Maute’s ridiculous demands

BAÑOC

With nowhere to run and with their total annihilation becoming imminent each day, the Maute terrorist group is now trying to kid the government.

After causing trouble in Marawi City, neutralizing more than 70 of the government forces, killing and beheading civilians, kidnapping innocent people including a Catholic priest to be used as human shields, the group can still afford to offer a misleading and foolish “deal” to the government.

During the eight-hour ceasefire enforced by the government on Sunday to show respect for our brother Muslims’ feast of Eid al-Fitr, the Maute Group managed to air their demands to the government through a group composed of eight Muslim leaders who called themselves emissaries.

The so-called emissaries narrated to the media after their meeting with Abdullah Maute, one of two brothers leading the Maute terrorist group, that the said group has two important offers, to wit: 1. That the Maute Group is willing to withdraw from Marawi City if the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would intervene for an end to the crisis; 2. That the Maute Group is willing to release Fr. Teresito Suganob, vicar general of Marawi, whom the terrorists had kidnapped, in exchange for freeing their parents and relatives who are under the custody of the military.

The offers are purely ridiculous, misleading and insulting to the intelligence of the Filipino people. The Philippine government, like other governments, has repeatedly made its stand clear as crystal that it will not negotiate with the terrorists. In fact, Malacañang clarified that the talks between the so-called Muslim emissaries and the terrorists were not sanctioned by the government.

Mr. Webster defines “emissary” as a person who is sent on a mission to represent another person or organization. Before we entertain the so-called offers of the Maute Group, the unavoidable questions are: Who sent the so-called emissaries? Whose person or organization were they representing for? Were they just self-declared emissaries?

What are the motives of the so-called emissaries?

Which side were they helping?

Will it not appear that they were helping the Maute Group to air the latter’s demands?

Will it not appear that they were helping the Maute to gracefully exit from a heavily military-guarded city?

It would be much better if the so-called emissaries would also be subjected to an in-depth investigation.

Just for purposes of discussion, the first offer of the Maute Group is purely silly. With the huge number of the government forces in Marawi now, the Maute members, like the reported Isnilon Hapilon, Abu Sayaff leader who managed to escape from the military cordon, are in the mode of escaping.

They will seize every opportunity to make that happen.

And yet they make it appear in their offer that they are willing to withdraw from the city if the MILF will intervene in the negotiation.

What business does MILF have in this war? Imagine if the government will take the bait, the terrorists can gracefully escape from Marawi while they place the government as the one indebted to them. What an idiotic idea!

I think the government should look into the Maute’s statement mentioning the MILF as another angle to be studied further in the pending agreement between the government and the MILF.

MILF intervenes for what? Will the MILF in effect be helping them gracefully escape from Marawi?

Is it not a fact the Maute Group is a faction of MILF? Factionalism happens because of serious disagreement. And now the two are one? One can smell something fishy in all these.

What is really the relationship of the two groups? Did Maute really separate from the MILF?

But why is it that during crisis, the Maute seems to be asking help or acknowledging the intervention of the MILF? Two warring groups usually unite if there is a bigger enemy.

There is no doubt that in the eyes of the rebels and the terrorists, the government is the common enemy against which they have to unite. May the government not fall into the trap.

As to the offer of swapping the hostage priest with the Maute’s parents and relatives, I think the government should maintain its stand not to negotiate with terrorists. Otherwise, it will serve as a bad precedent.

This is war; and one false move will bring us back to square one, squandering every inch of victory we have achieved against the terrorists. We cannot afford a blunder, especially that too many precious lives have been lost.

The Maute Group, being terrorists connected with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), does not deserve a graceful exit!