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MILF told to control its troops amid snag in talks


MANILA, Philippines - The government has asked the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to rein in their forces to prevent hostilities in the light of the breakdown in the peace negotiations. “It is incumbent upon them (MILF leaders), given that, to reign in their people under their control to prevent the outbreak of hostilities," Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said in an interview in Camp Aguinaldo Sunday. Teodoro however expressed optimism that the negotiations have just hit a minor snag and that it will prosper after consultations on both sides. “It was quite close already, but there was some disagreement on one point so I think there are other efforts to review positions on both sides. But we are still confident that the talks will push through after proper consultation on both sides," he said. Talks with the largest secessionist organization in the country collapsed Saturday when MILF negotiators walked out from the meeting after government negotiators insisted on changing some crucial points in the draft agreement regarding the ancestral domain provision. Reports said government negotiators wanted to delay the conduct of a plebiscite for the inclusion of more than 700 villages in the expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The draft agreement mentioned a six-month timeframe to hold the plebiscite. Teodoro said government forces would remain on “active defense" despite the development on the talks. “Our soldiers have shown admirable restraint already, professionalism in the face of these things because they know the greater objective," he said, adding that the deadlock would not translate into hostilities. “We should never equate deadlocks in talks with resumptions of hostilities. I think that’s the worst thing that can happen," he said. Before the breakthrough in the peace talks, MILF officials admitted that the successive attacks of its forces in Central Mindanao were led by some commanders who were disgusted with the progress of the peace negotiations. Armed Forces chief Gen. Alexander Yano said the military has not monitored any unusual development on the ground since the talks broke down. Incidentally, at around 2:40 p.m. Saturday, MILF rebels burned a number of houses in Aleosan, North Cotabato, and wounding three responding soldiers. “There has been no abnormal situation. There is no abnormal situation since then. In fact, it was even worse before. We know that in the later part of June, there were a lot of reported hostilities. Now, for several days except for very few isolated incidents, we have not recorded any," Yano said in a separate interview. On whether the fighting last Saturday was related to the breakdown of the talks, Yano said: “We cannot speculate...We have not really found (that) out in our investigation....We have not received any formal report yet, we will wait for the result of the investigation." Yano said the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Cessation of Hostilities is presently looking into the incident. The JCCH is a body composed of MILF and government representatives tasked to oversee the implementation of a standing ceasefire agreement. Yano said that even with the present development the military is not augmenting its troops in Mindanao, particularly in areas considered as MILF bailiwicks. - GMANews.TV
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