The
operation is a punitive act against Ustaz Malik and
his group as a violater of law and not as a member
of MNLF.
As
regards the proposal to send a small military team
to observe the suspension of military operations,
the Foreign Minister stated that there is no
military operations against any MNLF group and
therefore no suspension of such operation need to be
monitored.
On 18 April 2007, the OIC
Secretary General replied to the Foreign Minister
indicating the following points:
The OIC
as an organization and the whole of its membership
are committed to the values and principles of Islam,
which is totally against aggression and glorifies
peace, tolerance and respect for human life. Its
determination to combat all terrorist acts has been
pronounced on the highest level. On the other hand,
we have been assured on several occasions that the
MNLF and all its factions and commanders
are on the side of combating terrorism. They express
more than once publicly and privately their wish to
cooperate with the GRP in reaching this common
objective. They do not want to be associated in any
manner with any groups that carry out the acts of
terrorism.
With
regard to suspension of military operations, it is
to be recalled that during the visit of OIC fact
finding missions in May, 2006, a suspension of
military operations (SOMO) was declared for the
duration of the visit by no less than H.E. President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who graciously took this
initiative to allow the OIC mission to visit the
area and to carry out its assignment. The OIC
mission negotiated successfully the extension of
SOMO indefinitely.
Later
on, on the 19th of June, 2006 a meeting was held in
Baku, Azerbaijan on the sideline of the ICFM between
the three parties, signatories to the 1996 Final
Peace Agreement (FPA) to make preparations for
holding of the Tripartite meeting to review the
implementation of the FPA.
During
the above-mentioned meeting, there Was a general
agreement to accept an OIC proposal to send a small
monitoring team, composed of military experts to
oversee the implementation of the SOMO in Sulu. The
special adviser to the President of the Philippines,
Secretary Dureza, expressed his preference that
these military experts should be drawn from
countries. member of the OIC Committee of
Eight.
At
present, and in light of the urgency of the
situation and the need to restore confidence between
the two parties, the Secretary General proposed to
the GRP to consider receiving a small team of
military experts from the OIC to visit the area for
assessment purposes only and to defer monitoring
aspect to such a time when the GRP deems
appropriate.
By a letter dated 25 April
2007, the Foreign Minister of the Philippines
responded to the Secretary General's letter of 18
April by maintaining that the current actions in
Sulu is a law enforcement campaign and therefore a
purely domestic concern.
The Position of the MNLF:
The O.I.C.
received several communications from the MNLF indicating
the following:-
The military
operation against the MNLF in Sulu actually started on
18 January 2007 by a sudden attack by the Philippines
marines on Tempook PATIKUL where 4 MNLF members were
killed. Another attack was carried out against Commander
Ajiboon on 25 March 2007.
On 11 April
2007, the AFP waged a full scale operation against the
camp of Com. Ajibon using air, sea and land forces.
On 13 April
2007, the MNLF Forces under Commander KHABIER MALIK
engaged in a battle to try to stop the invading
Philippines forces.
The results
of these unprovoked attacks are many casualties on both
sides and tens of thousands of displaced civilians and
enormous devastation in the island.
The
resumption of present hostilities is attributed to the
false claim of pursuing ASG, whereas in reality it is a
scenario to create justification for the destruction of
the MNLF and the Bangsamoro people. The MNLF condemns
the crimes attributed to the ASG and accused the AFP of
collision with the ASG to implicate the MNLF and link it
to terrorism.
The MNLF
political and
military leaders, including USTAZ HABIER MALIK
have repeatedly condemned the ASG.
Today, in
the midst of fighting and despite the rejection of the
GRP, and the O.I.C. calls for cessation of hostilities,
there is even more urgent need for the tripartite
meeting to be convened immediately for assessment of the
peace agreement and to find ways and means for its full
implementation in letter and spirit. The N/NLF also asks
for the immediate release of its Chairman to allow him
to pursue the peace efforts.
Conclusion
The
resumption of the military operation has unfortunately
caused the loss of the spirit of coordination that
exists between the GRP & MNLF, shattered the remaining
confidence and is threatening the collapse of the peace
process.
On the other
hand, fortunately, both the GRP and the MNLF leaders
have stated clearly that they do not want a
confrontation with one another and that they are more
than willing to pursue the peace process.
The ICFM may
wish to consider calling for:-
- An immediate cessation of
hostilities in the province of Sulu and a return to
the Status Quo Ante of all AFP & MNLF forces.
- The comprehensive security
arrangements between the two parties which was under
review should be accelerated and put into force. '
c) The
importance of convening the tripartite meeting as soon
as possible and not later than the 2nd week of July as
previously agreed between the parties.
d) Providing
urgent humanitarian assistance to alleviate the
suffering of the victims and help in the rehabilitation
efforts towards the problem of the displaced people.
