ABUBAKAR CONVERTED INTO ARMY CAMP: Camp Abubakar, the main base of the
secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is no more.
To end persistent talk of returning to the MILF its bases captured by the
military in 2000, President Arroyo yesterday ordered a Philippine Army unit
to transfer its headquarters to the sprawling former rebel base — to be known
from now on as Camp Datu Sinsuat — in Maguindanao province.
Mrs. Arroyo announced the camp’s new name during a visit there yesterday under
heavy security.
Camp Datu Sinsuat will be the new home of the Army’s 603rd Infantry Brigade,
whose headquarters is in Pigkawayan town several kilometers from the former
rebel camp.
Mrs. Arroyo said this will "show to the entire Philippines and to the whole world,
especially to doubters that we might return the camp to the rebels, that Camp
Abubakar is entirely in the hands of the Republic of the Philippines."
Located in an area surrounded by the towns of Barira, Buldon and Matanog, Camp
Abubakar – along with other MILF camps in other nearby provinces – was captured
by the military in a massive offensive in mid-2000 ordered by then President
Joseph Estrada.
However, the Arroyo administration’s series of interim peace agreements with the
rebels drew suspicions that the MILF would get back its bases, which Malacanang
denied.
Mrs. Arroyo reassured local residents that any peace deals the government makes
with the MILF would be governed by the law.
Of 2,000 hectares comprising the former Camp Abubakar, the 603rd Infantry Brigade
will occupy 50 hectares, and the rest would become part of Barira, Buldon and
Matanog towns.
Mrs. Arroyo handed out checks totaling P6.7 million to provide livelihood
assistance to local residents and for infrastructure improvements in the former
rebel base.
The money came from a USAID-funded government livelihood assistance program to
help former MILF rebels live normal lives again.
Mrs. Arroyo was accompanied by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, several Cabinet
members, US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, his wife, officials from the US
Embassy and the US Agency for International Aid.
In his brief remarks to local residents, Ricciardone expressed Washington’s
"full support" to the Arroyo administration’s peace initiatives with the MILF.
Philippine Star, 3 July 2002
OIC LIKELY TO GRANT RP OBSERVER STATUS: The Organization of Islamic Conference
(OIC), the powerful group monitoring the implementation of the government’s
peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MILF), is likely to
grant the Government of the Republic of the Philippine (GRP) Observer status.
Acting Press Secretary Silvestre Afable revealed OIC Secretary-General
Abdulwahed Belkeziz assured the government that the application for the Observer
status "would not be much of a problem."
"The Secretary-General of the OIC … is seriously considering the request of
the Philippines to be granted OIC Observer Status," said Afable, quoting
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita who attended the 29th
Islamic Conference in Khartoum, Sudan last week.
He said a team from the OIC would soon be dispatched to the country to look into
the implementation of the 1996 GRP-MNLF Peace Agreement.
"Should the team report positively, then the application of the GRP as OIC
Observer will be immediately submitted to the OIC Secretariat for consideration,"
said Afable referring to the letter request of President Arroyo recently asking
the OIC Secretary-General to grant GRP observer status.
According to the Palace official, the Islamic Conference Resolution upheld the
legitimacy of Gov. Parouk Hussin’s leadership in the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM). Hussin replaced MNLF founding leader Nur Misuari who is detained
at Camp Sto. Domingo in Laguna for rebellion charges.
Ermita reported that the Resolution likewise urged OIC member states and
institutions, including the Islamic Development Bank to channel assistance through
the ARMM.
Manila Times, 1 July 2002
