His Excellency MGen Datuk Mat Yasin bin Mat Daud, the new Head of Mission of the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT), will arrive in Manila today from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. MGen Datuk Mat Yasin of the Royal Malaysian Army heads the fourth batch of the 60-man international monitors composed of mostly military officials and some socio-economic experts from the governments of Malaysia, Brunei, Libya and Japan. Earlier, Malaysian Admiral Dato’ Pahlawan Amzah Bin Sulayman, the IMT Deputy Head of Mission, arrived to initially lead the IMT Headquarters in Cotabato City after the one-year tour of duty of the IMT batch three ended last August 31, 2007.


Gen Yasin one-year tour duty will cover an expanded area of responsibility with the inclusion of the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan, a development viewed as moving forward on the ongoing peace process between Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The Joint Chairmen of the GRP-MILF Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), BGen Edgardo Gurrea and Von Al Haq, and officials from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and Malaysian Embassy will receive Gen Yasin at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

In Manila, His Excellency Gen Yasin will immediately pay courtesy calls to the Embassies of Malaysia, Brunei, Libya and Japan, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in Malacanang, OPAPP Secretary Jesus Dureza, GRP Peace Negotiating Panel Chairman LGen (Ret) Rodolfo Garcia, National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr, AFP Chief of Staff Gen Hermogenes Esperon Jr, and PNP Director Gen Oscar Calderon.

Gen Yasin will also attend the celebration of the 74th Malaysian Armed Forces Day on September 19, 2007 in Manila.

Courtesy call to the MILF Central Committee headed by Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim by the new chief of mission is tentatively scheduled on September 24, 2007 at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan province.

Based on the Terms of Reference (TOR), Malaysia assumes the top two highest posts of IMT that principally monitors the adherence to the ceasefire accord and secondarily keeps an eye on the implementation rehabilitation and development aspect of the 2001 GRP-MILF Agreement on Peace.

Now Lt Gen Dato’ Zulkifeli bin Mohammad Zin, MGen Dato’ Pahlawa Soheimi bin Abbas and MGen Dato’ Md Isamil bin Ahmad Khan were the previous Heads of Mission of the first, second and third batches of IMT, respectively.

The deployment of the IMT in Mindanao since October 10, 2004 had significantly improve the peace and security situation as well as the development programs especially in the conflict-affected areas due to diminishing ceasefire violations and incidents of violence transpiring between the forces of the government and the MILF.

Previously without the IMT, tactical engagements, ceasefire infractions and violent incidents had reached to almost 700 cases which deplorably claimed scores of casualties on both parties, displacements of innocent civilians, economic dislocations and politically instability in Mindanao and in the Philippines in general.

Source: Luwaran

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