The MILF on Wednesday said the eighth International Monitoring Team (IMT) contingent headed by Maj. Gen. Dato Fadzil Bin Mokhtar takes over from the IMT Batch 7 led by Maj. Gen. Dato Abdul Rahim Bin Mohd Yusuff.
“I don’t think so… We are clear on our mission here to continue monitoring the ceasefire,” an article posted on the MILF website quoted Fadzil as saying, referring to their arrival amid the ongoing operations against Kiram’s followers in Sabah.
The MILF article added Fadzil does not think their mission to monitor the ceasefire agreement will be affected by the situation in Sabah.
Malaysian security forces continue to hunt down Kiram’s armed followers in Sabah, even as Malaysia rejected Kiram’s offer of a unilateral ceasefire.
Earlier Wednesday, a report on dzRH radio quoted presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda as saying Malaysia will remain a facilitator of the peace efforts between the Philippine government and the MILF despite the crisis in Sabah.
Other than Malaysia, the IMT has representatives from Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Libya and Norway.
The MILF said the IMT, which was established in 2004, has a military contingent of 19 members from Malaysia, 15 from Brunei, and 14 from Indonesia.
For development, humanitarian and rehabilitation aspects, it has two each from Japan, Norway and the European Union, the MILF added. — KBK, GMA News
