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MILF girds for battle, accuses Arroyo of renewed war policy
Probe pushed for pullout of Malaysian peacekeepers
MANILA, Philippines - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is girding for battle again as the Muslim separatist group accuses the Arroyo administration of "reverting to war" by reneging on its promise to honor the government's agreement with the MILF on ancestral domain. In a statement on its Web site on Sunday, MILF chairman Muhammad Ameen said that while the MILF did not want war, it was poised to prepare for it because of the Arroyo administration's failure to continue peace negotiations that hinged on the ancestral domain issue. "We do not like war, war is a menace to everyone, but for those who want peace to prevail (they) must prepare for war ... Readiness and preparedness are normal tasks in a revolutionary struggle such as (that of) the MILF," he said. Ameen issued the statement after it was reported that 29 Malaysian peacekeepers had left the Philippines as peace talks with the Muslim rebels remain stalled. According to Ameen, the Arroyo administration is deliberately reverting to war after it consistently refused to honor about 49 consensus points on ancestral domain. He said that in 2001, when Arroyo became chief executive, she reversed the all-out war policy of President Joseph Estrada to "all-out (peace) policy," and tried to "reengage the MILF in peace talks." "She personally went to Kuala Lumpur and asked Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad to help convince the MILF to return to the negotiating table and to facilitate the talks," he said. A party-list representative has called on for a congressional inquiry on the pullout of the Malaysian contingent in the foreign monitoring team that is mediating the peace negotiation between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, deputy minority leader, said she filed a resolution for the investigation on the status of the peace talks, which was stalled after the government and the MILF failed to agree on the issue of ancestral domain, among others. "There are fears that the pull-out of Malaysia would renew hostilities in Mindanao, especially in light of the (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) elections," Hontiveros said. House Resolution No. 571, which was filed last May 8, urges the House Special Committee on Peace to investigate why the government suddenly backtracked from the consensus points on issues surrounding ancestral domain. Hontiveros said the impassé was cited by Kuala Lumpur as the reason for its withdrawal of its peacekeepers. - GMANews.TV
However, Ameen said that on Feb. 11, 2003, Mrs Arroyo ordered the military to attack the MILF at Buliok Complex in Pikit, North Cotabato, and Pagalungan in Maguindanao during Eidl Fitr, a Muslim feast day. “President Arroyo is reversing her policy from all-out peace policy to all-out war," Ameen said, adding that Arroyo "will leave the presidency with blood in her hands." "This is a tragic decision. She has done an irreversible damage to the pacific ways of resolving conflicts, which the two Parties, the Malaysian government, Libya, Brunei, and Japan, and other members of the international community, have nurtured for years," he said. She will be hounded by her conscience, if she has one, until she dies for abandoning the peace talks in favor of a bloodbath in Mindanao," he added. Ancestral domain On July 15, 2003, through the intercession of Malaysia, the Philippine government and the MILF signed a cease-fire agreement to resume peace talks. However, the negotiations have been stalled due to issues on ancestral domain. 
The MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-rule in Mindanao, believes that the ancestral domain is the most important issue that has to be tackled before the separatist rebel group reaches a political settlement with the government. The MILF said government peace negotiators led by Rodolfo Garcia last year agreed on the scope of the ancestral domain, but later reneged on the agreement to constitute a separate homeland for over 4 million Muslims in Mindanao, also home to about 17 million Christians and indigenous tribes. It said Garcia completely disregarded the agreement on the ancestral domain and insisted that the granting of homeland to Muslims in Mindanao would solely be through the Constitutional process. Mindanao is a region rich in natural resources, but is in deep poverty and torn by strife and terrorism. Many politicians whose families own vast tracks of lands and businesses in Mindanao are opposing the MILF's demand for a separate state, saying it would displace Christians in areas covered by the proposed Muslim ancestral domain. - GMANews.TV 
