Govt seeks MILF clarification on ‘rogue’ leader’s status

Government negotiators and their counterparts in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) met in Malaysia on Monday for another round of exploratory talks aimed at forging a peace agreement under the Aquino administration. At the opening of the talks, the government panel under chief negotiator Marvic Leonen submitted its proposal for peace and development to the MILF. In a statement earlier, Leonen said the proposal is “guided solely by national interest and based on our consultations with the different stakeholders in the Mindanao peace process." The panel also formally asked the MILF to clarify the status of one of its commanders, Ustadz Ameril Umbra Kato, which has reportedly formed his own group. “We have been asked to specifically request confirmation of what our ground forces are seeing in relation to Ustadz Ameril Umra Kato: that he is no longer within the command and control of the MILF," Leonen said. He added that the government “cannot accept that he (Kato) is still part of the MILF." “We need to be clear about the status of forces on the ground. If he is truly a splinter group, then we would have to assess the situation together in a very serious and sensitive manner," Leonen added. Kato first came into national attention when he led several “rogue" MILF units in attacking civilian areas in Mindanao in 2008, shortly after the Supreme Court voided the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the MILF. Leonen accused Kato of assisting rebel leaders engaged in kidnapping. He said Kato had also attacked both the military and other MILF commanders. He further said that Kato, in an interview with Newsbreak and GMA 7, has publicly accused the MILF Central Committee of tolerating kidnapping and other criminal acts. The renegade MILF commander’s released videos also show that his camp has child soldiers. Leonen said the government and MILF need to cooperate with each other to settle ground conditions as the opening of the last two meetings that they had in the past had been greeted with explosions in Mindanao. — Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMA News