MILF DENIES TAKING SINNOTT /
PUNO STANDS FIRM ON CLAIM VS MILF
[PHOTO
AT LEFT - Commanders of the Marines pose with STAR managing editor Antonio
Katigbak during a visit to The STAR yesterday. Leading the delegation is Marine
commandant Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban (eighth from left). Others in photo are
(from left) Lt. Col. Antonio Manlapaz, civil-military operations officer; Chief
M/Sgt. Cesario Bangcud; Lt. Col. Hernani Songano, MBLT11; Capt. Gwyn Alden
Amargo, Marine spokesman; Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan, commander of the 4th Marine
Battalion Landing Team; Brig. Gen. Celestino Pereyra, chief of the 3rd Marine
Brigade; Col. Alexander Balutan, chief of staff; Lt. Col. Robert Velasco, chief
of MBLT 6; 1Lt. Charlie Domingo, flag secretary; and 2Lt.. Romulo Dimayuga,
Sabban’s aide de camp. Fernan Nebres | COTABATO
CITY , Philippines]
MANILA, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 (STAR) By John Unson - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) yesterday angrily rejected accusations that it was behind the abduction of an elderly Irish priest and threatened to stop helping in the search for him.
MILF chief peace negotiator Mohager Iqbal said accusations of the MILF’s role in the kidnapping of Michael Sinnott, 79, were unacceptable and could affect pending peace talks with the government.
“We are now reaching out to our counterparts in the government to stop all these accusations,” Iqbal told reporters after Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno blamed the rebel group for the Irishman’s abduction.
“If Puno does not stop, we are considering stopping our help to the rescue effort,” he said.
But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said they are looking into Puno’s assertion that Commander Aloy al Asree, chief of the front’s 113th Base Command, has taken custody of Sinnott from the group that snatched him Oct. 11 from their convent in Pagadian City.
“We are checking on it, we do not deny Asree is one of our field commanders,” he said, apparently reacting to Puno’s claim.
“I would like to stress that the MILF, as a matter of policy, does not allow its members to be involved in kidnapping,” Kabalu emphasized.
The military and police, however, have tagged al Asree in previous kidnapping incidents, including that of Italian priest Giuseppe Pierantoni in Dimataling town, Zamboanga del Sur in 2001.
Pierantoni was freed a year later.
Kabalu said the MILF is initiating means of securing Sinnott’s release through the joint ceasefire committee.
“There are existing bilateral mechanisms on the ground that govern our effort of helping rescue Fr. Sinnott,” he said.
MILF’s sincerity in question
Allan June Molde, crisis management committee (CMC) spokesperson has appealed for more prayers for Sinnott’s safety even as he expressed deep concern over the health condition of the Irish missionary.
He also expressed hope that the MILF would show sincerity on its earlier pronouncement that it will help rescue the kidnapped priest.
“We are still on a wait and see stance for now,” he said.
But Molde said there are indications that the kidnappers belong to the MILF.
This, after the military confirmed it has identified the exact location of Sinnott.
Molde also said there is no need for the MILF to employ large forces in the rescue of Sinnott. He said they cut communications with the MILF after Puno rejected any offer of the rebel group.
“We don’t need military operation to secure the safe release of Fr. Sinnott with all these indications. What’s the point of deploying a large number of forces?” Molde said, referring to the deployment of MILF company-size troops to help secure the release.
Maj. Benjamin Dolorfino, chief of Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), on the other hand, confirmed that they already have knowledge on those involved in Sinnott’s abduction.
“We know already who were involved but we cannot mention yet their identities as it will preempt our ongoing operations,” Dolorfino said.
But the MILF lashed back at Puno and told him to “shut his mouth” and instead help work out Sinnott’s release.
Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of the MILF Committee on Information, said Puno’s assertion could be meant to sabotage the government’s peace overture with the front.
“We suspect that Puno has other motives like sabotaging the peace process and perhaps monetary considerations,” Musa said in a statement posted on the rebels’ website.
He said Puno has always been blaming the MILF whenever kidnappings are perpetrated in the South. – With Roel Pareño
Puno stands firm on claim vs MILF By Roel Pareño (The Philippine Star) Updated November 06, 2009 12:00 AM
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno yesterday stood firm on his statement that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is behind last month’s kidnapping of Irish priest Michael Sinnott.
Puno challenged the MILF to show proof of good faith and sincerity in claiming that its forces had nothing to do with the kidnapping.
Puno made the statement after emerging from a closed-door meeting with military and police officials here, during which the MILF offer to help in Sinnott’s rescue under the guidelines of the ceasefire agreement was reviewed.
Puno said the guidelines are meant to effect the peaceful safe release of Sinnott, who he maintained is under the custody of the armed group led by Al Alsree of the MILF’s 113rd Base Command.
“There will be no rescue effort immediately unless it becomes absolutely necessary, either his (Sinnott’s) health or physical safety are imperiled,” Puno said.
Puno said he is not withdrawing his statement against the MILF unless the rebel group proves him wrong.
“Maybe they are getting angry with me because I am just telling the truth,” Puno remarked.
Puno appealed to the MILF to try and find solutions in rescuing Sinnott instead of blaming him.
Puno said he is not giving the information to gain media points. “All I am interested is the safe release of Fr. Sinnott,” he said.
The MILF, on the other hand, urged President Arroyo to censure Puno for accusing the Muslim rebel group of being behind the kidnapping of Sinnott.
MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim also warned they would drop all their efforts to help locate Sinnott in response to Puno’s “irresponsible statement.”
MILF chief negotiator Muhaquer Iqbal said Puno’s statement had been “inflammatory,” putting in question the low-level security agreements with the government that restrain both sides from issuing provocative comments.
Iqbal said the MILF could not do anything about the insinuations made by Puno that they should surrender al Asree.
