Military silences guns in Sulu for OIC visit

First posted 05:29pm (Mla time) May 18, 2006
By Julie Alipala, Joel Guinto
INQ7.net, Inquirer



(UPDATE) THE MILITARY declared a seven-day unilateral ceasefire in the troubled southern province of Sulu to facilitate a visit by envoys from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

"Troops in the province will refrain from initiating offensive operations against armed groups,” a defense department statement said, even as it clarified the military “will have to observe active and passive defensive measures to thwart hostile actions by armed groups."

At the same time, the suspension of offensives would not cover operations against the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), tagged by the US as Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organizations.

The OIC team flew to Cotabato City Thursday to check on a decade-old peace treaty between Manila and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) amid complains progress has been slow.

The delegation, led by international human rights expert Sayed Kassem El-Masry, will visit Sulu on Saturday for a daylong dialogue with local officials

and members of the MNLF, a secessionist group which struck a peace accord with Manila in 1996, dropping a self-rule quest in exchange for limited autonomy.

Brigadier General Benjamin Dolorfino, deputy commander of the military's Southern Command, said the ceasefire would allow Ustadz Habier Malik and other MNLF officials to attend the Sulu consultation.

Malik and several other MNLF leaders were involved in last year’s clashes with the military, which killed about 100 MNLF fighters and government soldiers.

The seven-day ceasefire took effect Wednesday and would "ensure that the OIC team visit runs smoothly," the military said.

The suspension of military operations was ordered by Malacañang on recommendation of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza, the statement said.

The OIC team wants to ensure implementation of the 1996 peace accord is on track. The result of the mission is seen crucial to the Philippine bid for an observer status in OIC.

Sayed said he hoped the findings of the mission would form the basis for deciding whether to grant the Philippines observer seat in the 57-member OIC.

The OIC team will also meet with officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which broke away from the MNLF and has been fighting for over three decades for a separate state in the south.

Sulu is also a known bailiwick of Abu Sayyaf, a small but violent group known to maintain ties with the Misuari Breakaway Group (MBG), composed of guerillas loyal to former MNLF chief Nur Misuari who led the short-lived revolt in 2001. Since then, there have been sporadic clashes with Misuari's loyalists in Sulu.

Misuari, who enjoys support from the OIC, has been detained, but the government has hinted it would not object if charges against him were dropped by the justice department.

The OIC has reportedly not been satisfied with the slow pace of economic growth and rehabilitation in Mindanao, a region that remains plagued by conflicts and divisions.

With Agence France-Presse