Govt asks MILF to surrender 6 leaders

(Updated 10:03 p.m.) The government has asked the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to surrender five of its commanders and an Abu Sayyaf bandit allegedly responsible for the recent attacks in Mindanao that left over 30 soldiers and civilians dead. The six were identified as Laksaw Dan Asnawi, Long Malat, Waning Abdulsalam, Putot Jakaria, and Ogis Jakaria, all MILF leaders; and Furuji Indama, reportedly a member of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandit group. Armed Forces spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said they did not set a specific timeline for the surrender of the six, but added that they want them turned in “as soon as possible." “We are demanding the surrender of the six. Otherwise, we will pursue law enforcement operations," he said. Burgos said the demand was made by Brig. Gen. Ariel Bernardo and Brig. Gen. Allan Luga, head of the government’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities and Ad Hoc Joint Action Group, during a meeting with their MILF counterparts in Davao City last Saturday night.
Criminal activities Indama, Asnawi, and Malat were reportedly among those who clashed with Army elite troops last Oct. 18 in Al-Barka town in Basilan province — an incident that left 19 soldiers dead and had prompted calls for the government to withdraw from the peace talks with the MILF and instead launch an all-out war against them. The other three, on the other hand, were allegedly involved in the fighting in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay last Oct. 21 where eight soldiers and policemen died. On Monday, the military and the police launched an offensive in Payao to dismantle a kidnapping group allegedly under Abdulsalam. The military made sure that any operation against lawless elements will not reach the MILF’s Areas of Temporary Stay (ATS). The ATS is a place designated by the government and the MILF Coordinating Committees on Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) where forces of the secessionist group can stay to prevent encounters with troops pursuing Abu Sayyaf bandits. Support Meanwhile, an official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed support for the government’s move to ask for the surrender of the MILF members allegedly involved in criminal activities. Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, chairperson of the CBCP’s Episcopal commission on Inter-religious Dialogue (ECID), said the MILF should “show restraint" by turning over those responsible for the attacks on government troops despite a prevailing ceasefire. "I think that should be part of it. If they are really sincere, ipakita nila na there is command responsibility," he said. The party-list group Akbayan, through its spokesperson Risa Hontiveros, also backed the government’s call for the peaceful turnover of the suspects, saying an “all-out" war will only cause the country to lose focus in solving more important problems, such as corruption. "An all-out war strategy in Mindanao will only distract the public from its current war on corruption, something which we cannot afford at this juncture," she said in a statement.- with Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News