According to Amirah Ali Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro, without sounding disrespectful in the observance to one of the holy festival of the Muslim people, the Eid’l Adha , the group implore on their religious leaders to take a stand on the massacre incident in Maguindanao on November 23.

Lidasan lifts a quote from the Holy Qur’an as basis for this call and says it is imperative for the religious leaders to take a stand in defense of the people of Maguindanao and to preempt future violence to
happen again in Maguindanao and the rest of the Moro areas: Qur’an 4:75-76 Surah An-Nisaa (The Women)
And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who being weak are ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men women and children whose cry is: “Our Lord! rescue us from this town whose people are
oppressors; and raise for us from Thee one who will protect; and raise for us from Thee one who will help!”
Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil: so fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.

‘This is a defining moment for the Moro people of Maguindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. We should publicly condemn the killings and not let political and familial affiliations hinder our
responsibility as Muslims to condemn this act,’ said Lidasan.

Lidasan also said that it is the responsibility of the Muslim religious leaders to put back in the hearts and minds of Muslim people that there is nothing to fear but Allah alone, instead of helping perpetuate the fear of politicians and warlord prevail in Maguindanao and the ARMM.

Lidasan grieves with the families and friends of the victims and hopes to reach out with the rest of the Filipino people in condemning this dastardly act. ‘We hope that the Moro people’s outcry be also highlighted as part of public’s outrage. We are in unity with the rest in calling for an end to the culture of impunity to reign in Maguindanao,’ said Lidasan.

Lidasan said that this is not merely a traditional rido and the public should not be led to believe that this is natural or merely part of Moro people’s tradition and culture.

Lidasan said that simplifying the massacre as mere ‘rido’ or traditional clan war is glossing over the heinous crime committed by the warlords – the killing of mustadafins (oppressed) such as the women and the unarmed people who died in the incident – and exonerating the perpetrators from their crime.

Lidasan also criticized President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and
presidential aspirant Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. and the rest of the
administration party’s move to expell the Ampatuans from their ranks,
adding that the administration merely absolve themselves from being
party to the rise and continuing warlordism of the Ampatuans in
Maguindanao.

‘We should not ignore that it is the same administration who gave the
Ampatuans the leverage over other politicians in Maguindanao in
exchange for the votes that the administration had been getting from
Maguindanao and the ARMM,’ said Lidasan saying that the administration
and the Armed Forces of the Philippines should also be held liable for
the proliferation of ‘legitimized’ private armies through the EO 546
creating the civilian auxiliary armies for local government units.

According to Amirah Ali Lidasan, national president of Suara
Bangsamoro, without sounding disrespectful in the observance to one of
the holy festival of the Muslim people, the Eid’l Adha , the group
implore on their religious leaders to take a stand on the massacre
incident in Maguindanao on November 23.

Lidasan lifts a quote from the Holy Qur’an as basis for this call and
says it is imperative for the religious leaders to take a stand in
defense of the people of Maguindanao and to preempt future violence to
happen again in Maguindanao and the rest of the Moro areas:
Qur’an 4:75-76 Surah An-Nisaa (The Women)
And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who
being weak are ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men women and children
whose cry is: “Our Lord! rescue us from this town whose people are
oppressors; and raise for us from Thee one who will protect; and raise
for us from Thee one who will help!”
Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah and those who reject
faith fight in the cause of evil: so fight ye against the friends of
Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.

‘This is a defining moment for the Moro people of Maguindanao and the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. We should publicly condemn the
killings and not let political and familial affiliations hinder our
responsibility as Muslims to condemn this act,’ said Lidasan.

Lidasan also said that it is the responsibility of the Muslim
religious leaders to put back in the hearts and minds of Muslim people
that there is nothing to fear but Allah alone, instead of helping
perpetuate the fear of politicians and warlord prevail in Maguindanao
and the ARMM.

Lidasan grieves with the families and friends of the victims and hopes
to reach out with the rest of the Filipino people in condemning this
dastardly act.
‘We hope that the Moro people’s outcry be also highlighted as part of
public’s outrage. We are in unity with the rest in calling for an end
to the culture of impunity to reign in Maguindanao,’ said Lidasan.

Lidasan said that this is not merely a traditional rido and the public
should not be led to believe that this is natural or merely part of
Moro people’s tradition and culture.

Lidasan said that simplifying the massacre as mere ‘rido’ or
traditional clan war is glossing over the heinous crime committed by
the warlords – the killing of mustadafins (oppressed) such as the
women and the unarmed people who died in the incident – and
exonerating the perpetrators from their crime.

Lidasan also criticized President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and
presidential aspirant Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. and the rest of the
administration party’s move to expell the Ampatuans from their ranks,
adding that the administration merely absolve themselves from being
party to the rise and continuing warlordism of the Ampatuans in
Maguindanao.

‘We should not ignore that it is the same administration who gave the
Ampatuans the leverage over other politicians in Maguindanao in
exchange for the votes that the administration had been getting from
Maguindanao and the ARMM,’ said Lidasan saying that the administration
and the Armed Forces of the Philippines should also be held liable for
the proliferation of ‘legitimized’ private armies through the EO 546
creating the civilian auxiliary armies for local government units.

“As Muslims, we should condemn the bloodbath and we shun the
perception that this is merely a traditional rido (clan war). This is
senseless killing of power-hungry politicians,” said Amirah Ali
Lidasan, spokesperson of Suara Bangsamoro.

“It is high time we show a united stand of the Muslims.  It is high
time we put our fear of Allah in our hearts and not fear of
politicians and warlords,” Lidasan said.

Lidasan further said that this incident should unite Muslims and
Christians in Mindanao and not let anyone provoke to crack the
interfaith unity of the people in Mindanao.

“We will participate all activities of condemnation led by Christian
groups, lawyers and Mindanao to show our unity with the rest of the
Mindanaoans in calling for justice for this incident,” said Lidasan.

Lidasan said that this is a trying time for President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo who helped propel into power a political ally that
has secured her vote leverage since 2001 in Maguindanao.

“The cloak of fear and impunity be removed in Maguindanao, and no
other person has the political will to stop the killing and
proliferation of violence but President Arroyo,” said Lidasan.

Lidasan also said that President Arroyo and the 6th Infantry Division
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines should also be held liaible for
the proliferation of “legitimized” private armies of warlord
politicians in Maguindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao due to the Executive Order 546 which established in 2006
civilian volunteer organizations (CVOSs) and other paramilitary groups
as buffers for local government units in their fight against
insurgency.

“President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should call for at least Datu Unsay
Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr, the identified leader of the suspects, to
step down from his post  to provide an atmosphere of safety and
security for the Commission on Human Rights and other human rights
organizations who want to be part of the independent investigation and
to avoid whitewash and cover up in the investigation,”  said Lidasan.

Suara Bangsamoro also calls on the rest of the Moro people to publicly
condemn the killings and not let political and familial affiliations
to the Ampatuan clan hinder our responsibility as Muslims to condemn
this act.

Lidasan also lambasted the declaration of state of emergency in
Cotabato, saying that it will only help exonerate the perpetrators of
any responsibility for the killing, shifts the focus of policing,
militarization  and investigation from the Ampatuan clan to legitimate
groups waging armed struggle in the areas of South Cotabato and
Maguindanao such as the New Peoples Army and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front and Moro National Liberation Front and other families
who were not part of the bloodbath.

