COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 5, 2008) – The Moro Resistance and Liberation Organization on Friday urged Muslim rebels to continue their armed struggle for independence in the southern Philippines after Manila scrapped a territorial deal and launched a massive offensive in Mindanao during Ramadan.
The MRLO, which is also fighting for independence in the troubled region, accused the Philippine government of insincerity in negotiating peace with the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group.
Omar Mukhtar, the leader of the MRLO, strongly criticized President Gloria Arroyo for continued government offensive against rebels in Mindanao despite the Muslim’s observance of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month.
“The MRLO is urging the MILF to continue its armed struggle together with other revolutionary forces,” he said in a statement.
Mukhtar also quoted a passage in the holy Koran, Surah Al Baqarah Chapter 2:190, that reads: “…You should only fight those who commit aggression against you and leave you no option but to fight. This war will be in the way of Allah Almighty i.e. for the protection of humanity from tyranny and oppression - but even in this war the limits of Law must not be transgressed, for such transgression is against the Laws of Allah.”
He also criticized the ancestral domain deal that government and rebel peace negotiators initially signed in July, saying, it would compromise the aspiration and self-determination of Muslims in the Philippines. And the government demands for the MILF to surrender rebel leaders Ameril Kato and Abdurahman Macapaar, blamed for last month’s attacks in Mindanao, and to disarm before peace talks could resume.
“The MILF should remain firm in their demand for self-determination and fight for the rights of the Bangsamoro people,” he said.
Little is known about the MRLO, but it was formed in June 27, 2005 and since then has allied itself with the communist New People’s Army in Mindanao.
The MILF on Friday said it will continue to uphold peace in Mindanao and called on the United Nations and other aid agencies to help war refugees, estimated at half a million, in the restive region.
It also called on human rights groups and other non-partisan organizations to investigate abuses perpetrated both by rebels and soldiers in Mindanao to give justice to the victims.
The MILF said it is willing to negotiate for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of rebels, but it should be on the last part of the peace talks.
“The DDR approach as the government new road map to peace is part of successful conflict resolutions in many parts of the world. It formed part of the comprehensive peace settlement, but it is the last item in the talks.”
“(But) when DDR is taken up ahead of the comprehensive peace settlement, it is interpreted to be a military approach, not part of a political approach, as in the case of the Philippines, contrary to what President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said early on in 2001 when he replaced the all-out war policy of President Joseph Estrada to all-out peace policy,” it said.
Arroyo opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001 after grabbing power from Estrada in a military-backed civilian revolution. (Mindanao Examiner)
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