MANILA, Philippines -- In a gesture of goodwill ahead of an anticipated resumption of peace talks, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Sunday announced that it had offered to abandon its strongholds in the provinces of Basilan and Sulu so the military could go after Abu Sayyaf bandits.

MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said over local radio the rebels would move out of their strongholds in Basilan and Sulu “to give way to a big military offensive” against Abu Sayyaf militants.

“We are prepared to leave the areas, on certain considerations, including the security and subsistence of the families of our fighters,” Kabalu said. “We want to apply that to avoid misencounters” with the military, he added.

Kabalu said the offer to temporarily vacate their camps was a “sign of sincerity and cooperation so that the government could focus on the lawless elements they are after.”

The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a decades-old rebellion for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.

Lack of coordination

In 2003, the MILF signed a truce with the government, but a lack of coordination between ground forces on both sides has often led to bloody encounters.

In July, renegade MILF guerrillas backed by the Abu Sayyaf ambushed a military convoy, killing 14 soldiers -- 10 of whom were beheaded. The incident sparked outrage and pushed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to mount a massive offensive.

The MILF owned up to the attack, but said its fighters had followed rules of combat and did not mutilate the bodies.

The military later said the offensive was aimed at the Abu Sayyaf, a small gang of self-styled bandits and kidnappers on the US government’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Peace talks

Government negotiators have said peace talks under the auspices of Malaysia will resume with the MILF this month to coincide with Ramadan, the Islamic fasting season, or shortly after.

Nine days before government forces launched military operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Tipo-Tipo town on Basilan on Aug. 18, MILF forces had already repositioned themselves to avoid misencounters.

Von Al Haq, chair of the MILF’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, said the decision to reposition MILF guerrillas was reached between himself and his government counterpart, Gen. Edgardo Gurrea.

Al Haq said the government chief negotiator, retired Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, and MILF chief negotiator Mohaqger Iqbal, who both recommended the arrangement to preserve the gains of the peace process, approved the plan.

Maguindanao

In August 2005, MILF rebels vacated their two camps, Badre and Omar Ibni-Khattab, in Guindulongan and Talayan towns in Maguindanao province to give way to government troops who were running after Abu Sayyaf and suspected Jemaah Islamiyah militants holed up there.

Source: Inquirer Online

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