President Arroyo should scrap EO546 and junk all programs and policies
of creating paramilitary groups trained by the AFP and assigned to
local government units and those created to protect private and
multinational plantations and mining companies such as the Investment
Defense Force and Special CAFGU Active Auxiliary (SCAAs) who put up
and man illegal checkpoints.

“The Court of Appeals decision is unjust and prejudiced, and is a clear indication of the government’s continuing subservience to the interests of the US government,” said Amirah Ali Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro adding that letting Corporal Smith off the hook gives a go-signal to other US troops stationed in the country to commit crimes with impunity.

According to Lidasan, her group Suara Bangsamoro has long lobbied for the removal of US soldiers stationed in Moro areas in Mindanao since 2001 citing numerous reports of human rights violations committed by US soldiers against the Moro civilians.

In 2002, a Moro farmer named Buyung-Buyung Isnijal was shot by an American soldier who took part in a combat operation as part of the in US-RP Balikatan Military Exercises Tuburan, Basilan. In 2004, a US soldier shot and maimed a Moro resident of Zamboanga City while conducting a marksmanship training. On September 2006 where shrapnels of a misfired bomb hit the back of a 50-year old mother Bizma Juhan in Indanan, Sulu.

Added to these are reports of US troops presence and involvement in several Filipino military combat operations that has left civilian casualties such as the massacre of a family in Maimbong, Sulu on February 2008.

None of these Moro victims had been able to charge US soldiers of violating their right to live in fear that their cases will not push through in the local courts.
“The CA decision only reinforces the Moro people’s belief that they have nothing to hope for in case they file criminal charges against the US soldiers,” said Lidasan adding that the Philippine government has always justified the presence and activities of US soldiers in Mindanao as protected by the Visiting Forces Agreement.

Lidasan said her group hopes that the progressive and nationalist lawmakers in both Senate and Congress will act immediately to abrogate the VFA saying that as long as the VFA is intact, Filipino and Moro civilians will continue to be vulnerable against US soldiers’ atrocities.

A Specialist of National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) named Napoleon Olvara Aragones went Tuesday, February 10, to Student Affairs Office of Cotabato City State Polytechnic College (CCSPC) and gather information regarding Indayla’s profile and activities.

Aragones further asked several teachers concerning Indayla’s home address and daily whereabouts, photocopied her photo from their yearbook and got copies of CCSPC’s student publication since Indayla was the Editor-in-Chief.

According to the group, the surveillance or “profiling” of Indayla is a clear act of harassment and violation of right to privacy, civil and political rights.

Prior stint as Kawagib’s spokesperson, Indayla is a campus journalist and student-leader; apparent reasons of NICA’s surveillance.    

Indayla said, “The continuing crackdown of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo regime’s Oplan Bantay Laya II (OBL II) haunts not only activists but also church people, journalists and human rights defenders. Under OBL II, critics of the government are tagged as “enemies of the state” and became target of abduction, summary execution and other forms of human rights violations. The government is persevere in attaining their goal – neutralize if not execute all critics fighting for parliamentary struggle.”

According to KARAPATAN, a national alliance of human rights organizations, victims of extra-judicial killings under Arroyo’s occupancy have already reached 991. Most of these are known activist-leaders and critics of Arroyo government.

“It is very disheartening to reflect that state agents who are supposed to be the ones guaranteeing civilians’ rights are the same people who desecrate it. What they’re doing contradicts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other international humanitarian laws’ declaration, more so, the Philippine Constitution,” Indayla lamented.

The Kawagib Moro Human Rights Organization calls the NICA and all intelligence units of Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police to stop the surveillance and respect the rights of Bai Ali Indayla and all human rights defenders.

 Dubbed ‘Duyog sa Ramadhan,’ Suara Bangsamoro and Kawagib Moro Human Rights Organization spearheaded a relief mission with the support of National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) and ACT International to evacuees of three municipalities – Aleosan, Midsayap and Pikit from September 29 to 30.

Amirah Ali Lidasan , president of Suara Bangsamoro , said, “This is just a modest respite to the protracted torment of Moro people.”

Evacuees in barangays Katinggawan, Rangaban, Baliki and Lindongan of Midsayap; Bagolibas and Pagangan of Aleosan; and Nalapaan of Pikit were the recipients of food pack composes of rice, monggo, sugar, coffee, salt and dried fish.

Meanwhile, Bai Ali Indayla , Kawagib’s spokesperson, lamented over the grim plight of people in the evacuation centers, where Muslim women and children were the most affected.

“It dismays that despite the calls of the Moro people to stop the clashes in respect for Ramadhan observance, nobody from the military ranks heeded. When will this war end when military’s detachments are beside the evacuation centers and Moro communities? This government showed no sign of respect to the most significant occasion of Muslims,” Indayla said.

The Suara Bangsamoro and Kawagib jointly call for the pull-out of detachments and military forces in Barangays Dalingaoen and Batulawan, both in Pikit and all affected areas of North Cotabato .

“If only the AFP will pull-out their troops in Moro communities, there will be no more evacuees. The desecration of lives as well as devastation of properties of Moro people is not a warranty of Commanders Amerin Ombra Kato, Bravo and Ustadz Wahid Tundok ’s surrender. Muslims in the evacuation centers have only one wish – that they could return homes and celebrate Eid’l Ftr peacefully,” Indayla said.

Ptr. Felixberto Rodinas of Promotion of Church and People’s Response in North Cotabato (PCPR-NC) said, “We contradict Muslim-Christian conflict. The Bangsamoro people had long been tortured with social injustices as well as non-Moro. That’s why we believe that through interfaith solidarity, we could achieve peace and justice.”

The groups reiterate call for AFP to stop attacking Moro communities and for the GRP to show sincerity in giving the Bangsamoro people its aspirations.

The relief mission was also supported by Cotabato Regional Ecumenical Council (COREC), Interfaith Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights-North Cotabato (IFFAPR-NC) and PCPR-NC

Suara Bangsamoro expresses fear over the recent announcement of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. about aborting the peace negotiation between the GRP and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front saying that this would further lead to escalation of violence in the communities that has resulted to more than 360,000 civilians caused by the month-long military offensives by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and skirmishes with the MILF.

According to Amirah Ali Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro People), the Arroyo administration should know better than abandon the path to peace and replace it with another all-out war with the MILF.

“President Arroyo owe it to the lives of both Muslim and Christian civilians who have been displaced because of the all-out war posturing of the Arroyo administration, and whose properties were destroyed and whose inter-religious relationships with fellow communities were affected due to supporting vigilante groups that fan anti-Muslim hysteria in the communities,”  said Lidasan.

Lidasan also reacts to the pronouncement of Teodoro that the MILF is now irrelevant because their leadership would not give up the two commanders to the national government saying that Teodoro should know how to respect the ceasefire committees and international local monitoring teams formed as a result of the first agenda of the GRP-MILF peace negotiations.

Should the government continue to disregard the concrete mechanisms that have resulted to the previous agreements such as ceasefire and relief and rehabilitation, it would only show that it is not interested in implementing the signed agreements.

