FRIENDLY HUG Mohagher Iqbal, the chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (center), hugs acting Philippine National Police chief Leonardo Espina at the Senate as Interior Secretary Mar Roxas looks on. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN
FRIENDLY HUG
Mohagher Iqbal, the chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (center), hugs acting Philippine National Police chief Leonardo Espina at the Senate as Interior Secretary Mar Roxas looks on. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) should not get all the blame for the deaths of the 44 police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, because there were other groups present in the area when the policemen came under attack, Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), said.

Iqbal, who finally attended on Thursday the Senate inquiry into the Mamasapano tragedy, said the MILF is conducting its own investigation to determine if any of its members violated the rules of conduct.

He pointed out that the SAF members also clashed with other armed men belonging to different groups, including the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), local militias and private armed groups.

“The delicate task of finding out who did what, especially the reported atrocities, cannot be immediately blamed on the MILF. That would be unfair. We need to investigate,” Iqbal said.

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The MILF, he added, also supports the call for the creation of a truly independent group that will conduct a fair and impartial investigation into the incident.

At the same time, the MILF official denied claims that the organization is conniving with the BIFF.

“We are committed to peace. We have been in negotiations with the Philippine government for 17 years. Each of the agreements we signed with the Philippine government is testament to our commitment to pursue our objectives though peaceful means,” he said.

The MILF leader expressed hopes that the Mamasapano incident will not derail the peace process.

“While we cannot change the past, we can do something about the future. We can work together to make sure that something like this will not happen again,” he said.

Iqbal added that his group is against all forms of terrorism.

He denied harboring terrorists or conniving with the BIFF.

“To tag the MILF as a terrorist group is unfair,” Iqbal said.

He added that they rescued 28 SAF commandos who took part in the mission to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan.

According to Iqbal, the SAF commandos were holed up in an area one kilometer northeast of Tukanalipao village in Mamasapano while being fired upon by unidentified armed men.

“The 28 SAF [men] are alive today because of the efforts of the MILF and finally, it is the will of God,” he said.