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MORO ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT Central Committee OfJice of the Chairmun
OFFICIAL STATEUE}.IT OF THE UILF oN THE INcIDENT LAST e5S;enUARY 2O'5
This is the ofiicial statement of the Moro lslamic Liberation Front relative to the unfortunate event &at happened at Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25,2015. 1. Firstand foremost, we express and send our deepest sympathies to the families and fiends of those who died in the armed encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. The emotions of loss and pain are not alien to us Bangsamoro and Mujahideen. Nevertheless, respect and solidarity are due to all, inespective of which side they belong. 2. Our concem is the truth. There will be a lot of speculations ai to what happened and until what happened is established with credibility and integrity, the said incideht will weigh down our cunent efforts to bring peace to our homeland. 3. ln order to_give meaning to their deaths, we mus* resolve not to let something like !!i9_happen again. To this end, the MILF is convening a Special lnvestigative Commission (SlC) to be composed of members of the MILF Central Committee and Bnf General Staff who are tasked to invmtigate the events at Mamasapano, Maguindanao that resulted in the deah of rnembers of the MILF and of soldiers of the Philippine Government. The mandate of the SIC is to gather as much reliable information and interview witnesses to establish the truth. The SIC is given instruction to come up with a report to the CenFat Gornmitbe as coon as possible. 4. We hereby reiterate the MILFs full commitment to the peace process with tre Philipptne Government. /urenduring peace and justice rcrnain to be our pririrary objective. ln this regard, all actions and pronouncements of our political and military uniti of ihe MILF should advance and adhere to this primary objective as much as possible and with due regard to fte safety and securig of our people and communities. 5. The MILF have been in nqotidions with the Philippine Government for some time now. During this timq both parties have established protoiols, yyays of proceedings and mechanisrns, wtrich support and keep he peace. Adherence to thlse mechanismi rrave ure-aied a peaceful eiivironment and lessened aetual hostilities through the years. lt is unfortunate but not.entirely surpriging that when parties do not follory eJtaUisfreO protocols lives are placed in harm's way. We therefore ree.ornrnlt ourselves ta fosaw theee pia"esse* anci protocois. 6. For widest dissemination.