“As in the past, civilians are likely the casualties of an all-out war against the MILF. Moro areas have been ceaselessly attacked by the military but that did not solve anything. It only fans centuries-old biases against the Moro people,” said Jigs Clamor, Deputy Secretary General of Karapatan.
“As in the past, civilians are likely the casualties of an all-out war against the MILF. Moro areas have been ceaselessly attacked by the military but that did not solve anything. It only fans centuries-old biases against the Moro people,” said Jigs Clamor, Deputy Secretary General of Karapatan.
Clamor added that “Basilan is still under a “state of lawlessness” since Gloria Arroyo declaration in 2001. GMA’s declaration resulted to the arrest and detention of at least 500 civilians, and some 80 civilians are still languishing in jail because of the indiscriminate arrests.”
Clamor said that the “GPH is noticeably disregarding signed agreements and commitments not only with the MILF but also with the NDFP.”
The AFP told the media that they were in the MILF grounds to arrest an MILF brigade commander, Dan Laksaaw Asnawi. The MILF on the other hand asserts that the AFP’s action is prohibited under the Terms of Reference of the GPH-MILF ceasefire agreement and their Adhoc Joint Action Group or AHJAG. AHJAG is akin to the Joint Agreement on the Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) between the GPH and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).