu Sayyaf’s actual strength in Basilan before last week’s clashes was 80 men.

“It used to be 80 and since 40 of them were killed last week, the Abu Sayyaf now is only 40,” he said.

“Right now, the military can very well keep the momentum against the Abu Sayyaf with what we have. But it would be better if we get additional troops.”

However, Dolorfino said the Abu Sayyaf’s support group in Basilan remains large.

“The thing is, during encounters with the real Abu Sayyaf, they would only be very few,” he said.

“But later they would increase to large numbers because of the community armed groups operating in the area.”

Gov’t-MILF peace  talks to continue

Peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will continue despite its having ambushed government soldiers last week, Malacañang said yesterday.

Speaking over state-run radio, Avelino Razon, presidential adviser on the peace process, said the government believed the MILF leadership remained “sincere” despite their involvement in the clashes.

“Our view is that we need to give the peace talks a chance so we can end 40 years of conflict,” he said.

Razon said the military has been asked to thoroughly investigate the ambush of troops in Basilan last week.

“What happened in Basilan was an isolated incident,” he said.

“We still believe that the MILF leadership remains sincere and is still pushing forward with the formal talks.”

In admitting the ambush, the MILF said their fighters were provoked by government fire.

‘People must  be consulted’

Mayors from all over the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) warned yesterday that their constituents might reject any peace agreement with the MILF signed without their consent.

On the other hand, ARMM Solicitor-General Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi said “resuscitating” the agreement on ancestral domain, which the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional, could spark an “upheaval” among people in Mindanao.

“It’s the respect for the laws of the land, respect for the High Tribunal that we’re trying to uphold here,” she said.

“Any food made up of rotten ingredients is toxic and, therefore, cannot be eaten.”

Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan said town and city mayors within the ARMM must be represented in the peace talks.

“We can assure President Arroyo and the GRP peace panel that we in the autonomous region support the peace process very religiously and that it’s only on the need for extensive consultation with local sectors on the GRP-MILF talks that we are noisy about,” he said.

Speaking at a dialogue with ARMM mayors at the Maguindanao provincial capitol of Sharif Aguak, chief government negotiator Rafael Seguis assured ARMM residents that they would be consulted on all issues and concerns before any peace agreement is signed with the MILF.

“There will be no surprises,” he said. “We shall be transparent as much as possible.”

Antonio Mariano, a retired Air Force officer, said sectors in the ARMM are also worried about the implications of Seguis’s and MILF chief negotiator Muhaquer Iqbal’s acknowledgment of the agreement on ancestral domain as an “initialed, but still unsigned document” in the joint statement they signed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia late July.

On the other hand, Hadji Udtog Kawit, a public school teacher of 40 years, said the government and MILF peace panels should focus on the plight of people displaced by recent hostilities.

“Human security is important in peace building,” he said.

“There can be no peace without social welfare, without education for our children, without community involvement in any peace initiative.”

Peace talks between the government and the MILF started on Jan. 7, 1997, gained headway in 2003 with the help of Malaysia as “third party facilitator.”

It collapsed after the aborted signing of the agreement on ancestral domain in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 5 last year.

Meantime, the police and military are building up murder charges against the killers of 23 soldiers in Basilan last week.

Director Felizardo Serapio, Directorate for Integrated Police Operation Western Mindanao chief, said they have deployed crime scene investigators to Barangay Kurellem, Tipo-Tipo town to gather physical evidence.

“This is in furtherance of our investigation not only on the perpetrators but even supporters,” he said.

“If we can file cases against supporters then we will do that. In fact some witnesses came out yesterday and our investigators were able to interview them.”   – With Edith Regalado, John Unson, James Mananghaya