June 9, 2000, The Philippine Star, RP rejects OIC call to cease offensive,

June 9, 2000, The Philippine Star, RP rejects OIC call to cease offensive,

The government will reject a call by the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to stop a military offensive against the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao, National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre said yesterday.

This developed as the military pressed on with its campaign in Mindanao, capturing the rebels' 70-hectare Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao. Aguirre said only Philippine authorities "have the absolute prerogative to make a decision" on when to stop the military offensive.

A draft communiqué of a meeting of OIC foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from June 27 to June 30 incorporated a paragraph calling on the Philippine government to stop the offensives against the MILF. It also seeks to ask Manila to postpone the 2003 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

"The Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) urges the Philippine government to halt immediately its military offensive against the Bangsamoro people and reach a peaceful solution to the problem in Mindanao," the draft communiqué said.

The document was approved by OIC senior officials during a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last month. It is to be presented for approval to the OIC foreign ministers who will issue a final communiqué at the end of their meeting, said a source who requested anonymity.

Aguirre said in a radio interview yesterday that any OIC statement would only be "persuasive." He also noted that the document was still a draft. Aguirre was interviewed from Qatar, while on a diplomatic mission to OIC member countries to explain the government's side ahead of the Kuala Lumpur meeting.

He said that the MILF's chief military strategist, Mohamad Murad, had been seeking OIC help in their fight against the government, claiming the Armed Forces of the Philippines was resorting to "ethnic cleansing" against Muslims in Mindanao.

"We have to explain to (OIC members) that the present hostilities are but reactions of the government to the MILF's illegal occupation of a public highway, town halls... and so on," Aguirre said. "We are just upholding  constitutional order and protecting the civilian population here," he added.

Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. said the Armed Forces will never move out of Mindanao. "They are staying in place and consolidating their gains," he said. "They will continue to neutralize and contain the rebels at their Camp Abubakar."

Aguirre said the Philippines must "maintain very good relations" with the 56 member states of the OIC "because they are host to hundreds of thousands of Filipino workers and of course they supply oil to our country."

While Islamic states are poised to call for a stop in the hostilities in Mindanao, the OIC said it still "recognizes the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) as the sole legitimate representative of the Muslims in southern Philippines."

The MILF is seeking observer status at the OIC meeting, but the seat has already been taken by the former separatist MNLF, which signed a peace treaty with the government in September 1996. The Philippine government is seeking to be invited as a guest during the meeting.

According to Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Lauro Baja Jr., the Philippines will try to lobby to the OIC through Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Meanwhile, the military claimed that scores of Muslim rebels have been killed in a three-day battle in Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat province. A report from the Army's 64th Infantry Battalion said soldiers were able to intercept radio messages from the guerrillas, notifying their superiors about casualties. No figures were given in the report.

In Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao, soldiers were able to capture Camp Darapanan without resistance. Local officials said the rebels moved out of the camp when Datu Tucao Mastura, the acknowledged town leader, convinced the guerrillas to leave Darapanan so as not to endanger civilians. Soldiers from the Army's 3rd Infantry Battalion then destroyed a big detention cell on top of a hill, and continued to scour its perimeter for land mines.

In other developments, between 5,000 to 10,000 Muslims in Metro Manila will forgo their Jumu'a (Friday) prayer today to hold a rally to protest against the alleged discrimination they are getting from Christians as well as the government's mishandling of the Mindanao conflict.

Instead of flocking to their mosques, the Muslims will converge in front of the Blue Mosque along Mindanao Avenue in Maharlika Village, Taguig at around 10 a.m. today. Lyn Pangandaman, chairman of the newly formed Pagragn Secretariat, said her group will also conduct a survey among Muslims to determine if they want a separate state, a federal form of government, or a bigger autonomous region in Mindanao.

Pagragn is a Maranaw word which could mean "to fight back," "to hold on to your flag," or "to kill to get even." Pangandaman said their Friday noon prayer in all 47 mosques will be canceled to give way to the rally. -- Aurea Calica, John Unson, Marichu Villanueva, Liberty Dones, Allen Estabillo, Edith Regalado, Jaime Laude, AFP