MILF Not Involved in Election-Related Violence – Iqbal

By ANNE EDNALYN V. DE LA CRUZ
Bulatlat.com

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Peace Panel Chairperson Mohagher Iqbal denied allegations that his group was involved in election-related violence in Lanao del Sur last May 10.

“We denounce the allegation as entirely false and fabricated,” he said. “The MILF has a strict “hands-off policy” with regards the Philippine elections, which is divisive, intrigue-laden, and breeds corruption. Usually, the bad candidate wins in an election because he has money, guns, and goons,” Iqbal added.

Several incidents of election-related violence occurred in the province resulting in a failure of elections in a number precincts. Gun shooting incidents were reported in two towns: in Kapai, residents were fired upon by armed men who were reportedly linked to the MILF. Another gun shooting incident happened in Tugaya where the armed men of rival candidates exchanged heavy gunfire in the vicinity of a polling precinct.

Bomb explosions in three poll precincts in Marawi City were also reported; three at the Mindanao State University, one at the Marawi City Pilot School in Amai PakPak, and one at the Saduc Elementary School.

Iqbal said there were no changes in the conduct of the recent elections in Lanao del Sur . “It is still full of cheating.” However, the MILF, said Iqbal, is convinced that president-apparent Senator Noynoy Aquino won the presidential race with a clear mandate.

He added that they hope that the new administration will make the GRP-MILF peace process as a problem-solving exercise, not as a counter-insurgency measure.

The peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the MILF have been on and off after the junking by the government of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, which the MILF deemed as having been signed. Bulatlat.com