Who’s coddling the enemy?

Army troops seized on Wednesday a Moro Islamic Liberation Front camp in  Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay in retaliation for the slaughter of 19 soldiers in the renewed conflict in Mindanao that has been blowing hot and cold between an “all-out war” and an “all-out justice” offensive for the past two weeks.

The MILF camp fell after a  three-day air-and-ground assault, driving to evacuation centers up to 20,000  civilians in Zamboanga  Sibugay and Basilan provinces. Military authorities said the well-fortified camp housed at least 100 “outlaws” led by MILF commander Waning Adulsalam.  The assault came after 19 Special  Forces troops were killed in a nine-hour fire fight in Al-Barka, Basilan, on Oct. 18.

The government and the MILF blamed each other for the provocative actions that triggered the Al-Barka encounter. The military said the soldiers were sent to Al-Barka to check reports that armed men, including Dan Laksaw Asnawi, who was one of those involved in the beheading of 14 Marines during a 2007 clash (also in Al-Barka), were seen in the area.  The MILF claimed that the government patrol was a “deliberate attack” and that the military did not respect the ceasefire agreement.  On the other hand, the military claimed the troops did not intrude into a rebel stronghold and were about four kilometers from it when they were fired upon, prompting the troops to fight back. A military spokesperson said it was apparent that the encounter took place outside of the MILF’s area of temporary stay, and belied the MILF statement that the military violated the ceasefire accord.

Whoever was at fault, the Al-Barka encounter highlighted  (1) the fragility of the peace process and (2) the confusion over the government’s  chaotic policy in dealing with the MILF’s demand for the establishment of an autonomous Bangsamoro “substate”; and (3) it impaled the Aquino government on the horns of the dilemma of whether to take a hard-line approach to assert the authority of the Philippine Republic over secessionist movements, or to pursue a policy of appeasement in the negotiations with the MILF.

The Al-Barka slaughter of the troops put pressure—mainly from the military—on the government to launch the attack on the MILF encampment and incited calls for an all-out war with the MILF rebels.

Asked in Tacloban City (during the 67th anniversary celebration of the Leyte landings by Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s liberation troops) whether there was a need to review or suspend the ceasefire agreement with the MILF, President Aquino was evasive: “(Are) we advocating (an) all-out war… that rebounds to an improvement of the situation?… (W)e have to learn. Nobody benefits from war.”

On another occasion, the President said, “We will not pursue all-out war, we will instead pursue all-out justice. All-out war is indiscriminate and borne out of danger. All-out justice is sober and fair, and leads to lasting peace.” He also announced that the government  would continue with the peace talks with the MILF, which was set to begin in Malaysia next month. It was not clear how the formula of rejecting  “all-out war ” and  embracing “all-out justice” would work out. It became even more confusing when he tried to clear the MILF of responsibility even after it owned up that its men attacked the troops in Basilan. He said the target of the “intensified” military operation he had ordered (under military pressure) were members of the Abu Sayyaf, not of the MILF.   He said the government had asked for help and was now getting it from the MILF in its bid to arrest the 10 Abu Sayyaf bandits responsible for the recent killings of soldiers, and the bandits had been located and “contained” in Payao. He said the “mailed fist of the state will be brought to bear upon them so that justice may be served.”

He added, “All-out justice is sober and fair,” it is based on the rule of law and “leads to lasting peace. ”  Under whose terms—the government’s or the MILF’s? This double talk raises questions of how the government can reconcile the two concepts that are mutually exclusive.

It seems clear that the government is trying hard to appease the MILF and making itself hostage to military pressure to exact retribution from the MILF for the Army’s casualties in the attacks.

In an effort to calm down disgruntlement in the military over his apparent appeasement of the  MILF, the President went out of his way to pacify the soldiers when he paid a late-night visit, on Friday, to the  Libingan  ng mga Bayani to pay his respects to the 19 slain soldiers.

He expressed gratitude to the soldiers killed in the Oct. 18 clash and pledged that the state would “defend its citizens against all enemies in the territories under its control.” The President also issued a stern warning to those coddling  lawless elements pursued by government forces. “If you help those that are being hunted by the state, you will be counted among the enemies of the state, and you will be hunted down, too,” he said.

Segments of the military were still smarting after the President sacked Col. Antonio Parlade Jr., spokesperson of the Philippine Army, who suggested a temporary suspension of ceasefire agreement. Parlade said, “It’s clear that we should pursue the MILF rebels and temporarily suspend the cessation of hostilities.” He said the Al-Barka attack would not be the last violent incident. “This is the eighth or ninth time that they did something like this,” he said.

Some people in the Army are asking, “Who is coddling the enemy?”