Angered by a recent bomb blast which killed six in the south, President Gloria Arroyo yesterday warned leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that she would not pursue peace talks if they were found involved in the recent bomb attacks.
| You know they are, so why bother? |
"All the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Nothing in the peace process will deter us from punishing terrorists and bringing them to justice," Arroyo said. In a visit to Koronadal, a predominantly Christian city, Arroyo hinted that the MILF was behind the bomb blast at the public market last Thursday. The military had accused the MILF for the series of bomb attacks that killed 13 people in Koronadal on May 10. The stores in the market were open for business, although the bombsite was still full of debris and dried blood. Chief Superintendent Manuel Raval, the regional police head, echoed Arroyo's fear, saying the blast came from a bomb that was made of ball bearings, a battery and explosives. The attack had "the same pattern, the same targets" as in previous bomb attacks that were blamed on the MILF, he added. The suspected attackers have been hiding in the hinterlands of the MILF, said Jose Lina, the interior secretary. Meanwhile, Eid Kabalu, the MILF spokesman, asked the government and the international monitoring team to send a team to investigate so that the real perpetrator of the bomb attacks would be pinpointed. "We requested the Malaysian monitoring team to be dispatched immediately and this will become their test mission," Kabalu said. "The MILF was not involved in the bombing attack in Koronadal," Kabalu said.
| Eid says that every time one of these atrocities happens. If they're not involved, maybe MILF should find who is. |
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