"They should not inflame the frustration that some of
our military leaders have been feeling right now. We are urging the
media to handle the MOA-AD very cautiously so as not to cause more
misunderstanding that could lead to full-scale fighting," Jaafar said
said in a phone interview.
Jaafar said the MILF leadership has sent its
ceasefire committee team to Lanao del Norte to investigate the clashes
that happened Monday.
Bravo denies leading attack
MILF rebels, led by a certain Commander Bravo, head
of the 102nd MILF Base Command, allegedly attacked the towns of
Kauswagan and Kolambugan towns in Lanao del Norte and the town of
Maasin in Saranggani province. The rebels, apart from engaging local
militiamen and government forces, also allegedly held hostages and
torched houses.
But Commander Bravo denied that his group is leading
the attack. "Hindi ako naglead diyan (I didn’t lead that)," he told
Newsbreak a phone conversation that he immediately ended.
Jaafar admitted that some MILF military leaders were
skeptical when the MILF entered into a peace talks with the government
in 1997.
"We explained to them the importance of peace
process. We might not have fully convinced them but our leadership
prevailed. Now, when the signing of the MOA-AD did not prosper these
leaders are frustrated, and this we did not want to happen," Jaafar
said.
Jaafar denied that MILF fighters attacked Sarangani at dawn on Monday.
"We did not send forces there, those might just be people who ride on with the issue," Jaafar said.
MOA-linked violence
Last Saturday, the chair of the Muslim Multisectoral
Peace for Development (MMPD), told NEWSBREAK that clashes might erupt
in Lanao del Norte once the MOA-AD is not signed.
Lacsaman Dalidig, chair of MMPD, said "only the
signing of the MoA-AD could stop" the violence that could possibly
erupt in the area.
Dalidig was one of the independent observers who were
invited in the stalled signing of the MOA-AD in Kuala Lumpur in
Malaysia on August 5.
Breakdown in chain of command
Meanwhile, House Speaker Prospero Nograles said there
is apparently a breakdown in the MILF chain of command since the
leadership is claiming that the attacks on the two Christian-dominated
provinces were launched by local MILF forces acting on their own.
MILF forces have been attacking villages that are
opposed to their inclusion in the proposed MILF-led Bangsamoro
Juridical Entity. The attacks started when the Supreme Court stopped
the signing on the MOA-AD between the government and the MILF, and
resumed when the court suggested that the MOA be renegotiated.
Nograles said these incursions are a "very bad sign that the MILF chain of command is breaking apart."
He said MILF Spokesman Eid Kabalu, in a radio
interview, was surprised by the attack because there was no order from
the MILF hierarchy for them to launch such an attack.
"How can we proceed with the peace talks if the top
officials of the MILF cannot control their field commanders? We really
have to know first from the MILF leaders if they are still in control,"
Nograles said.
Nograles said that to show good faith, the MILF leadership should help the government neutralize the group of Commander Bravo.
"Even the top leaders of the MILF should not let this
incident pass. This is an insult to their leadership. Clearly,
Commander Bravo is not inclined to respect the MILF chain of command,
and this is a very serious offense in any military organization, "
Nograles s
