MILF welcomes gov’t plan to bring child warrior issue to UN

COTABATO CITY, Philippines -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front welcomes the government's threat to bring the alleged use of child warriors by Moro rebels to the attention of the United Nations because it will bring out the truth, a rebel spokesperson said Saturday.

The military claims to have documented the alleged deployment by the MILF of child warriors during recent skirmishes in Mindanao and Malacañang has said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will inform the UN about the MILF's use of children as fighters and other abuses committed by the rebel group.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said on Thursday that the President will speak before the UN General Assembly in New York and will cite a video clip showing MILF recruits as young as 15 years old undergoing military training and marching drills.

The video footage was reportedly found by the military in one of the camps of MILF commander Ombra Kato that was captured by government forces after recent battles in Maguindanao.

"That is a very welcome development," said Eid Kabalu, MILF civil-military affairs chief.

Kabalu maintained that the MILF did not use children to fight the military and branded the government claim as baseless.

"Once the issue is presented before the UN, an investigation, an impartial one, is going to take place and expose the truth," he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

Kabalu said the government could have mistaken some of their members for children because they are really small compared to others, even if they are aged 18 or 20 already.

Muhammad Ameen, deputy chair of the MILF's information committee, also said a UN probe would determine which entity has been destroying the future of children in conflict areas.

"We hope the United Nations will not try us in absentia and provide us an avenue to air our side and present evidence that the government is the one killing our children," Ameen said.

He cited the death of seven civilians -- including six children -- during a September 8 air assault by the military on suspected MILF positions in Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

Ameen said the MILF has been religiously observing international conventions on children in armed conflicts and was not recruiting children as soldiers.

He said the MILF was actually helping children go to school, where they also receive military training similar to the government's military training program in schools.

"To enable them to defend themselves, the MILF is providing them basic military training," he said.

With respect to abuses allegedly committed by the MILF, Kabalu said it was the military that has been violating the ceasefire and blaming the MILF.

Kabalu said the MILF continued to be interested in finding peaceful ways to end the Mindanao conflict.

Peace talks between the government and the MILF have been suspended and Malacañang has dissolved the government peace panel.

Senator Rodolfo Biazon has said that if the talks resume, the government should ask Indonesia instead of Malaysia to mediate the negotiations.

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, said Malaysia's involvement in the failed talks was prompted by a request by Arroyo in 2001.

"If the negotiations resume, we will still choose Malaysia as facilitator. We are not saying we don't want Indonesia but Malaysia is already there so why should we replace them?" Iqbal said.

(Reports from Edwin Fernandez, Charlie Senase and Jeoffrey Maitem, Inq.net)