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| Southeast Asia |
| Truce Monitors Arrive in Mindanao |
| 2004-03-25 |
| No major armed skirmishes were reported yesterday between government troops and separatist rebels as the advanced survey party of a Malaysian-led international monitoring team arrived in the southern Philippines to inspect rebel camps ahead of the peace talks next month. Both the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front confirmed that there have been no confrontation between the two sides since last week. âSo far there have been no reported major armed skirmishes between our men in the field and soldiers since last week,â said Benjie Midtimbang, chief of the MILF coordinating committee on cessation of hostilities. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed a memorandum on March 17, reminding the military to strictly observe a bilateral cease-fire agreement it signed with the MILF on July 19, 2003. The 12-member advance team headed by Brig. Gen. Datoâ Zulkifli Mohd Zain of Malaysia met with Maj. Gen. Trifonio Salazar, commander of the Philippine Armyâs First Infantry Division in Western Mindanao, one of several areas where MILF forces are actively operating. Salazar led senior military officials in briefing Zulfikliâs group about the security situation in the strife-torn region, one of the poorest in the Philippines. No officials from either the Philippine and the Malaysian side gave any statement about the truce monitoring, but they allowed photographers inside the tightly guarded Southern Command headquarters in Zamboanga City where the meeting took place. Members of the international monitoring mission, who will oversee the implementation of a peace accord, will arrive soon after the assessment by the advance party. According to MILF vice chair for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar and military spokesman Lt. Col. Renoir Pascua, the truce observers would inspect different rebel camps in Mindanao and meet with MILF and military representatives. The field visitation will also include government offices, local armed forces commanders, MILF leaders and community members, as a prelude to the actual deployment of the international cease-fire monitoring team, a government statement said. |
| Posted by:Fred |