“Nowhere in all of our security agreements with the government can we find a provision saying we need to surrender to authorities any MILF commander implicated in a crime,” he said.
Iqbal said the effort to locate and secure the release of Sinnott comes under the ceasefire agreement with the government, which came into play following the request from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to help locate the Irish priest.
The Irish and Singaporean embassies in Manila also made the request. Iqbal said two members of the Irish parliament, Gerry Kelley and Martin McGuinness, have also sent separate requests for the rescue of their kidnapped compatriot.
Iqbal accused Puno of being ignorant of the MILF-GRP ceasefire agreement and the areas covered by the truce.
He said Puno should have made the proper complaint before the joint ceasefire committee that should have taken into account his accusations that a group of MILF rebels is holding Sinnott.
“The only thing that binds the MILF and the government together is the peace talks per se,” Iqbal pointed out.
“The joint ceasefire committee and all bilaterally agreed mechanisms detail the need for both sides to mutually cooperate in addressing peace and order problems in the South,” he added.
The MILF posted a statement in its website, accusing Puno of making “irresponsible statements” that put the rebel group in bad light.
The MILF said Puno’s statement was a deliberate attempt “to give negative zero value” to the MILF’s effort of rescuing Sinnott from his captors.
The MILF said Mrs. Arroyo should act on Puno’s “misbehavior” to preserve the cordiality of the peace talks.
Peace talks with the MILF have been stalled since last year, when two MILF commanders broke a five-year-old ceasefire and launched large-scale attacks across Mindanao.
The talks were however scheduled to resume this year after both sides agreed to allow the participation of international peace brokers.
Separate issue
Malacañang said the resumption of stalled peace talks with the MILF could be jeopardized with the reported involvement of the Muslim rebel group in the kidnapping of Sinnott.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo, however, said Malacañang is preventing the possible fallout of peace talks with the MILF due to the allegations.
“The Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process (Annabelle Abaya) is working to ensure the peace process wouldn’t be compromised,” Fajardo said.
Fajardo defended Puno in making the allegations against the MILF, which she said, was based on intelligence reports gathered by the military and the police.
She said the MILF could show good faith and sincerity by showing proof that they have nothing to do with the kidnapping of Sinnott.
“But as I said, the peace process would not be compromised. We would still continue with it,” Fajardo said.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Anthony Golez said the MILF has the right to protest the allegations but it must be coursed through the mechanisms provided by the joint ceasefire committee.
“Nevertheless I think it (protests) is not going to be a threat on the part of the authorities who are tasked to solve (the) problem,” Golez said.
Abaya, for her part, said the kidnappers of Sinnott should be held fully accountable.
Abaya said the kidnapping of Sinnott should be treated as a separate incident that would not affect the peace process with the MILF.
Abaya expressed optimism that the GRP and the MILF will resume talks in December and ensure the safety of civilians in conflict areas of Mindanao.
“First things first, let’s get Fr. Sinnott out,” she said.
Abaya stressed the release of Sinnott should be the focus of the issue instead of the allegations of who should be held responsible for the kidnapping.
Puno, for his part, said the provincial government of Zamboanga del Sur should not invoke the peace process with the MILF in negotiating the release of Sinnott.
Puno advised the provincial government to attend directly to efforts to rescue the priest and allow the government peace panel to handle the peace process issue with the MILF.
“Obviously we are not sabotaging the peace process. It is this kidnapping that sabotages the peace process not anything that anybody says,” he said.
Puno also questioned the MILF on their threat to pull out of the rescue operations.
“What (do) they want? I will just keep quiet and pretend that this thing is not happening?” he asked.
‘No actual involvement’
The 79-year-old Sinnott, who has a history of heart problems, was kidnapped by six armed men from the compound of the Society of St. Columban mission house in Pagadian City.
Sinnott was believed to have been taken to a jungle area sprawling the boundaries of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces where MILF rebels and other armed groups operate.
The military initially said Sinnott was being held by a notorious pirate in the area, although Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro also blamed rogue members of the MILF for the snatch.
The MILF has repeatedly denied any involvement, and has even offered the service of an armed unit to go after Sinnott’s kidnappers.
“The decision to put on hold our role in the rescue mission (for Sinnott) is a difficult one to make, but we have to make it,” the MILF stated in its website.
The military, on the other hand, said the MILF has yet to deploy its team of spotters in the area where Sinnott and his kidnappers are believed to be holding out.
According to Western Mindanao Command chief Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, government troops have not spotted even a single MILF guerrilla on the ground where they are supposed to help in locating Sinnott and the kidnappers.
Dolorfino said the company-size team, which the MILF said it had deployed, is still in Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat. ”So far there’s no actual involvement as far as the MILF task force is concerned,” he said.
Dolorfino said the MILF offer to help in the rescue of Sinnott has not been rejected but rather coursed through the joint ceasefire committee as part of the confidence building measures under the peace process.
“That (participation of the MILF) will depend after the matter will be taken up by the GRP (government) panel,” Dolorfino said.
Security forces are building up in the area where Sinnott and his kidnappers are believed to have holed out.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), on the other hand, urged the government to allow a peaceful solution in the hostage crisis.
CBCP president Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo appealed to the military and the police against using force in rescuing Sinnott.
Lagdameo also reiterated the no ransom policy in dealing with the kidnappers.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said they are focusing on identifying the kidnappers and preparing criminal charges against them.
Verzosa though did not reveal the identities of the kidnappers, citing the effort of the police in gathering the evidence to support the case.
“The filing of the case will depend on the availability of sufficient evidence. And if we need to reinforce that pieces of evidence we have to collate, gather and integrate more evidence to have a better case,” Verzosa said. –With John Unson, Paolo Romero, Jose Rodel Clapano