“Who will really lose its credibility to the international community in terms of brokering peace?  With the war and chaos now happening in Mindanao, what credibility does the Arroyo administration can show to the international community except being brutal and incapable of addressing the needs of her constituents,” said Lidasan.

Lidasan criticized the Arroyo administration’s adamant use of the disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation (DDR) framework for the peace negotiation, saying that this was not a result of the promise of a compromised or negotiated settlement that has been the basis for the MILF’s agreement to resume peace negotiation with the Philippine government as agreed in the 2001 GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement.

Lidasan further said that her organization fears that should the Arroyo administration use the Oplan Bantay Laya approach to the MILF, many Moro activists and innocent civilians will also suffer the fate of thousands of activists killed and abducted in suspicion of being members of the National Democratic Front-New People’s Army-Communist Party of the Philippines.

Already, local government units and the Philippine National Police have been supplying arms to civilians and reviving vigilante groups by rekindling the Ilaga movement and fanning anti-Muslim hysteria in the community.  As a result, many houses of Muslims have been burned in North Cotabato that went unreported, and many houses in Iligan were burned but pinned the blame to the MILF commanders.

“It is the responsibility of the president to keep the atmosphere of peace in Mindanao, yet instead of stopping the unwarranted violence, her policies was like a gasoline that further inflamed violence in Mindanao,” said Lidasan.

Lidasan calls on to inter-religious community to help calm the people by explaining to civilians the real situation on the ground and by exposing the opportunists like the Ilaga vigilante groups, private armies of local warlords and paramilitary groups that seek to break the unity of Muslims and Christians in Mindanao.

Lidasan invites everyone to visit Muslim communities and evacuation centers in the whole month of Ramadhan and experience with the Moro evacuees their observance of the holy fast and their celebration of Hari Raya Puasa or Eid’l Fitr at the end of the month of September.

]]> http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/moro-group-expresses-fear-on-the-governments-decision-to-abort-peace-talks/feed/ 1 suarabangsamoro http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/us-troops-join-search-for-unexploded-bombs-in-conflict-area-2/ http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/us-troops-join-search-for-unexploded-bombs-in-conflict-area-2/#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:23:57 +0000 suarabangsamoro http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/?p=144 ]]>
]]> http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/us-troops-join-search-for-unexploded-bombs-in-conflict-area-2/feed/ 0 suarabangsamoro http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/us-troops-join-search-for-unexploded-bombs-in-conflict-area/ http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/us-troops-join-search-for-unexploded-bombs-in-conflict-area/#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:37:48 +0000 suarabangsamoro http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/?p=135 ]]> US troops join search for unexploded bombs in conflict area

Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews

Monday, 18 August 2008 09:23

BALIKI, Midsayap, North Cotabato (MindaNews/18 August) – Four American soldiers on board two silver Toyota Hilux Vigo vehicles with “VFA” plates in lieu of plate numbers, joined the search for unexploded bombs here Sunday morning, detonating a recovered unexploded 500-pounder GP (general purpose) bomb.
A sergeant belonging to the Philippine Army’s Explosives Ordinance Disposal Team (EODT) told MindaNews two 500-pounder GPs dropped from OV-10 Broncos the previous Sunday (August 10) did not explode. He said they had found the tailend of the bomb and were still scouring the area for the warhead.

DUMB BOMB. The tail end of the unexploded 500-pounder GP (general purpose) bomb or “dumb bomb” recovered in Barangay Baliki, Midsayap, North Cotabato, with the help of US soldiers Sunday, August 17. MindaNews photo by Bj A. Patiño

GP bombs are also referred to as “dumb bombs.”

The firefight early morning of August 10 and the air strikes that followed triggered a mass exodus of villagers from neighboring areas, including several barangays in Pikit and Aleosan towns.

Lt. Col. Diosdado Carreon, commanding officer of the 40^th Infantry Battalion based in Aleosan had earlier Sunday morning told MindaNews it was safe to go interior as the road to Puypoyon had been cleared.

Barangay Baliki was among the areas of fighting between government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces from late July until the air strikes on August 10.

NO PLATE NUMBER. Just the letters VFA. Two pick ups belonging to US forces bearing plates with the initials of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) are almost hidden from view in Barangay Baliki, North Cotabato. US soldiers are helping the Philippine Army recover unexploded bombs originally aimed at MILF forces. MindaNews photo by BJ Patino

MindaNews wanted to look into the reported burned houses in Sitio Puypoyon when the team chanced upon the US troops’ vehicles on a hilly portion partly hidden by grasses.

PARKED. Two pick ups belonging to US soldiers bearing plates with the initials of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) are parked near a detachment of the Philippine Army’s 38th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Baliki, North Cotabato. US soldiers are helping their Filipino counterparts recover unexploded bombs originally aimed at MILF forces. MindaNews photo by BJ Patino

The hilly portion turned out to be a detachment of the 38^th IB where the two silver Toyota Hilux Vigo vehicles were parked.

IMPACT ZONE. A Philippine Army soldier walks toward the impact zone of the 500-pounder general purpose bombs fired at MILF positions (note the destruction in the foliage) from OV-10 Broncos on August 10. Two such bombs were duds. A joint RP-US team recovered one of two unexploded Sunday morning, August 17. MindaNews photo by BJ Patino

An American soldier escorted by the Filipino sergeant emerged from downhill to get a container of mineral water and immediately returned to where they came from.

The Filipino soldier said “no photographs please, especially of the Americans,” as he led the MindaNews team through booby traps, towards the “impact area” where the joint RP-US team was scouring for the warhead and the other UXO (unexploded ordnance) about 500 meters of grassland away.


HEY JOE. One of four US soldiers who helped Filipino bomb experts search on Sunday unexploded 500-pounder GP bombs in Barangay Baliki, Midsayap, North Cotabato dropped from OV-10 bomber planes on August 10, at the height of the skirmishes between government and MILF forces. MindaNews photo by BS Sarmiento

The soldier said four American soldiers joined the search for UXOs. He left the MindaNews team behind to seek permission from the RP-US team across. He did not return.

A few minutes later, ten Filipino soldiers and paramilitary elements walked towards where the MindaNews team waited, bringing their pails, shovels, spades and the dug tailend of the 500-pounder GP bomb (see photo).

Another five minutes later, at around 10:15 a.m., a man who identified himself as Lt. Hermosura, intelligence officer of the 40^th IB, walked from the “impact area” to where the MindaNews team and the 10 Filipino soldiers and paramilitary elements waited, warning everyone to move out since the team across was going to detonate the unexploded bomb

The other half of the bomb had been found, he said.

The impact area of the explosion, he said, is about 700 meters.

Hermosura said the bomb would be detonated to ensure it does not fall in the hands of the MILF.

MindaNews sent Carreon a text message asking if he 40^th IB sought the assistance of the American soldiers to look for UXOs or unexploded ordnance. Carreon replied, “no idea.” He said the Army division has control over the EOD.

MindaNews saw the American soldiers dining at Ybelle’s in Poblacion 3, Midsayap at around 6 p.m. Sunday before proceeding to the Hill Park Inn where they had been staying for a couple of days.

