Militant group opposes all-out war vs. ASG

COTABATO CITY -SUARA Bangsamoro has cautioned Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in his all-out war announcement against the
Abu Sayyaf Group in Basilan, expressing fear civilians will be the end losers.

Amirah Ali
Lidasan, Suara Bangsamoro national chairperson, said her group believed that
such policy is prone to abuse of power by the authorities and would lead to
more cases of human rights violations such as massive displacement of
residents, death due to indiscriminate firing, destruction of properties,
exposing women and children to harm.

Hataman who
was in Basilan to visit the project the government forces were securing was
reported to have suggested an all-out but surgical military offensive against
the Abu Sayyaf who killed six soldiers Sunday morning.

In a TV
interview, Hataman said something concrete has to be done against the ASG for
them to stop.

If nothing
concrete and damaging to them is done, the extremist will do it again, it will
become a cycle,” he said in Filipino, adding that the target of surgical
offensives are not populated areas but in the jungles of Basilan.

The
military is yet to launch offensive but reports have it that a Marine Battalion
is on its way to Basilan.

In a
statement, Lidasan said based on previous all-out war, the civilians, their
properties and livelihood that were affected by the military assault.

Lidasan
noted that since year 2000, the government has been unleashing full might
against the Abu Sayyaf, with the help of US troops deployed in the area through
Balikatan Exercises, and yet the biggest losers have been the civilians while
the real Abu Sayyaf bandits continue their criminal activities.

Lidasan
also accused Hataman of contradicting himself when two years ago he and the
other ARMM provincial governors had said 'never again' to all-out war policy in
dealing with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Lidasan
reminded Hataman that in the previous military operations against the Abu
Sayyaf, there were also reports of military clashes with the MILF who were also
in the mountainous area of Basilan.

In year
2000, the death of one of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) commanders
as a result of the spill over of hot pursuit operations” against the Abu
Sayyaf in Sulu by the Philippine Army became one of the reasons for the
fall-out in the peace process between the government and the MNLF.

Lidasan
believed the reason why the Abu Sayyaf prospered was because of the previous
reports of collusion” between state authorities and the Abu Sayyaf over the
ransom money paid by victims’ relatives.

Lidasan further
called for an investigationin the latest series of Abu Sayyaf kidnapping and
issues of payment of ransom before the captives were set free.