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Statement of Condemnation on the recent explosion in Cotabato City
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) condemns in the highest possible terms the explosion that occurred today (December 31, 2019) in a shopping mall along Don Rufino Alonzo St., Cotabato City.
The dastardly act of putting an improvised explosive device (IED) with intent to kill or harm civilians is an act of cowardice, inhuman, and atrocious.
We call on all the concerned authorities to sincerely and thoroughly investigate this evil act. The motive is yet too premature to be concluded at this point, but we ask the authorities to examine all angles and make the result of the same public. We should not allow any party or group to make the premature conclusions or draw insinuations so as to advance their own personal interest and political agenda.
We are saddened by the fact that this incident occurred at a time while we are in the thick of preparations for the plebiscite on the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) on January 21, 2019. In the past, similar incidents have been resorted to in order to derail the Bangsamoro peace process. We must forge ahead with the same resolve as before so that we may finally achieve peace.
We call on all peace loving citizens in the city of Cotabato to stand united in securing our community and ensuring that peace will finally reign in our homeland. This is not the time to be divided. This is the time to stand united.
We condole with the families of the victims, both killed an/or wounded. It is precisely for the absence of security in our homeland that we exert our efforts for the passage of BOL so that a government can be established that can really protect and promote the peace and security of the place and its peoples.
AL HAJ MURAD EBRAHIM Chairman Moro Islamic Liberation Front