At breakfast around 7 a.m. Monday (August 18), MindaNews chanced upon one of the Americans, a Caucasian with clean-shaven head and a moustache, waiting for his breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant

But when MindaNews approached the American and gave the appropriate introductions, he said, “I don’t talk to reporters.”

US troops left the Philippines and their air and naval bases in 1991 when the Philippine Senate rejected the treaty extending their stay.

But the Philippine Senate under the Estrada administration ratified the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States on May 27, 1999.

The VFA took effect on July 1, 1999, allowing for the return of the US troops back in the country, although on “temporary” status.

US troops arrived in the country via Mindanao’s Basilan and Zamboanga in early 2002. They were supposed to have stayed only for six months. While the majority has left, several teams of American soldiers remained on a “semi-continuous” presence.

Then US Ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardone explained to MindaNews in a February 2005 interview that they have “established a semi-continuous, not permanent, but semi-continuous (military presence)… some number of our personnel rotate at the pleasure of … your command.”

Protests against the holding of Balikatan 02-1 in Zamboanga and Basilan in 2002 did not stop the exercise but led to the signing of a Terms of Agreement (ToR) that specified the number of troops from both countries, the scope and limitations of the visiting US troops.”

The ToR also specified that US troops “shall remain at the Battalion Headquarters and, when approved, Company Tactical Headquarters where they can observe and assess the performance of the AFP forces.”

No ToRs have since been forged and each time Philippine and American military officials are asked, they refer to the 1999 VFA and the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.

Amirah Ali Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro, said her organization has been getting reports from their chapters in North Cotabato that Pinol statement has bolstered military-trained civilian volunteer organizations and CAFGUs to attack Moro civilian communities.

 “The house of one of our members in Midsayap was lobbed with an old grenade that fortunately did not explode,” said Lidasan. 

Lidasan said that Vice-Governor Pinol should be exposed for stirring the Christian settlers and Lumads to arm against the MILF. 

“He is barking at the MILF for mapping out the villages that would constitute the Bangsamoro ancestral domain to veer away Christians and Lumads’ attention at how he is stripping them of their land Lidasan said that because of Pinol’s PALMA Complex and ARAKAN Valley Complex projects, many farmers were flushed out of their communities to accommodate palm, rubber and fruit plantations set up by foreign businessmen.  Talks of mining exploration have also affected the communities in North Cotabato.

According to Lidasan, the Pinol’s are known landgrabbers during Martial Law and used fanned anti-Moro hysteria by supporting Christian vigilantes that victimized not only Muslims but Christians as well.

“As a government official, Pinol should be made responsible for the harassment and violations committed by his remarks about reviving vigilante groups in his province,” said Lidasan.

Lidasan also lambasted the deployment of several soldiers and police in Moro areas under the pretext of ensuring security for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao polls against possible MILF attacks.

“Government officials are fermenting unnecessary fears to the public by beefing up security for the ARMM and accusing the MILF of intervening in the ARMM elections,” said Lidasan.

Lidasan said that her group joins the call for the government to go back to the negotiating table and even calls for the resumption of the talks between the GRP and the National Democratic Front (NDF).

“If the Arroyo administration is really for peace in Mindanao, then it should resume its talk with all revolutionary forces in Mindanao,” said Lidasan.

Lidasan said land is also the core issue in the government’s resumption of talks with the NDF, especially on the agenda of  social and economic reforms. 

“This would help dispel misconceptions about Muslims and Christians fighting over land in Mindanao, said Lidasan.

It is not new for the Moro people to hear landed families and politicians of Mindanao react to the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.  However, politicians should know better than to fan anti-Moro hysteria by accusing their Moro brothers and sisters of reclaiming lands and inciting them to arm themselves the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The mapping out of the Moro people’s ancestral claim should undergo a process, and should not be forced on the people. The decision of which and how many villages should be included in the Moro people’s territorial claims should not solely be at the hands of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo or be limited at the negotiating table of the GRP-MILF peace talks.

It is the responsibility of the government to correct the pervading notion that the Moro people are out to forcibly take the lands of the Christian settlers and the Lumads.  While plebiscite may be a venue for the people to decide whether they want to be part of the Moro people’s ancestral domain, the government should inform and educate the public by providing venues wherein the people can fully discuss not only the Moro people’s claim to ancestral domain, but the issue of ancestral domain and land rights of the people of Mindanao as a whole.

We may view the BJE as the Moro people’s way of correcting historical injustice, that of decades of forcible evacuation as a result of government policies on land ownership, forcible evacuation of residents due to decades of war and military operations and the accumulation of lands by the few business and landed elite families– Christians and Moros alike.

To correct our biases, we must learn lessons from our history.  The settlers and the Lumads in Mindanao lost their lands for these same reasons. We were made to fight over what was left of the land, ravaged by multinationals and landed elite. Even in our small tracts we were reduced to being tenants, plantation workers with small pay and, worse, driven away.

The MILF and even the Moro National Liberation Front have yet to realize the aspirations of the Moro people’s right to self-determination. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is a far cry to the genuine autonomy they agreed with the government, for it did not even give the right for the Moro people to utilize and manage their natural resources.  ARMM remained tied to the economic polices of the national government, and deep in debt.

The national government and the politicians have had so many years to correct their policies, yet they chose the status quo. Under the Arroyo administration,  lands remained at hands of the rich and being sold to multinational companies.  Already the government has signed a deal with Exxon Mobil for the exploration of the oil-rich Sulu Sea and other multinationals lining up to get a chunk of the natural gas in Liguasan Marsh.

President Arroyo even intensified the mining policy which has flushed out thousands of Lumads out of their mountains, and continued the land conversion programs that has forced the Christian and Lumad farmers out of their lands.  Only the multinationals rake in profit from the low pay of workers in the rubber, palm and fruit plantations in Mindanao.

We must unite to resolve the problem of the people of Mindanao. The people of Mindanao should respect the land of its fellow people. Let us put a stop to the monopoly of land by one clan, one government official and foreign businesses. Let us assert that the Mindanao lands should be for the people – for the Moro, for settlers and for the Lumads.

Amirah Ali Lidasan

National President, Suara Bangsamoro

The forum sponsored by the Liga ng Kabataang Moro was meant to commemorate the “worst nightmare” for the people of Basilan when the Armed Forces of the Philippines conducted a military crackdown from July 13-15, 2001 as a consequence of President Arroyo’s declaration that Basilan be under state of lawlessness aimed at quelling the Abu Sayyaf group.

The forum became a reunion for human rights activists who in 2001 sought the families and friends of the victims of crackdown and who initiated a fact-finding mission that led to a congressional inquiry on the reported cases of human rights violations perpetrated by the military during the crackdown.

Suara Bangsamoro national president Amirah Ali Lidasan gave a brief history of what happened during the crackdown, and clarified government reports that those arrested were Abu Sayyaf members.

According to Lidasan, most of the more than 500 arrested during crackdown were innocent residents of Tabuk who were victims of human rights violations when the military set up checkpoints, saturation drives and illegal arrests on innocent residents of Basilan.

