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'All-out war' would end govt - MILF


MANILA, Philippines - Declaring an all-out war over the Bloody Monday attacks on several Mindanao provinces will be government's "most serious blunder," the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) warned Tuesday. An article on the MILF website Tuesday afternoon quoted an unnamed MILF official as giving this warning in the wake of calls from various sectors to drop an ongoing ceasefire. "For the government to declare all-out war against the MILF would be the most serious blunder that this sitting regime could commit. A prolonged all-out war ... would inevitably bring this regime to its knees because of the dire economic and political repercussions that such a war would engender. And this is precisely the situation that those opposed to this regime are just waiting for so they could easily seize power," the official said. He added that in the end, it would not be the MILF or the Bangsamoro people that would reap the whirlwind, but the government and Filipinos. Filipinos will be caught again in the "never-ending vicious cycle of political and economic instability brought about by their own follies and greediness," he added. Also, the official said the raids on Lanao del Norte and other Mindanao provinces should send a message to the Arroyo government. He said Commander Bravo, who led Monday's raids, was making a "statement" out of "extreme frustration" over the aborted signing of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain. "The MILF commanders who conducted this raid, notably Commander Bravo, were making a 'statement' in reaction to these negative developments in the peace process," he said. Also, the MILF official said this "statement" is "addressed to all those in the Philippine nation-state who want to perpetuate the colonial oppression of the Bangsamoro people." The official added this is a statement as well against the "anti-Moro and anti-Muslim demonization campaign" unleashed by Filipino vested-interest groups throughout the country to oppose any legitimate concession to the MILF in the peace negotiation. - GMANews.TV
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