MANILA – Philippine government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferrer on Saturday asked the assistance of all sectors including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to give kidnap victims their best Easter gift ever: freedom from captivity.
“This year alone, 23 kidnapping cases were recorded in Basilan, Sulu, Zamboanga and Lanao provinces involving around 30 victims,” she said. “Let us join hands in redeeming them from a most terrible fate of being held hostage.”
“In the last three years, there were nearly 100 cases of abductions of children as young as a year old, students, businessmen, foreigners, journalists, senior citizens, barangay officials, and teachers. Many of these kidnap victims are still in captivity while some have been killed,” Ferrer said.
On April 11, military operations were undertaken in Barangay Silangkum and Baguindan in Tipo-Tipo town in Basilan against the Abu Sayyaf Group, believed responsible for the recent abduction of a 21-year old female from Zamboanga City. The same bandit group has been extorting money from the contractor building the circumferential road in the province.
MILF-ASG connections
According to AFP reports, nine ASG members were killed during the firefight. Among them was a certain Nur Espital, who had been identified as a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Three other alleged MILF members, including a certain Imamul Mande, were wounded.
Said MILF members are connected by affinity to Puruji Indama, the top leader of the ASG and one of the most wanted men in the country, said Ferrer, citing reports from the government’s ceasefire mechanisms. Puruji is charged with several cases of murder and kidnappings.
The four casualties affiliated with the MILF closed ranks with their family members in the ASG during the firefight.
Stop impunity
“As an organization that signed the peace agreement, the MILF must not tolerate the criminal acts of any of their individual members” said Ferrer. “They must do their part in arresting the impunity long enjoyed by these unscrupulous individuals.”
She said the MILF leadership should ask their supporters who are intricately involved with the ASG to choose between war and peace.
“They should expel from their ranks those who reject peace and are directly or indirectly abetting the hostage-taking and preventing development to set in,” she said. “The peace process should not be used to shield criminals from their accountability for their crimes against innocent civilians.”
Renewed commitment
Tipo-Tipo has been the site of many horrendous encounters between government forces and armed groups. Many lives have been lost on all sides. Several infrastructure projects are ongoing in the area but these have been hampered by the volatile situation.
A meeting among the ceasefire bodies and the Ad-Hoc Joint Action Group tasked to coordinate criminal interdiction is reportedly scheduled to be held after the Lenten holidays.
“We expect both parties to renew their commitment and to come up with concrete operational guidelines that would allow them to effectively work together in securing the people’s safety and well-being in Basilan and elsewhere in Mindanao,” said Ferrer.
The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, has recently signed a peace deal with Manila.
20