Lidasan further said that during the crackdown, more than 70,000 individuals were displaced in then eight towns of Basilan, ten (10) were summarily executed at military chekpoints because they were thought to be Abu Sayyaf. With the help of the Commission on Human Rights – Region IX, twenty eight of those arrested and detained at the 103rd Brigade in Tabiawan, Isabela City filed a case against then 103rd Brigade commander Hermogenes Esperon, Jr for torture.

Lidasan also said that the forum was timely for the Pasig Ragional Trial Court that handles the Puno Mahajie kidnapping case, where most of the Basilan crackdown victims were lumped with Khadaffy Janjalani and other real Abu Sayyaf as the accussed perpetrators, will after seven years finally give the verdict next month. The Puno Mahaji caseis the case where the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped a Claretian priest and the teachers and students of Claret School in Sumisip, Basilan in March 2000.

Marie Hilao-Enriquez, a veteran human rights fighter and chairperson of Karapatan, also told the students of Basilan State College and families of the victims on how Karapatan reported the case of Basilan to the different human rights organizations abroad and even at the United Nations.

Enriquez also described how Basilan became a laboratory for the military as a precursor to the implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya I and II, which became a crackdown against acitivists and human rights defenders nationwide.

Enriquez gave the faculty and students of Basilan State College a copy of the Stop the Killing book of Karapatan and also challenged them to be vigilant and aggressive in fighting for their civil and political rights and not to forget the case of Basilan.

Nujum Jandtul, wife of one of the detainees at Camp Bagong Diwa who was arrested during the crackdown, made the people remember the day when her husband was forcibly taken from their home, accused by a mask-wearing man as an Abu Sayyaf sympathizer. She told the story of how she had become the breadwinner of the family and the hardships that her children faced being apart from her husband, even losing one of her child because of lack of money to buy medicine to cure his sickness.

The forum was also joined by officials of the Basilan who in 2001 became instrumental in criticizing the crackdown by going to Malacanang and presented to President Arroyo the reported abuses done by the military during the crackdown.

Former Provincial Board Member Ustadz Abdulmuhmin Mujahid and current PBM Nasser Salain also encouraged the students to support them in their fight to make Basilan a better province by fighting for their rights.

The forum with the theme “No More Crackdown! No More Terror Tagging! Respect the Civil and Political Rights of People in Mindanao” was sponsored by the Liga ng Kabataang Moro and the Political Science Department of Basilan State College.

 According to Amirah Ali Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro, her organization have gathered reports from the ground that additional names will be included in  last year’s list of warrant issued against 127 Basilan residents, ten of whom were religious leaders while five were already dead.

 Some of those who were in the list, one of them a religious teacher, complained to the media about the inclusion of their names and vowed they were never members of any groups in Basilan nor were they involved in the Al-Barkah incidents.

 Lidasan further said that while Marine commandant Major General Ben Dolorfino complains about justice being elusive against those who were killed at the Al-Barkah fighting, the marines should not retaliate against innocent civilian residents.

 Lidasan also reminded Major General Dolorfino that for seven years justice remained elusive for the civilian residents of Basilan who were arrested, tortured and detained when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared Basilan under state of lawlessness.

 The intensive military crackdown conducted from July 13-15 in 2001, resulted to more than 150 arrests of civilians, torture of 28 civilians, summary killing of more than 10 civilians accused of supporting the Abu Sayyaf and displacement of more than 70,000 residents of then eight towns of Basilan. 

 Lidasan said that further said that her organization fear that President Arroyo’s visit in the United States last month was aimed at gaining more support for her anti-terror policies in the country and to present again “usual suspects” another crackdown would again be conducted in Moro areas.

 As a way of remembering the victims of crackdown and helping the victims pursue justice and to seek for the release of those arrested, Suara Bangsamoro and Liga ng Kabataan Moro will be conducting forums in key cities of Mindanao on July 14, 2008.  The forums will feature all victims of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s anti-war policy including a review of the effect of the one-year implementation of the Human Security Act to the Moro people.

 ”The Moro people is the most understood people when it seeks and fights for justice.  But just like the rest of the impoverished Filipino people, justice remains more elusive as the government continue to brew conflict and inflict fear to Moro civilians and close its doors to peace talks with the revolutionary groups in Mindanao,”  said Lidasan.

The Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Bangsamoro) demands for a thorough investigation to surely pin down the real culprits especially that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has already released evidences that point Indanan Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and his son, Haider, as the masterminds of the kidnapping.

“The PNP quickly tags Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) as the perpetrators where Mayor Isnaji said that behind the kidnapping is an unorganized and nameless group. It is also mind-puzzling that the PNP ignores the involvement of Juamil Biyaw in the abduction,” Indayla said.

“It is very clear, according to Dinampo that ‘Biyaw was the one who made the arrangements including the time and place, and left Drilon’s group.’ Also, Marama Hashim, their driver, said that ‘Biyaw was the one who led the group in a forested area and returned alone.’ With these first-hand accounts, anyone could perceive something and doubt,” Indayla added.

The group has also qualms over the immediate release of Biyaw from the hands of Task Force Comet under the headship of 3^rd Marine Brigade Commander, Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban after the latter denied the allegations against him.

“Brig. Gen. Sabban is so quick to refute that Biyaw is not a military agent where majority of the people in Patikul, where he is a village councilor, knows that he is,” Indayla pointed.

The Suara Bangsamoro dares the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Western Mindanao to surface Juamil Biyaw and not to white-wash the investigation.

“Let Biyaw speak the truth. It is another high time for the military to prove that there is no truth to military-ASG connivance, especially now that a military agent is the one suspected bringing Drilon and others to their captors, and still at large,” Indayla said.

Furthermore, Suara Bangsamoro challenges the Arroyo administration to be true in their declaration that the government guarantees the freedom of the press, act on the numerous unresolved killings of journalists and continuing human rights violations and ensure the welfare of its people.

“A good government is sensitive to the wellbeing of its people. This government should look and act into the unceasing increase of recruits to rebel groups where minors are the majority members. Poverty and neglect of basic social services pushes people to do crimes in order to live,” Indayla stressed.

300,000 Moro peace advocates gathered all over key cities in Mindanao to call for the resumption of GRP-MILF peace talks and respect the Bangsamoro people’s right to self-determination during a rally in City Plaza, Cotabato City. Wide rally for peace is spearheaded by Mindanao Alliance for Peace (MAP), an alliance of Moro organizations and individuals.

]]> http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/113/feed/ 0 suarabangsamoro 300,000 Moro peace advocates gathered all over key cities in Mindanao to call for the resumption of GRP-MILF peace talks and respect the Bangsamoro people\'s right to self-determination during a rally in City Plaza, Cotabato City. Wide rally for peace is spearheaded by Mindanao Alliance for Peace (MAP), an alliance of Moro organizations and individuals. http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/moro-protest/ http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/moro-protest/#comments Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:51:23 +0000 suarabangsamoro http://suarabangsamoro.wordpress.com/?p=109 ]]>

Bai Ali Indayla, national secretary-general of Suara Bangsamoro speak at the crowd in City Plaza, Cotabato City during protest rally to call for the resumption of GRP-MILF peace talks and respect the  Bangsamoro people’s right to self-determination. Wide rally for peace is spearheaded by Mindanao Alliance for Peace (MAP), an alliance of Moro organizations and individuals.

