Malacañang said on Monday government may favor the withdrawal of criminal charges against leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) if only to push forward peace negotiations. The joint ceasefire committees of government and MILF also agreed to end the issue on their alleged involvement in the supposed training of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants in the jungles of Central Mindanao and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
| "We're going to pretend it never happened." |
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the dropping of charges against MILF leaders would depend on the court, but it can be withdrawn if only to push peace talks. Bunye said while the MILF leaders may be "saved," the six others who allegedly directly participated in the bombings would remain in jail to face court proceedings. "The government shall ensure that the trial proceeds to its logical conclusion," he added.
| I hope that means somebody's getting his neck lengthened... |
Kabalu said it was agreed that the government would withdraw all charges against the MILF officials before peace negotiations resume in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, tentatively in April. He said the withdrawal of charges is appropriate "since the cases won’t stand a chance in court due to weak evidence."
| "Everybody knows the witnesses are all dead!" |
Benjie Mindtimbang, chairman of the MILF coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities (CCCH), said the purported training of JI recruits in the MILF’s Camp Cararao in Butig, Lanao del Sur is already a "closed issue as far as the two CCCH’s are concerned." He said both parties settled the matter recently during a regular meeting in Davao City, which cleared the MILF’s involvement on the issue. "But it would be (part of the) continuing concerns of both parties for the sake of peace in Mindanao," Mindtimbang said.
The clearing of the MILF came after both ceasefire committees found distortions on the matter as reported by the media. To clarify the report, the ceasefire committees conducted an inspection at the alleged training camp. Non-government organization Bantay Ceasefire Monitoring Group and some members of the media witnessed the inspection. "There were no evidences of a training camp and the presence of JI training in Cararao at the foot of Mt. Makaturing in Butig, Lanao del Sur," Midtimbang said. However, media reports came up that the Bantay Ceasefire Monitoring Mission and the groups that went to Cararao have found about 30 JI militants. Midtimbang said the report on the "JI-Cararao issue" was being "sensationalized for public consumption" by some sectors of the media in Davao. |