Govt, MILF to create buffer zones to protect civilians from 'harassment'

The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are working together to establish buffer zones in parts of Mindanao to protect civilians from "harassment" attacks by armed groups.

In an article posted on its website, the MILF said the plan is in its "final touches" and will be ready for implementation once the mechanisms and coordination are in place.

"(O)ne of the challenges of the peace process being currently faced by the (government) and MILF are the acts of violence, hostilities and atrocities being perpetrated by other armed groups which do not believe in peace negotiation to resolve the armed conflict in Mindanao," it said.

The MILF said it and the government are working on the plan via peace process mechanisms including the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), and the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT).

According to the MILF, its Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces buffer forces are under the direct command of the BIAF General Staff and the MILF Central Committee through the Office of the Chief of Staff–BIAF.

While the MILF did not name the group opposed to the peace process, its announcement of the buffer zone came amid harassment by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in parts of Mindanao.

The BIFF is led by Ameril Umbra Kato, who led attacks on Mindanao in 2008 when the Supreme Court thumbed down a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

'Contain malicious movements'

The MILF said the buffer zones' mission and purposes include:

- Protect and promote the primacy of the government–MILF peace process and ceasefire
- Protect the civilian communities and their properties
- Intensify support for the government-MILF peace process and the ceasefire
- Contain the "malicious movements, offensives and activities of the saboteurs of peace and the peace process"
- Enhance proactive cooperation with the concerned local government units.

The MILF said both government and the MILF "place foremost importance, as a matter of policy, to the primacy of the peace process since it started some 17 years ago."

Yet, it said the harassment activities were "meant to discredit, undermine, sabotage and spoil peace process and have been inflicting enormous harm, pains and sufferings to the civilians."

"It has been blatantly and maliciously challenging the security forces of the government and MILF and the peace process as a whole," it added.  - ELR, GMA News