Department of Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes bragged that Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil and gas company, is set to explore the rich-sea of Sulu – the home to one of the world heritage sites, Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park, for crude oil deposits this year.

Sulu Sea connects the South China Sea and Celebes Sea which serves as route for tuna and other varieties of fishes going in and out the Pacific Ocean.

Bai Ali Indayla, Suara Bangsamoro’s national secretary-general, frets on the imminent aftermath of exploration to the people of Sulu which have had enough of never-ending wars, kidnaps, hamlets and killings since American occupation.

“The affirmation of Secretary Reyes that ‘Exxon Mobil will not go into any area unless the reserves are large scale or large amount of quality of oil’ is a proof that the United States of America has long been probing the vastness and productiveness of the Philippines soil in the guise of Balikatan exercises and humanitarian missions,” Indayla said.

Secretary Reyes also boasts that the oil in the Philippines such as the one produced in Galoc oil field in Palawan Basin owned by Australia-based, Otto Energy Ltd., will be sold to local refineries like Shell and Petron and would translate to a lower price of gasoline.

Moreover, ExxonMobil is into number of global operating divisions such as Upstream (oil exploration, extraction, shipping, and wholesale operations), Downstream (marketing, refining, and retail operations), Chemical division and many others. Thus, Exxon Mobil does explore, produce and sell crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products.

“The government’s claim is a big deceit to the Bangsamoro people and the Filipino people in general. Exxon Mobil is not only into exploration but wants total control to oil-rich nations like it did in several countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Angola, Sudan, Kazakhstan and Indonesia. In the Philippines, they had started in Galoc which is north of Sulu Sea and has extended in the nearby area, Calauit oil field, also in Palawan Basin,” Indayla explained.

“The Exxon Mobil’s exploration in Sulu sea, which would spend $110 million for exploration alone, is just a genesis to roster of large-scale explorations in other oil-rich areas of the country. Despite government’s concession to foreign oil companies to explore the Philippine Basin, the country continuously import oil and experience mounting increases of prices in petroleum as well as basic commodities,” Indayla stressed.

The Suara Bangsamoro strongly opposes the exploration of Exxon Mobil in Sulu Sea for it would not only affect and devastate the environment and people’s livelihood, which majority are fishermen, but also a testament to the long-list of documents that Filipino people vend their natural resources to foreign countries.

Indayla added, “Foreign countries especially the US have long been the ones benefiting the wealth of our natural resources. It’s not the Filipino people. We are putting our hands to a tiger’s mouth by allowing them utilize and exploit our own reserves,” Indayla said.

“We are calling the government to safeguard the welfare of the people first before the interest of foreign corporations. With their presence, is Philippine’s economy developing? Did it change the impoverished lives of the Filipino people especially the Moro? But, after all, the Philippine constitution guarantees several provisions and exempts taxes to all foreign corporations like oil companies,” Indayla said.

Migrante ME advises fellow OFWs: ‘Never allows anybody use your personal mobile phone’

“Never allows anybody use your personal cell phone, it may put your life at risk”, thus today said an alliance of Overseas Filipino workers’ organizations based in the Middle East to fellow OFWs working in Qatar and in other countries in the Middle East.

“Migrante ME issued this advisory to fellow OFWs working in Qatar and in other Middle Eastern Countries so that our fellow OFWs will be warned of the consequences such as being sent to jail and be implicated for a crime by letting someone use their personal cellphone or mobile phone as popularly called in the Middle East,” said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante Middle East (ME) regional coordinator.

This what exactly happened to OFW Roy Palaoag, working as a Loader and Backhoe Operator for a company named Qatar Quarry based in Doha , Qatar .

OFW Palaog’s wife, Mrs. Florence sought the assistance of our Migrante-Metro Baguio Chapter on the case of his husband who was jailed for 1 month and was fined Qatar Riyal (QR) 3,000 by the Qatari Court for a crime he did not commit.

According to Mrs. Florence, sometime in October 2006, an Indian-national friend borrowed her husband cellphone presumably to call somebody. But unknown to Roy, the Indian national friend called a woman and uttered words that were uncomfortable or seriously hurtful and threatening to the woman. Thus, feeling humiliated or threatened by the Indian national, the woman reported and lodged complain to the local police.

Upon investigation by the Qatar Police, the cellphone number was traced and found out to be Roy ’s cellphone. Thus, Roy was badly implicated.

“Cellphone’s SIM Card is regulated by the government of Qatar . You can’t simply buy it openly in the market as the government requires any body to fill a form for acquiring a SIM card and submit a copy of your Iqama (residence permit), and the Qtel, Qatar’s national telephone company, enters the user’s personal information to the government’s centralized information or data system. Thus, they could easily traced any one’s call,” Monterona explained.

According to Mrs. Florence, OFW Roy Palaoag’s wife, the case was already settled with the local police by penalizing Roy a fine of QR250 and was in fact given a receipt.

OFW Roy Palaoag is due for a vacation on April 25, 2008. As it was his schedule for a vacation and getting all the formalities from his own company, he proceeded to the airport bound to be back home hoping and longing to see his beloved family for just a wait of 8 hours flight Doha-Manila.

Unfortunately, he was held by the Airport Immigration Police claiming that he has a pending case seen on their computerized data system. He was held for further investigation. His loved ones back home waited for his arrival.

On May 20, 2008, the Qatari Court ruled and sentenced OFW Roy Palaoag for a 1 month imprisonment and a penalty of QR3,000 was imposed by the Qatari Court .

“Our Migrante chapter in Qatar was already informed to give assistance to OFW-victim Roy Palaoag. He has already served a month of imprisonment but he needed to pay the QR3,000 for his release. Migrante, along with other OFW organizations in Qatar, will be spearheading a contribution drive to raise such amount so that OFW Roy Palaoag could be back home,” Monterona said.

“We would like to convey to fellow OFWs in Qatar and in the Middle East the lesson we got from OFW Roy Palaoag case: Never allows anybody use your personal mobile phone, it may put you at risks. If it was lost or stolen, report it immediately to host government national telephone company or to the local police” Monterona ended.

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines – The Cotabato provincial government has earmarked P100,000 as bounty to those who could give vital information as to the whereabouts of three members of a powerful Moro clan in Maguindanao accused of rape.

Cotabato Gov. Jesus Sacdalan has approved on Tuesday the release of the money after a request made by his vice-governor, Manny Pinol, who chairs the province’s Anti-Drug and Anti-Crime Task Force.

The bounty came six days after the local court issued warrants for the arrest of Datu Andy Montawal, president of the Association of Barangay Chairmen (ABC) in Poblacion in Datu Montawal, Maguindanao; his son, Jerome, and niece Erica Bianca Montawal Enanoria.

Datu Andy is son of Datu Montawal town mayor Bai Annie Montawal and former Pagalungan mayor Dyanggo Montawal.

The three members of the powerful Montawal clan in Maguindanao are all accused of rape under criminal case number 08-64, which is non-bailable, and sodomy under criminal case number 08-63, which is bailable.

The incident, court records showed, took place on February 25, 2008.

In her testimony, Angeline, not her real name and a first year Human Resource and Management student of the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), said Enanoria took her by force from her boarding house at the university campus in Kabacan on the night of February on board a red pick-up driven by Jerome and brought her to a lodging house where Datu Andy allegedly sodomized and raped her.

