New IMT head of mission determined to do his job

by Romy B. Elusfa/MindaNews contributor
Thursday, 18 February 2010 23:30

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/18 February) -- The expanded task of the International Monitoring Team is “a tall order,” but Maj. Gen. Datuk Baharom bin Hamzah, the new head of mission of the IMT is determined to “do the job.” Gen. Hamzah, a member of the eight-man Reconnaissance Team sent by Malaysia’s Ministry of Defense to do a final check on the facilities of the 60-man IMT contingent that will be sent to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), announced his optimism on the peace process in front of around 50 representatives of various peace organizations.

The four batches of IMT contingents sent to Mindanao had managed to reduce violent incidents involving government soldiers and guerrillas of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the armed group of the MILF, from more than 700 in 2004 to only about seven in 2008.

Unlike IMT-1 to IMT-4 which were tasked to monitor only the truce, Hamzah’s team, IMT-5, has three added tasks: Humanitarian, rehabilitation and development; Socio-economic Assistance; and Civilian Protection.

“It is a tall order, but we have to do the job,” he told representatives of peace organizations in an “informal welcome” dinner with the members of the Reconnaissance Team headed by LGen. Datuk Raja Mohamed Affandi bin Raja Mohamed Noor, the chief of staff of the Malaysian Armed Forces.

Noor’s short message to representatives of 18 peace organizations was filled with optimism on the success of the peace process despite an apparent deadlock in the peace negotiations with the MILF rejecting government’s offer described as “no more than the ARMM” (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao).

“When I walked around here, I felt there is this strong spirit that everyone is looking for a long and sustainable peace,” he said while thanking the government for trusting the IMT tasks to Malaysian soldiers. “Thank you so much to the Philippine government for trusting the Malaysians to do this task.”

Noor expressed confidence they would be able to provide an “environment conducive for the talks” to continue, adding they will deploy the “best 20” Malaysian soldiers who will be joining the IMT with other delegations from Libya, Brunei Darussalam, and Japan.

“We have our best team of 20 people here, but they cannot perform their best without the support of the non-government organizations,” he said while asserting that “in any peace process, it is the NGO that serves as the backbone—it (peace process) is driven by NGOs.”

Col. Dickson Hermoso, once head of the secretariat of the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (JCCCH) and commander of the 7th Infantry Battalion during the war in 2008, said “there are only two secrets” to a successful ceasefire monitoring: “First, you have to involve the civil society organizations (CSO) and, second, a well-placed IMT.”

Hermoso explained that an active participation of the CSOs will help push the peace process forward amid the fact that “there are powder kegs in the minds of many Army and MILF forces.”

With the active participation of the CSOs in the peace process, Hermoso told the IMT contingents that “there will no longer be lonely days for IMT—doing the job will be a lot of fun.”

Maj. Carlos Sol Jr., head of the secretariat of the government panel in the JCCCH, said “we will do everything to make Mindanao peaceful and developed” while also announcing that they already have “reactivated and strengthened the local monitoring teams” that government and the MILF organized in all conflict affected areas of Mindanao.

Atty. Mary Ann Arnado, secretary-general of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC), host of the “informal welcome” for the Malaysians, also assured her group’s support to the IMT, saying there are still other organizations willing to help the peace process and among them are those whose application for membership in the civilian protection component (CPC) are still pending approval by the peace panels.

The MPC and the Non-violent Peace Force are part of the CPC. Other organizations seeking recognition as part of IMT’s civilian protection task are the Initiatives for International Dialogue, Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, Saligan Mindanao and two others. (Romy B. Elusfa/MindaNews contributor)