Philippine military denies NGO accusations of food blockade in south

Philippines, Jun 02, 2009

A non-governmental organization in the southern Philippines has accused the military of imposing food blockades on people displaced by conflict between the armed forces and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). But the military has denied the claims, saying it is merely protecting food convoys from attack and doing its best to protect vital agencies operating in the area, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN World Food Program, the Manila Times reported Tuesday (June 2). The Mindanao Peoples' Caucus (MPC) made the accusation in a statement on Tuesday, saying it had received complaints about food blockades from humanitarian agencies and displaced persons in Maguindanao province, where the MILF and government security forces continue to clash. The MPC said the military is undermining relief efforts by controlling when and how much aid is filtered into evacuation sites, the Manila Times reported. Out of about 50,000 families displaced in Maguindanao, only about 15,500 have received assistance, the Manila Times cited the MPC as saying. A spokesperson for the military, however, denied the accusations, saying it had on a few occasions temporarily stopped aid convoys due to safety concerns, especially in the hard-hit area of Datu Piang. The military said MILF rebels had threatened attacks on relief missions in order to gain supplies for their own forces, according to the Manila Times. "We cannot take chances," the Times quoted army spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce as saying. "The safety of the workers of international relief organizations helping internally displaced people is a big concern for the military." The MILF is the largest Muslim rebel group fighting for an autonomous Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines. Thousands were killed in decades of fighting between the rebels and the government before 2003, when the two sides signed a ceasefire to facilitate peace talks. The truce largely held until August, when the Supreme Court stopped the signing of an agreement that was expected to create the homeland and angry break-away factions of the MILF began occupying Christian towns on western Mindanao island. The military moved in to oust them and several hundred people were killed and more than 600,000 displaced in the ensuing fighting across several provinces. Although the two sides still refuse to return to talks, fighting has largely subsided except in Maguindanao, where the government recently reported that the number of displaced is on the rise again.