The Justice for Angeline Movement, a multi-sectoral group in North Cotabato organized sometime March, has expressed optimism the issuance of the warrants would lead to the immediate arrest of the suspects and the attainment of justice for Angeline.

“Let this be a reminder and [at the same time] a warning that justice is within the reach of everybody. In North Cotabato, no one is above the law and that everyone is equal before the bars of justice – the rich and the poor, the weak and the mighty,” said Pinol, chair of the provincial board.

Pinol and the board had also urged Datu Montawal mayor Bai Annie to facilitate the surrender of her son Datu Andy and her two grandchildren.

“We have shown to the Montawals our respect for the law by going through the legal process, however, long it took us in getting the warrants issued by the court. We will appeal to the Montawal clan to show their respect for the law and our institution by allowing the justice system to determine the guilt or the innocence of the accused,” said Pinol. – GMANews.TV

ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/1 May) — A Moro group has condemned the bombing of a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) camp in Indanan, Sulu by the Marines last Wednesday.

It is ironic that while Manila is trying to project there is progress in the peace process by releasing Nur Misuari, it also continues its military actions on the ground against the MNLF forces, Amira Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro People), said.

Around 1 a.m. the Marines fired at least 28 howitzer rounds at Camp Marang in Barangay Cagay, Indanan where the group of MNLF state chairman Khaid Ajibon camped, Lidasan said in a text message.

She said that the bombing is a sign of insincerity on the part of the GRP. It only shows the governments double-talk in dealing with the conflict.

Lidasan stressed that the incident should be included as an agenda in the tripartite meeting on May 26-29 as a violation. The situation of the displaced families should be attended to, Lidasan added.

Earlier reports said government forces pounded a suspected lair of the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, resulting to the wounding of one soldier and a still undetermined number of casualties on the rebel side.

Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of Joint Task Force Comet, said government troops fired several artillery and mortar rounds at a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah at Sitio Kandinamon, Marang village in Indanan town.

He said the government assault began Tuesday midnight with troops seizing the rebel lair about 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Sabban clarified that the extremists’ camp was far from the camp of MNLF commander Ajibon, but they thought that the military was after them.

Lidasan alleged that reports coming from the area indicate that howitzers were fired at Camp Marang where MNLF State Chairman Ajibon camped.

She said that after the shelling of the camp the ground troops entered the camp where seven government troops were killed and around 10 families were already displaced. (Antonio M. Manaytay / MindaNews contributor)

According to Amirah Ali Lidasan, national president Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro People), several local civil society groups based in Sulu have been sending text messages that since 1:00 AM of April 30, there were 28 rounds of 105 howitzer bombs unleashed by the Philippine Marines and Task Force Comet under Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban against the main camp of  MNLF Sulu State Revolutionary Council Chairman Khaid Adjibun in Bgy. Cagay, Indanan, Sulu.

It is reported as of this writing that more than a hundred have already evacuated to safer grounds, and there were ten families that evacuated to Jolo, Sulu’s town proper.

According to Lidasan, the bombing offensive is a sign of the government’s insincerity in dealing with the MNLF. That while all the MNLF leaders and members are celebrating the recent release of Prof. Nur Misuari in Manila, MNLF’s main camp in Sulu are being bombed and their residents are being flushed out.

The MNLF believes that the recent release of MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari is step towards the progress of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Moro National Liberation Front-Organization of Islamic Conference tripartite negotiation that is reviewing the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement.

Lidasan also lambasts Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban’s statement implicating the MNLF by saying that they were supporting the ASG and the JI in Indanan.

Lidasan hopes that the bombing incident will be discussed in the coming tripartite meeting that will be held on the last week of May this year.

She further said that the MNLF leaders should be given a chance to condemn the recent and past bombings and military offensives conducted in MNLF camps in Sulu that hide under the pretext of pursuing Abu Sayyaf bandits.

SULU, Philippines – Government security forces pounded a suspected lair of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, resulting to one soldier wounded and a still undetermined number of casualties on the rebel side, officials said Wednesday.Moro National Liberation Front) fighters firing so told them to stop or else, we will retaliate. They stopped,” Sabban told reporters in Manila by phone.Sabban estimated the number of militants in the area to be about 200. “They were planning to conduct something big because of the unusual convergence of their leaders…we had to conduct a surgical strike.”

He said information they received showed that Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron and wanted JI bomber Umar Patek were in the area.

But the human rights organization Suara Bangsamoro said troops also fired canons around a major MNLF base in the village of Cagay, an area controlled by Khaid Ajibun, a senior leader of the former rebel group which signed a peace deal with

Troops fired several rounds of artillery and mortar fires at a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah at Sitio Kandinamon, Marang village in Indanan town, said Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of Joint Task Force Comet.

Sabban said the government assault began Tuesday midnight with troops seizing the rebel lair about 7 a.m. Wednesday.

“We took control of the camp but sporadic firing remained…there were MNLF (

Manila in 199.It said dozens of civilians have fled the village because of the bombings. “At least 28 howitzer canons were fired to that area and after the bombardments ground troops mounted an attack, sparking a firefight,” said Amirah Lidasan, the group’s leader said.

She said seven soldiers were either killed or wounded in the fighting, but the military said only one Marine was injured in the clash.

“Troops clashed with the

Abu Sayyaf group. The operation began at dawn Wednesday and targeted the lairs of the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. We have reports the area is being used to manufacture IED (improvised explosive device),” Maj. Eugene Batara, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told reporters.He tagged Abu

Pula, alias Doctor Abu, as the leader of the group that soldiers clashed in Indanan town.”The intelligence-driven operation is aimed to apprehend, neutralize, and bring to justice the remaining leaders and members of the Abu Sayyaf, as well as the Jemaah Islamiyah bombers, who forged alliances with the former in the name of terrorism and violence,” Batara.

Sabban maintained the offensive did not target the MNLF. “The operation is not against the

Moro National Liberation Front. No way this operation is meant against the MNLF. They are not our targets. We are primarily after the ASG and the JI,” he said.“The ultimate reason of this operation is for the people to finally live in safety without the fear that they could be held captive at any time in any place,” Sabban said. -

 Bai Ali Indayla, the group’s national secretary general, defines the courageous act of Moro fighters as ultimate ‘jihad’ of a Muslim in struggling times.

 “This is a profound reminder to all of us to be bold in whatever struggles we encounter – an act that every Muslim must emulate. These young fighters courageously defy the order of a dictator president to save the lives of fellow Muslims,” Indayla said.

 It was in Corregidor, Cavite that the 28 Moro fighters named Jabiddah commando group, learned the hidden agenda of Operation Merdeka masterminded by then President Ferdinand Marcos – to destabilize Sabah . Thinking of their fellow Muslims, friends and families living in amity, they refused to participate in the operation. Without delay, the military slaughtered them.

 To cover traces of the massacre, the military burned their bodies, wrapped them and threw the remains in Manila Bay . Perpetrators linked in the killings were acquitted in 1971. Since then, the case was closed.

