Attainment of peace depends on an ‘acceptable ’Bangsamoro Basic Law – MILF official

“The MILF is bound by processes and documents, if we are to be held accountable, we would do that, instead of covering up, or absolving them.”

By DEE AYROSO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — Rasid Tan Ladiasan, chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Forces Coordinating Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities (MILF CCCH), said that his group is “for peaceful solutions,” but ultimately, they will have to consult with the Moro people if they find the Bangsamoro Basic Law acceptable.

Ladiasan, who became a whipping boy at the senate investigation on the bloody Mamasapano clash, faced a no less curious, but more sympathetic set of “inquisitors,” at a forum organized by the Pilgrims for Peace and the Moro-Christian People’s Alliance (MCPA) on Feb. 19 in Quezon City.

“The first thing that we will do is to go to the Bangsamoro people,” said Ladiasan, when asked what the MILF will do if they ended up with a watered-down Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). He added that the MILF consulted with the people whenever they reached crossroads during the peace process.

“Armed struggle is the last option. It’s bloody, and difficult,” Ladiasan said. “There are many other options, other means to confront this situation, and when it comes to that, we will not blame anyone.”

He said the BBL should be passed in accordance with what is in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (Cab) or else, “it will not be an acceptable solution” to the conflict.

“Even if it (a watered down BBL) is accepted by the MILF, it may not be accepted by the people,” he said.

Ladiasan stressed that the MILF is fully committed to the attainment of peace for the Bangsamoro through a peaceful, political negotiation. He also stressed that the MILF leaders are already “aging.”

The audience at the forum were mostly church people and the religious, and sectoral activists who all had questions on the MILF perspective for peace in the aftermath of the Mamasapano clash.

Rep. Luz Ilagan of the Gabriela Women’s Partylist and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. also spoke at the forum. Ilagan reported about the results of the People’s Fact-finding Mission (PFFM) in Mamasapano last week.

IHL violations

The PFFM reported that the January 25 operation by the police elite Special Action Force (SAF) violated the MILF ceasefire agreement with government, human rights and international humanitarian law.

Among the cases cited by the PFFM was the killing by a SAF member of four MILF men who were sleeping in a “pangguiaman” or prayer hut.

Ilagan, who was part of the PFFM, shared that witnesses had seen the SAF member walking around, but they let him be because a ceasefire had been declared and there was no more fighting. But when he reached the prayer hut, he began firing at the sleeping MILF fighters.

“We believe that there was a violation of the ceasefire, of international humanitarian law, and human rights,” Ladiasan.

He added that as part of the peace process, they could file a protest or complaint with the government peace panel, to be validated by the International Monitoring Team. This team will make a verification report and submit their recommended course of action to the two panels.

“The errors were more on the government’s side, and somebody should be held accountable,” he said of the Mamasapano SAF operations.

“The MILF is bound by processes and documents, if we are to be held accountable, we would do that, instead of covering up, or absolving them. The rule of law applies to all, in our case, there are processes,” he said.

“We also have our own lapses, errors, which were capitalized and exploited,” Ladiasan said, in reference to some lawmakers and personalities agitating anti-Moro sentiments.

Aquino accountability

Bayan’s Reyes said that the Mamasapano clash should be taken “in the context that there is a ceasefire, because there is a war.” He added that some people try to turn public anger to the MILF to absolve President Aquino.

He noted that the congressional investigation was halted because the facts being uncovered were leading closer to Aquino, and the US. “They’re already trying to kill the issue.”

“The President has become the biggest stumbling block to truth and accountability,” said Reyes. “As long as he is there, he will not allow the truth to come out.” Bayan and other progressive groups have renewed calls for Aquino’s ouster.

Decommissioning and BBL

Shortly after the Mamasapano clash, the MILF and the government signed on Jan. 30 the guidelines for the decommissioning of MILF weapons and troops, as part of the “normalization” process under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (Cab).

Ladiasan said the Cab provides that decommissioning goes hand in hand with the delivery of political reforms for the Bangsamoro.

“Despite what happened in Mamasapano. ..amid the challenges, there is still commitment (to the decommissioining),” said Ladiasan. “This should also serve as a challenge to Congress, to deliver a proper BBL,” he added.

“The BBL is important, all of us are not letting this go, but there are many complications. The MILF is praying that the commitment by both sides for BBL will be delivered,” said Ladiasan.

Then he added: “When you need to save yourself, you can eat haram, you could eat pork, you can lie if needed, you can even tell your wife that you love only her when there is someone else that you love.”

Protecting

Ladiasan joked during the Q and A that the forum asked “harder questions” than the senate investigation did.

One such question was: “Why are you protecting the president?”

“It’s not true that we are protecting the President,” Ladisan answered. “We are protecting the peace process, and in this, everyone is a partner, we have no enemies in you. What we are trying to protect is the opportunity that should not be wasted.”

Ladiasan, who said he came from the military ranks of the MILF, cited “positive results” of the absence of fighting, such as “improved” economy in the Bangsamoro communities. “It’s peaceful, and the people have seen that it’s good that there is no more fighting. When Mamasapano happened, things became dark. There was national mourning, but we felt more than that, and our people were saddened,” he said.

Peace

Asked how there can be freedom, Ladiasan said:

“For me, it’s simple. To live a normal life, to have a government with a system that fits, that will allow the Bangsamoro to freely exercise our rights, to determine our future, to develop our communities and to live in peace with all, regardless of faith, ideology. This is what I think of freedom, and the key is a negotiated political solution.”

Some people in the audience, though mostly sympathetic with Ladiasan, gave mixed reactions to his statements on how to attain peace.

Some smiled when Ladiasan spoke about President Aquino and how they believe that he is committed to the peace process. One was saddened that the MILF “had practically tied their hands” to the peace process.

Sister Mary Francis Añover, national coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines , told Bulatlat: “I told him I am one with him. I appreciated his calmness and deep spirituality.” She noted that Ladiasan did not have a prepared statement and instead spoke from his own experience, “in longing for lasting peace.”

“He’s hopeful for the BBL, and it’s right to have hope, a Muslim-Christian hope,” she said.