CPP praises MILF's guerrilla warfare, derides AFP's claim of illusory victories
February 17, 2003

The Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army praised the MILF's use of guerrilla warfare to frustrate the ongoing AFP massive military offensive against it and the attempt of the AFP to lure it into a positional defense of fixed camps and territories.

CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal expressed this in a statement given today in reaction to what he derided as "invented" AFP claims of victories in its intensified offensive against suspected MILF lairs in the Liguasan Marsh area.

The AFP said it has already killed close to 157 MILF fighters, have succeeded in flushing out the MILF from the 200-hectare Buliok complex which extends from the towns of Pikit to Pagalugan in the Liguasan Marsh in North Cotabato province, and also captured a "luxurious mansion" of MILF chairman Hashim Salamat in the area.

Rosal said the the claims of victory by the AFP are self-illusory and preposterous.

MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu had earlier stated that what the AFP claims to have "overrun" is actually Baranggay Kabasalan "which has never hosted an MILF camp," that the supposed mansion is actually a Muslim prayer center which was planted with signs of a luxurious lifestyle and that the MILF has lost 40 fighters but not 157. On the other hand, Kabalu also said that casualties on the side of the AFP have now run up to the hundreds.

Rosal added that "the MILF is proving its resiliency and ability to win and prevail over the military situation as a whole by maximizing its guerrilla operations to turn the tables against the enemy, instead of being trapped into fixed defensive lines."

"What the AFP will have most difficulty to handle is the widespread intensification of guerrilla counter-attacks against AFP forces," Rosal added.

MILF attacks have reportedly spread to nearby provinces. AFP chief Gen. Dionisio Santiago has also admitted that the AFP's clearing-up operations "could prove difficult because of the hit-and-run tactics by the rebels."

Rosal had also earlier announced that, in sympathy with the MILF, the New People's Army would also be launching strikes against the AFP.

Rosal also lambasted Malaca�ang and the AFP's for earlier lying that they were only after the Pentagon gang. "The admission of the AFP high command that they in fact were after the MILF confirms the MILF's assertion that the intensified AFP attacks were meant to force it to accept a political package proposal (similar to Malacanang's 'final peace agreement' proposal to the NDF)."

"This so-called peace package would be tantamount to the surrender of the MILF," Rosal said echoing the MILF's earlier statements.

"The AFP's intensified offensive operations are also meant to prevent the MILF from launching punitive attacks against government forces once the US starts to invade Iraq," Rosal added.

"What is true," Rosal said "is that the AFP's massive offensive in Central Mindanao have resulted in grave sufferings among the people living in the area." To date, More than 50,000 have been evacuated into congested evacuation centers.

Reference:
Anne Buenaventura
Media Officer
Cellphone Number: +63910-240-3553

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CPP praises MILF's guerrilla warfare, derides AFP's claim of illusory victories February 17, 2003

CPP praises MILF's guerrilla warfare, derides AFP's claim of illusory victories
February 17, 2003