Kabalu ousted; Iqbal is now MILF 'mouthpiece'

The Central Committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Friday announced that it has phased out the position of 'MILF spokesman' and that all pronouncements regarding the organization would be issued by the committee on information. The decision was contained in an undated resolution issued by the central command and made public Friday. It came 17 days after 14 Marines were killed in a clash in Basilan. Ten of the Marines were later found beheaded in the encounter site. A day after the July 10 clash, Abu Majid, MILF information officer based in Basilan, admitted that MILF fighters figured in that clash and that the Philippine Marines entered the MILF area in complete disregard of the ceasefire agreement between the MILF and the government. It was not clear if the announced reorganization stemmed from the Basilan clash. On Friday, the MILF said that the committee on information of the MILF Central Committee will function as the agency that would speak for the MILF and whoever is the chairperson of this committee will act as the mouthpiece of the MILF. The information committee is headed by Mohagher Iqbal, a peace negotiator. His deputy is Khaled Musa. The report about the MILF reorganization was posted Friday at Luwaran.com. The article quoted Muhammad Ameen, chairperson of the MILF Secretariat, who told Luwaran, that the decision "is not new" and that the designation of MILF spokesman was a "temporary arrangement to confront an extra-ordinary situation brought about by the all-out war." It added that any member of the MILF Central Committee particularly Chairman Murad Ebrahim or his two deputies can speak for the MILF. The three are the most senior in the MILF and therefore most authoritative. "But it is a standing policy of the MILF or any organization especially revolutionary that incorrect or erroneous statement of any leader especially contrary to existing principles or policies will not be binding to the organization, but correction must be issued at once to contain the damages or guide the public,"the article said. Ameen explained that the MILF spokesman post was a temporary arrangement at the time of the 2000 all-out war waged by ousted President Joseph Estrada. Ameen also said that Eid Kabalu, the MILF spokesman until the resolution was passed recently, has been reassigned as chief of the civil-military relations of he MILF General Staff (GS) of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF). He said the resolution provided that as chief of the civil-military relations of the GS, Kabalu serves as the mouthpiece of this military organ. He explained that aside from his main task to ensure that popular support for fighters of the MILF shall be maintained at all times, Kabalu, in plain words, is also the “military spokesman" of the MILF. "In a revolutionary struggle such as the one being waged by the MILF, the people’s support is one of the primary foundations. Without the support of the people, the MILF cannot exist or succeed to exist,"the article said. - GMANews.TV