Saturday, November 28, 2009

MILF condemns massacre in Maguindanao Province


MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - The Central Committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front came out with an official condemnation of the brutal and barbaric massacre of 57 persons including women, members of the media, and two human rights lawyers at Masalay, Datu Sangki Ampatuan in Maguindanao province in the southern Philippines.

The principal suspect is Datu Unsay Ampatuan, a mayor of Datu Unsay municipality in Maguindanao and son of former Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr.

The one-page document signed by MILF Vice Chairman on Political Affairs, which the MILF central leadership unanimously passed during a special meeting, “unequivocally and strongly condemns the barbaric act” and “whoever did this evil act deserves the wrath of the Almighty, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice without delay.”

“We call on the Arroyo administration to act fast, fairly, and apprehend the criminals whoever they are. The Province of Maguindanao has been the bastion of unsolved killings for years, but the government has lent a deaf hears in exchange for support especially during elections.”

“We extend our most heartfelt condolences to the victims of the nightmarish terror now known as Maguindanao Massacre."

The brutal killings occurred on Monday.

The MILF also urged all political parties and politicians not to use the outrageous massacre as tool to get votes and win in 2010 national elections.

The MILF also called on the people of Maguindanao especially the clans concerned for sobriety and to refrain from dousing incendiary to what has already been a burning inferno.

The MILF called on everyone especially members of the media not to call the massacre as the outgrowth of “rido” or “grudge” between two warring clans in Maguindanao. The Ampatuans and Mangudadatus have been allies for decades and are also allies of the Arroyo dispensation and the Lakas-NUCD, Christian-Muslim Democrats.

The term has been overused and vainly used. The conflict, not necessarily the massacre, because the perpetrators are yet to be identified beyond reasonable doubt, is the necessary consequence of a defective electoral system that promotes antagonism, division, hatred, and corruption in society.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Ameen, chairperson of the MILF Secretariat, called on all conscience-guided people to help one another in whatever form to bring the culprits to justice.

“This is cause that everyone must support without regard to confessional groups,” he said while talking to some Moro youths who called on him this morning.

However, he clarified that while the MILF is outraged by the massacre, it also called on the collective memory of the Filipinos, Moros, and the international community to remember the thousands of Moros who were also massacred by Philippine state forces and to this day, justice was not served.

He enumerated the massacres in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat (1,000 Moros brutally killed), Patikul Massacre (700), Pata Island Massacre (more than 2,000), Manili Massacre (70), Kauswagan Massacre (40), Magsaysay Massacre (66), and many more.

“Many people of this country did not care for these victims who were also human beings and deserved right to live,” he said. (First published in luwaran.com)

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