The military offensive in Sulu and Basilan is aimed at securing government forces, maintenance of peace and law enforcement against terrorist cells who where recently involved in the beheading and mutilation of soldiers in Basilan. The government would avoid a wider war and would make effort to minimize civilian casualties.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued security directives to keep operations in Basilan and Sulu under control to minimize civilian casualties with the NDCC helping in civilian evacuation, preserve and continue the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and to respect ceasefire guidelines in close consultation with the International Monitoring Team (IMT).
President Arroyo also ordered the holding of urgent talks with the MILF under the Malaysian auspices to contain and resolve the Basilan-Sulu situation, to harness the Bishop Ulama Conference and other religious and civil society groups for the government’s peace efforts in Mindanao and to brief the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Committee of Eight on the limited military operations and the Mindanao development which includes huge outlays in the 2007 and 2008 budgets for Mindanao, including Basilan and Sulu.
She also ordered the pilot implementation of the envisioned Muslim ancestral domain regime to demonstrate the government’s sincerity to achieve peace. (PIA-Pagadian)
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