 Indayla further challenged fellow Muslims to re-examine the divide and rule tactic of the government that still continue to this day emphasizing the “continuing ‘roaming-around-the-bush’ peace talks of the government to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

 “Let us not forget the history.. We should learn from our experiences. This is the existing modus operandi of the government ever since. They will never give our demands to maintain and protect their interests. They will continue to split us until we’ll fight among ourselves. Until justice will not be served for our Moro martyrs and all victims of government’s injustices, we cannot attain peace,” Indayla stressed.

 In honor of the martyrdom, Suara Bangsamoro holds today a forum and picket-rally that will rekindle the bravery and demand justice for the 28 Moro fighters who surrender lives to avert the dictator’s atrocious plot.

 Suara Bangsamoro, who also celebrates its 6^th founding anniversary today, vows to remain the voice of the Bangsamoro people in the quest for right to self-determination, justice and peace.

COTABATO CITY The Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Bangsamoro) here denounce the recent case of sexual violence in Kabacan town of North Cotabato where the alleged perpetrator belongs to an influential family in Datu Montawal, Maguindanao.

According to board mates, ‘Angeline’ (not her real name), a 17-year old Human Ecology and Food Sciences student in the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), was abducted at their boarding house around 6 in the evening of February 25 by a certain Bianca Montawal Paglas and two male companions.

At 11:00 P.M., Angeline came back with bloodstains on her body which prompted her friends to call the latter’s father.

In her affidavit, Angeline narrated that she was brought to Pareng Bong’s Lodging House and there, she was raped by Datu Andy Montawal.

Angeline’s father along with board mates went immediately to the nearest police station and filed complaint against Montawal and his alleged accomplices.

Bai Ali Indayla, national secretary-general of Suara Bangsamoro, said that they have received reports of numerous rape cases and harassments inside the USM campus but ‘only now, a victim courageously speaks out and file a legal case against the well-known perpetrator.’

Together with Indayla’s group, various organizations including Gabriela Women’s Party, North Cotabato 1^st District Representative Emmylou Santos-Mendoza, lawyers and other individuals have already expressed support to Angeline and her family to get justice and bring the perpetrators to cell.

On March 5, a candle-lighting for justice was held in USM spearheaded by the College of Human Ecology and Food Sciences (CHEFS) local student government and was supported by Kabacan Mayor George Tan and councilors, CHEFS Dean Aleha Plasa Salik, USM Director of Students Affairs Nicolas Turnos, University Student Government (USG) president Junmar Bañas, CHEFS governor Ralph Ryan Rafael and faculty and staff of all Colleges and Institutes of the University.

On March 6, around 7,000 USM students, faculty and staff and concern individuals wore black t-shirts and red wristbands and joined the USG-led indignation march-rally to lobby with the local government unit of Kabacan and calling Regional Trial Court Fiscal Samuel Fajardo to expedite Angeline’s case to immediately put the perpetrators to jail.

The group also demands for the closure of Pareng Bong’s Lodging House where Angeline was allegedly raped and for police visibility in the entire USM premise for the safety of the students.

Suara Bangsamoro challenges the USM administration, who has not released a condemnation statement since the incident was exposed, to speak out and seek justice for Angeline and other rape victims.

“We dare the administration of USM to stand for justice especially for their student. Angeline’s courage as well as the witnesses is commendable. We appreciated so much the bravery of Angeline’s family to cope their daughter’s ordeal and took legal action to search justice and prosecute the perpetrators. We appeal to all victims of sexual violence to speak out and fight. Silence will tolerate the horrible and devilish act of these perpetrators,” Indayla said.

Suara Bangsamoro strongly condemns all form of violence against women and children and pledge continuous support until justice for Angeline and all victims of sexual abuses will be served.

COTABATO CITY – The Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Bangsamoro) here staged a picket rally in front of the Office of the Regional Governor (ORG) compound following the visit of two (2) officials from United States Embassy on March 04 in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Bai Ali Indayla, the group’s national secretary-general, said that her group learned that US envoy to the Philippines Kristie Kenny will be sending officials to talk to members of Regional Legislative Assembly of the autonomous region (RLA-ARRM) on its opposition stance on Balikatan.

“The RLA’s position contradicts with that of the Governor of ARMM. We really appreciate the courageous move of RLA to defy Balikatan for the benefit of its constituents. But, we smell something fishy with this visit. We fear another round of Balikatan is systematically taking place,” Indayla said.

lndayla stressed that ‘the Arroyo administration permitted the US government to take pleasure in using the territory and taking advantage of rich resources of Philippine soil while the Filipino people especially the Bangsamoro suffer from violations of human rights committed by American soldiers.’

Further, the group reaffirms call for the complete withdrawal of US Special Operations Forces in the country ‘like what Filipinos did in 1991.’

Indayla challenges the ARMM assembly not to be deceived by the sugar-coated tongue of US officials who were well-trained in psychological warfare.

“We hope that RLA will stay firm on its position. The Bangsamoro people need officials that could survive fighting for the right to self determination, ancestral domain and national sovereignty,” Indayla emphasized.

Chants such as ‘Unahin ang Bayan, Huwag ang Dayuhan’ (Country first, not the foreigners) and ‘US Imperialist, No. 1 Terrorist’ rock the ORG compound while the group continuously calls all Bangsamoro people to persist in battling for the country’s independence and strong resistance to US intervention.

Bai Ali Indayla, national secretary-general of Suara Bangsamoro with Sister Alih Villarosa of Oblates of Notre Dame during an Interfaith Prayer cum Candle Lighting Rally for truth and justice on February 29, 2008 in Cotabato City .

Protesters carry placards calling for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during an interfaith prayer rally in Cotabato City, February 29, 2008. Thousands of people streamed to City Plaza on Friday calling for the resignation of Arroyo in a colourful outpouring of placards, prayers and chants.

COTABATO CITY – The Suara Bangsamoro, Jesus Is Lord Movement (JIL) and other Moro and civil society groups will stage an interfaith prayer cum candle lighting rally on Friday evening.

The groups will convene at City Plaza at 4:00 PM, as part of the people’s unyielding quest for truth, justice, accountability and meaningful reforms in governance amid the deteriorating political crisis prodded by the $329-million ZTE-NBN scam.

Danny Vergara, resident pastor of JIL-Cotabato City, depicted the interfaith prayer assembly as a dignified gathering of groups, sectors and individuals who are resolute to grasp the genuine truth of the overpriced ZTE-NBN deal and make all those involved, including Ms. Gloria Arroyo, accountable for their abuses and callousness.

Suara Bangsamoro’s national secretary-general, Bai Ali Indayla remarked that the movement calling for Arroyo’s resignation or ouster keeps mounting and intensifying as the political crisis drags on stressing that ‘Arroyo has a lot to answer including the all out war policies against Moro People, organized extra-judicial killings, Hello Garci scandal, electoral fraud and numerous cases of multi-billion peso graft and corruption involving her family and cronies.’

“The pathetic statement of CBCP could not give GMA some relief. Cries of people from all walks of life are intense. She has escaped judgment in the past, but people now will decisively say, ‘Enough of Corruption, Enough of GMA!’ Indayla said.

The groups pointed out that they will stage series of activities including street education, sinehang bayan (film viewing) and concert for truth to edify the people on the present political quagmire until the downfall of Arroyo’s regime.