MILF to govt: Release joint probe of Basilan clash

Claiming unscrupulous forces are already at work to undermine the peace process, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) urged the Arroyo government to release the full findings of a joint investigation into the July 10 clash in Basilan. In a statement posted on its website (www.luwaran.com), the MILF said it is "urgent and important" to release at least the findings and recommendations to prevent distortion by unscrupulous persons. The MILF said some of these unscrupulous persons are already "trying to inflame the already tense situation in Mindanao so that war could erupt again." MILF peace panel secretariat head Jun Mantawil said the incident in Basilan had caused the MILF too much discomfort as a result of the hate campaign in many media outlets in the country. Mantawil cited an article in the Davao City-based Mindanao Daily Mirror last July 31, which branded the killers of 14 Marines as "Moro beasts," and the 130 MILF members linked to the killing as "mad dogs." But he said the MILF cannot release it unilaterally without the concurrence of the government peace panel. "This is standard operating procedure that official documents cannot be declassified without the concurrence of the other party," he said. He said he is open to keeping some portions classified, saying what is important is to release the portions including the probe body's findings and recommendations. Last week, acting defense chief Norberto Gonzales said four members of the extremist Abu Sayyaf were responsible for the beheading of four Marines based on the testimonies of two witnesses. In the July 10 clash, 10 of the 14 slain Marines were beheaded and mutilated. The MILF had admitted fighting with the Marines, although have insisted that the beheading was not committed by its fighters. At the time of the encounter, the soldiers were on their way back to camp after verifying information that Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was being kept in Al-Barka town in Basilan. - GMANews.TV