Umra Kato a pain in the neck to gov’t, MILF

What to do with separatists who have publicly declared they will refuse to abide by any agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government? This is a predicament bedeviling the negotiating panels, and it is turning into a major stumbling block in the peace talks.

Ameril Umra Kato, the renegade MILF commander, has become a pain in the neck not only to the government but also to the MILF itself. The notorious MILF commander and his renegade combatants have pillaged Muslim and Christian communities and have displaced thousands of peace-loving Muslims, Christians and Lumad who have nothing to do or want no  part of their murderous adventurism.

Kato knows he is wanted by law for crimes he committed outside of rebellion. He surrounds himself with equally lawless marauders who refuse to be bound by any standard of discipline or by any rule of engagement. It will be a folly for either the government or the MILF to expect sanity from a man who cannot live in peace and who thinks that life depends on those whose fingers are on the trigger of a gun.

What aggravates the dilemma on Kato is his penchant to recruit renegade and notorious elements who, like him, are wanted criminals. Members of the Ampatuans’ hunted private army have found an ally in Kato and he gets a sense of invulnerability by being surrounded by these attack dogs. It is not surprising that terrorist elements have found sanctuary in Kato’s territory.

There are solutions to every pressing problem. Conflicts can be settled in negotiating tables. The Moro National Liberation Front signed a peace accord with government, and not a few of its members who had entrepreneurial spirit found satisfaction with the opportunities that were made available to them. The MILF has opted to negotiate for peace, and even as it talks with the Philippine government, foreign governments have committed to underwrite rehabilitation and development projects for the Bangsamoro people.

As for the few who reject the overtures for peace, the government and the MILF may opt to jointly adopt other approaches to excise a pestering problem.

 —RINA DE JESUS,

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